Sixteen people are facing charges from US prosecutors for allegedly preying on elderly people and defrauding them out of millions of dollars.
16 charged in 'grandparent fraud'
The accused perpetrators are based in the Dominican Republic and the United States, are between the ages of 21 and 59, and each had a role to play in the "widespread grandparent scam" that affected elderly Americans in several states.
Grandparent scams involve call center workers calling a list of vulnerable, elderly people and trying to impersonate their close relatives, such as children and grandchildren, pretending they are in grave danger and need money to bail out of jail.
It's a numbers game. Most people will be able to distinguish their relative's voice from a fraudster's, but some will not and criminals prey on these people's unwavering determination to help their loved ones in a crisis.
