Hudson Valley residents have been scammed out of nearly $30,000 in recent weeks after falling for a new scam. Local police are now warning residents to watch out.

A Crime Alert was issued on February 20 by the Town of Newburgh Police after several people have reported falling victim to a "Granny Scam."

According to a press release, criminals will call unsuspecting residents, claiming to be their grandchild. They have been very successful in convincing victims that they are in some sort of legal or financial trouble, usually in another state or country. The grandparent is urged to immediately wire money to the scammer to clear up the fabricated trouble. The money is then re-routed to the perpetrator.

The press release give 3 recent examples of local residents who have fallen for the scam:

- An elderly victim wired a total of $24,000 in six (6) $4,000 MoneyGram transactions to help out his “son” who was supposedly in need of help and was calling from “another country”. The victim’s real son lived nearby. The caller was so convincing that the victim never questioned why his son would have been out of the country.

- An elderly victim wired over $3,000 to another state to assist a “grandchild” who was “arrested” and in need of fine monies. The real grandclild was local and not in any trouble.

- An elderly victim was prepared to wire $2,000 to another state to assist a grandchild under arrest and in need of bail money. Before completing the transaction, the intended victim called the grandchild’s phone and found out that the grandchild was fine and not under arrest.

Chief Michael Clancy from the Town of Newburgh Police urges residents to be cautious of people calling up and requesting money. They suggest reporting any suspicious phone calls to be reported to your local law enforcement agency.

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