Police warn of ‘Grandma, I’m in jail’ scam

The Johnson County Sheriff's Office issued a warning Tuesday morning about a scam that is making a return to the area.

According to the sheriff's office, the “Grandma, I'm in jail” scam follows a consistent pattern. A person will call, pretending to be a granddaughter or grandson, and claim to have taken a trip to Canada for various reasons such as a wedding or a ballgame. Sometimes the caller even uses the actual name of the grandchild. The caller claims to have been arrested and asks the grandparent for money for bail or medical bills and asks them not to tell anyone, especially the grandchild's parents.

If the grandparent agrees to send money, another person will get on the line posing as a police officer to make arrangements for the money to be sent. The fake officer then asks the grandparent to call and confirm the money has been sent. The sheriff's department released two numbers used most often in the scam. The numbers are 416-838-9354 and 647-894-9811.

If you are contacted and money is requested, the sheriff's office suggests attempting to contact the relative in question. They also suggest contacting other family members and law enforcement immediately.