Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta

Cobb cops warn of phone scam with crooks pretending to be grandkids

Channel 2's Rikki Klaus spoke with the victim's daughter who first realized the person calling her mother was a scammer.
By Ben Brasch
Feb 22, 2018

Most grandparents love calls from their grandchildren, and scammers know it.

Police in Cobb County are warning about a trick aimed at seniors.

Scammers call seniors acting as their grandchildren claiming to be in jail and needing bail money, cops said.

The ne’er-do-wells nag folks to send funds and/or give account information to prepaid debit cards.

READ | 10 financial scams targeting seniors and how to avoid them

READ | Scam alert: Cobb officials warn of a new utility fraud scheme

READ | Topgolf-like facility set for Marietta after city OKs $9.5M land sale

Cops suggested that if you receive a call from someone claiming to be a friend or relative in jail needing bail money, don’t send the money right away. Instead, verify with the arresting agency and or others who know the person.

According to the most recent U.S. Census data from 2010, about 13½ percent of Cobb's  population was age 60 or older.

Like Cobb County News Now on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter

About the Author

Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.

Follow Ben Brasch on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

A bicyclist rides on the Beltline by Atlanta’s Krog Street Market on Sept. 16, just before the start of what experts projected would be an unseasonably warm fall. This week’s temperatures are in line with that prediction, as highs are expected to tie or break records. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Mid-November heat wave could break metro Atlanta temperature records

Metro Atlanta temperatures are expected to reach near-record highs over the next few days, just a week after North Georgia froze over.

DeKalb votes to move forward with $77 million ambulance contract

DeKalb County commissioners voted to approve a new $77 million ambulance contract with the county's existing provider, American Medical Response.

Girl stabbed to death by mother found positioned in a recliner, warrants say

A Sandy Springs mother fatally stabbed her 11-year-old daughter, whose body police found cleaned and placed in a recliner, according to Fulton County court documents.

The Latest

A bicyclist rides on the Beltline by Atlanta’s Krog Street Market on Sept. 16, just before the start of what experts projected would be an unseasonably warm fall. This week’s temperatures are in line with that prediction, as highs are expected to tie or break records. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Mid-November heat wave could break metro Atlanta temperature records

DeKalb votes to move forward with $77 million ambulance contract

Girl stabbed to death by mother found positioned in a recliner, warrants say

Featured

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones — pictured at an August rally in Peachtree City that also featured Vice President JD Vance — appears to have scored another legal victory over gubernatorial rival Attorney General Chris Carr in their battle over campaign finance issues. (Arvin Temkar/AJC 2025)

Credit: Arvin Temkar / AJC

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones scores another victory over use of campaign cash

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones appears to have scored another victory over Attorney General Chris Carr as the Republican gubernatorial candidates battle over campaign finance issues.

Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.’s season is over; needs surgery to repair ACL

Michael Penix Jr., whom the Falcons hoped was their quarterback of the future, will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a partially torn ACL in his left knee.

Typewriter Tom fuels a growing interest in analog writing devices

Roswell's Tom Rehkopf owns about 1,000 typewriters, which he tinkers with at his workshop and happily shares with fellow aficionados, curious youngsters and even Tom Hanks.