Residents Scammed Out of Thousands, Police Say

Two Marple Township residents recently reported to police that each was scammed out of money, one by a telephone scammer and the other by an email. 

On June 11, a Princeton Place resident told police that she received a call from a person claiming that he was with the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic and her grandson had been arrested, according to Marple Township Police. 

Another man, who sounded like her grandson, then got on the phone saying he needed money and told the woman not to call his parents because he would kill himself if they found out, according to police.

The scammers instructed the victim to go to Walmart and wire $1,930 to an account, which she did, according to police.  

Then the woman received a second call, this time from a man claiming to be a Dominican Republic police officer, who advised her that they received her payment but informed her that she could not speak with her grandson again because he was on suicide watch in a jail cell, according to police. 

The scammer then informed the victim that her grandson now needed more money for a new plane ticket home because the other ticket was seized when he was supposedly caught with drugs, trying to board a plane, according to police.

The victim went to Rite Aid and wired another $1,675 for her grandson’s supposed plane ticket, according to police.

After making both wire transfers, the woman finally decided to call her son and tell him about her grandson’s situation and she learned that her grandson was not in the Dominican Republic, according to police. 

She then notified police.

In a separate incident on June 7, a Pennview Avenue resident contacted police and informed them that he was a victim of an Internet scam, according to Marple Township Police. 

On June 2, he received the following unsolicited email: "Dear Sir, I have received a report from a diplomat that was to deliver a package to you but you never paid him when he needed money for the documents how this is from me to you that you have to get the diplomat the money as soon as possible!! You can get to me as soon as possible. Thanks from the superior."

Attached to the email was a picture of United States Marine, according to police. 

The victim replied to the email and after a series of correspondence, he sent $50 via Western Union, according to police.

The victim began to realize he was scammed when he started receiving physical threats, according to police. 

Marple Police informed the victim that the picture of the U.S. Marine was not legitimate and was probably pulled form the Internet at random and the email was sent from somewhere in an African Country and was likely sent to thousands of people, according to police. 

Police told the victim no one would be harming him and these scammers use threatening language to try to scare more money from him, according to police.