Here’s a phone scam story turned good…An elderly Wilmington man has finally received restitution from a scam in 2017.

The man received a phone call in March of 2017 telling him that his grandson was jailed in California and needed help. The caller had enough personal information about his grandson to convince the man, telling the victim that he needed thousands of dollars in Target Gift Cards to help his grandson. By the time the phone call ended, the scammer had robbed the victim of $8,000 in Target Gift cards.

Wilmington Police were contacted, who then contacted Target’s Law Enforcement Assistance Team in Minnesota and placed the information onto a law enforcement database. Two days later a call from the Middlesex County Maryland District Attorney’s Office, letting local authorities know that eight Indian Nationals were arrested for scamming multiple victims for $120,000.

In October of 2019, the Wilmington man received a check from the Superior Court of Middlesex County for restitution of his financial losses. The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office advises the public to be aware that the IRS and police will never ask for payment over the phone.

94.1 WGFA