VERSAILLES, Ky. (AP) — A Woodford County man was the victim of a “grandparent scam” that required him to pay money to a person impersonating a law enforcement official.
Woodford County Sheriff Wayne Wright tells the Lexington Herald-Leader (http://bit.ly/2avVOET ) that an 81-year-old man received a call on Tuesday from a man pretending to be a sheriff in North Carolina. The caller told him to pay $4,000 worth of Apple iTunes gift cards to release his grandson from jail.
Wright says the man complied with the request and went to local stores to purchase the cards. He then read the numbers on the cards to the man impersonating the officer.
Wright says the call likely came from outside the country.
Anyone who receives such calls is encouraged to verify the caller’s identity.