CROWN HEIGHTS — A 74-year-old woman was tricked out of $6,500 in a common "family-emergency scam," when a stranger called her and demanded cash to get her nephew out of jail, police said.
The woman told police this week that the suspect called her at her Bedford Avenue home Dec. 30 to say her nephew has been put in jail and that he needed $6,000 to get out.
The victim met up with the man who called her on the same day and gave him $3,000 in cash, then met with him again Jan 4. and handed over an additional $3,500, according to police.
Sometime later, the woman reached out to her nephew, who told her he had not been incarcerated.
The woman reported the incident to police Jan. 14. No suspect has been identified.
Strangers claiming a relative in jail is a common approach in “family-emergency scams,” according to the Federal Trade Commission, which recommends a number of tips for verifying a story before sending money and encourages anyone to report possible fraud to (877) FTC-HELP.
The above incident is part of DNAinfo’s weekly crime blotter made from reports to the 71st Precinct in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Crown Heights and East Flatbush.