Scammers sent NJ grandma on ride to get $1,300

HANOVER — A grandmother was scammed out of more than $1,300 thinking that she was trying to help her grandson last week, according to township police.

The elderly woman got a call on Friday, April 26, from someone who gave a made-up law enforcement title with "the U.S. Embassy in the Bahamas," police said. The man said that her grandson was in jail and needed $1,300 for bail.

When the woman told the caller that she didn't have a vehicle to get out and get the money, the scammer sent a ride, who drove the victim to a CVS in Morristown.

She sent a MoneyGram for the given amount to an address in Haiti.

Only after returning home did the victim speak to her 30-year-old grandson, who lives out of state, but told her he was fine.

Police said it was an isolated incident, as no other victims of such a "grandparent scam" had been reported recently.

Investigators have not identified the scammers.