Man almost falls victim to $2,000 phone scam

Police are warning the public Wednesday after a phone scam almost cost a Yonkers man thousands of dollars. The 79-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous, says he received a phone call early Monday

News 12 Staff

Jan 14, 2016, 3:00 AM

Updated 3,245 days ago

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Police are warning the public Wednesday after a phone scam almost cost a Yonkers man thousands of dollars.
The 79-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous, says he received a phone call early Monday morning from a man in Puerto Rico who said his grandson was being held at gunpoint.
"This guy said my grandson hit his son and he wanted $2,000 for medical bills," the man says.
The man came to the CVS off Central Avenue in Scarsdale, where he planned to use a MoneyGram to wire the $2,000 to the account that was created.
Moments before he was going to give the scammers his PIN to finalize the deal, police found him and told him that his grandson was safe.
Officer Scott Harsany says that as soon as the man left his house, his wife called their daughter, who quickly knew it was a scam.
The Fraud Section of the Department of Justice is currently investigating the scam.
Would-be scammers could face attempted larceny charges.