Ward 5 City Councillor Angela Guarino-Sawaya had nothing but praise for two Revere police officers for putting an end to a scam that targeted local senior citizens.
The councillor commended Revere officers Kenan Resic and Pheachey Chhom for preventing a $6,500 theft by means of a scam targeting her neighbors. Guarino-Sawaya said the scammer pretended to be the grandson of a neighbor, and stated that he had gotten into a car accident.
The scammer said he got seven stitches in his face and a broken nose, and had been arrested because he caused an accident, rear ending a pregnant woman.
“The grandfather was called ‘papa’ as his grandson would call him,” said Guarino-Sawaya. “He was told by the scammer posing as his grandson that his attorney was going to send someone to take cash bail of $6500 to get him out, because he went before a judge and was told he was a flight risk and had to post $6,500 cash bail.”
Guarino-Sawaya said that normally, this couple would not have fallen for such a story, but the person on the other end of the line not only sounded like their grandson, but also had permanent information that would not be known by many people unless it was the family.
“So instead of having their grandson spend the weekend in jail they paid the cash money,” she said. “When the courier came he picked up the envelope and left. It just didn’t sit right so they called the grandson and discovered it was not true. They were smart enough to get the plate number of the car that pulled up, and with video footage from a neighbor they had evidence of who the person who came to get the money was.”
The couple quickly went to the Revere Police Department, and Resic and Chhom were quickly able to find the man responsible, and even recover the money. The courier who picked up the money was determined to be a Lyft driver hired by the scammer.
Potential scams against the elderly have been on the uptick, and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office even has a program dedicated to combating fraud against the area’s most vulnerable residents.
The Suffolk County Fraud Fighters is a multi-agency external effort designed to help Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop residents identify and avoid scams and fraud attempts. The goal is to bring awareness and educate older adults and all residents of the different methods and tactics scammers are using.
Several units from the district attorney’s office, including the Civil Rights/High-Risk Victims Unit, the Special Prosecutions Unit, and the Community Engagement Unit are involved.
Also involved in the effort are the Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop Police Departments, the Boston Housing Authority, the Vine Street Community Center, Hebrew SeniorLife, Central Boston Elder Services, Metro Credit Union, Mystic Valley Elder Services, and U.S. Secret Service.
The Fraud Fighters offer presentations that are not only informative, but interactive to help keep residents engaged and encouraged to ask questions. Presentations will be scheduled in various venues throughout Suffolk County.
For more information on Fraud Fighters, please residents can contact [email protected].
