Credit union teller saves grandmother from nearly $10,000 scam

PINELLAS COUNTY, fla — Clearwater Police are sounding the alarm about phone scammers after a grandmother almost lost $9,500. It all happened at an Achieva Credit Union in Clearwater, where a bank teller recognized something was wrong.

Jennifer Sgro was working at the Achieva in Clearwater when an 89-year-old woman came in trying to withdraw almost $10,000.

“She said she needed the cash right away. I asked her what it was for. She said it was for legal fees,” Sgro explained.

It turns out that the attorney was actually a scammer. The crook called the grandma, telling her that her grandson was hurt and that she needed to withdraw the money immediately.

The scammers even called a ride-sharing service to drive her to the bank so she could withdraw the cash.

Sgro recognized something was wrong.

“We called her grandson. Her grandson had not called her; we called her daughter in Michigan, she verified nothing is going on. He's fine," Sgro said.

Sgro called Clearwater Police, who were able to get the grandmother home safely.

Police are warning about similar scams. Bryan Oglesby with the Better Business Bureau says scams like this are on the rise.

“It's not just the elderly. What we used to call a grandparent scam is now called the family emergency scam because this can happen to the parent of a college student, anyone who can be victimized,” Oglesby said.

He explained that people should be cautious whenever someone on the phone asks for money, wire transfers, or gift card numbers.

“Scammers are using new technologies like AI caller ID spoofing. They are pretending to be your loved one and leading you to believe they are in trouble,” Oglesby said.

If you believe you are a victim of a scam, Oglesby recommends contacting your local law enforcement and reporting it to the Better Business Bureau scam tracker.