SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Most people would do anything for their family, which is why one scam, in particular, just won’t go away: The Grandparent Scam.
Just last month, two Upstate sheriff’s departments warned that scammers stole more than $10,000 each from two victims.
Around that time, another Spartanburg grandmother got the very same call. Betty Chapman has 10 grandchildren, two great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
“I pick up the phone and this pitiful, pitiful little voice is saying, ‘Grandma, Grandma.’ My grandchildren would never call me grandma,” Betty said, mentioned that her grandchildren call her “Mimi.”
Most might hang up, but not Chapman. She described the call:
“Who is this?” Chapman asked.
“You’re granddaughter,” the caller said.
“Nikki?” Chapman asked.
“Yes,” the caller said.
“What’s wrong Nikki?” Chapman asked.
“I’m in jail,” the caller said.
“Huh?” Chapman said.
“I was in a car accident, a 3-car pileup, and it was my fault,” the caller said.
Though Chapman knew better, the thought of a grandchild in jail has caught thousands of grandparents off guard. The Federal Trade Commission logged 91,000 of these scams between 2015 and 2020, and that may only represent 10% of the actual victims.
The head of the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office Fraud Investigation Unit Sergeant Tony Brown said his office gets two to three reports like this a month.
“They…
