Police intercept envelope of cash sent to scammer by elderly woman
By Stephen Borowy
Click here for updates on this story
SAGINAW TOWNSHIP, Michigan (WNEM) — Police are warning of scammers targeting elderly residents after a local officer stopped an envelope of cash from reaching an unknown person in New York.
The daughter of an elderly resident contacted the Saginaw Township Police Department to report a fraud case. According to police, the mother received a call from a female, who she thought was her daughter, stating she had been arrested after being involved in a traffic crash.
Shortly after, the mother received another call from a person who identified himself as a lawyer representing her daughter. He convinced her to ship an envelope with cash in it through UPS overnight, police said.
The cash was sent to an address in Bronx, New York. After taking the report, the Saginaw Township police officer immediately contacted the manager at the UPS facility on McCarty Road in the township.
The package was intercepted in Lansing and returned to Saginaw, which was then given to the officer and returned to the victim.
“I encourage family members to discuss this type of scam with their parents and make them aware that the caller can be very convincing,” Saginaw Township Police Chief Don Pussehl said. “Legitimate businesses and legal professionals do not request that cash is mailed to them. If someone should receive a call asking them to mail cash to a person or address, please contact 911 or your local police agency to discuss the call. These suspects are preying upon our senior citizens on a weekly basis. Let’s work together in putting them out of business.”
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
