Police warn about phone scam swindles

A Bloomfield Township grandmother was swindled out of $7,500 on Friday, January 10, by a stranger posing as her grandson over the telephone who claimed to be in need of the cash to get out of jail. Police responded to the 400 block of Cambridge Way for the fraud complaint where the victim told them the caller said he was in the Oakland County Jail. A second caller, posing as the grandson's attorney, instructed the victim to hide the cash in a magazine and mail it to an address in South Carolina. The victim followed the instructions. The victim later learned her grandson was safe and she was the victim of a scam. The case is under investigation. Police said the public should be aware that these types of swindles which are extremely common. "No legitimate law enforcement agency will request that bond money be mailed or concealed in a package," said Lt. Paul Schwab, with the the Bloomfield Township Police Department's Investigations Division. "If you believe that you may be the target of a fraud or swindle, call the law enforcement agency to confirm what you are being told before any action is taken."