Alert banker foils grandparent scam in Kaneville

KANEVILLE – An alert bank employee spared an 82-year-old woman from being snookered out of $10,000 in an apparent grandparent scam Jan. 14, according to Kane County Sheriff’s reports.

A personal banker at Old Second National Bank, 2 S. 101 Harter Road, Kaneville, asked the customer, a Kaneville resident, why she wanted the money, reports stated.

The woman said her grandson called her and said he was involved in a DUI traffic accident, had broken his nose and was in jail in Richland County in Ohio, reports stated.

He needed $10,000 for a bond agent to get out of jail, reports stated.

After talking to the personal banker, the woman decided it was a scam and left the bank without making the withdrawal. She called her daughter to check on her grandson and found there was no validity to the distress call, reports stated.

Deputies called the scammer’s phone number that the woman provided. The man who answered stated, “public defenders office,” reports stated.

After the deputy identified himself and asked for information, the scammer hung up on him, reports stated.

The deputy called back twice and was hung up on both times, reports stated.

A grandparent scam is one in which an elderly person receives a call from a "grandson" stating he is in jail and needs money for bond, according to the Consumer Federation of America website, consumerfed.org.