East Goshen Resident Almost Falls Victim to "Granny Scam"

According to the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police, a 69-year-old East Goshen resident almost fell victim to a phone scam on Wednesday when someone called the resident posing as the resident’s grandson.

According to police, the caller told the resident that he was in a detention center in New Jersey after being involved in a crash and needed money in order to be released.

The caller than told the victim to call a certain number to speak with a public defender.  The victim called the number and was instructed to wire funds using Western Union.

However, the victim spoke with the fraud department at Western Union before sending the money, and the transfer was avoided.

Police are investigating this incident to see if it has any correlation with a similar incident that occurred in July where another East Goshen resident lost $26,000 in a similar scheme.

Police say that this particular telephone scam has been dubbed the “Granny Scam,” and they ask that residents confirm information with other family members before wiring any money to anyone.

Residents can also call the Westtown-East Goshen Regional Police Department at 610-692-5100 to review any suspicious telephone calls or requests for money transfers.