A Villages grandmother is out $8,000 after falling for the infamous “grandparents scam.”
The 74-year-old Village of Country Club Hills woman had been contacted by phone Feb. 6 by a woman claiming to be her granddaughter. She claimed she had been arrested traveling in a vehicle with $15,000 worth of marijuana, according to an incident report from the Lady Lake Police Department.
The grandmother then received a call from a man identifying himself as a member of the Maine State Police. He told her to place $8,000 in cash in a magazine with other papers, place them in a manila envelope and send it to an address in Hollywood, Florida. She was told she was sending it to the judge in the case and she would receive her money back in a cashier’s check.
She sent the package via FEDEX at Villages Pack N Ship at La Plaza Grande.
She later suspected something was amiss and contacted police.
Lady Lake Police Chief Chris McKinstry recently issued a warning about scams.
