COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County police are looking for a man they say has taken the “Grandparent Scam” to a new level.
Speaking exclusively with Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell, Cobb detectives said a rideshare driver was unknowingly involved in the “scam” after getting a call from an unknown number.
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Det. Evan Hartz, Cobb County Police Department, said someone called an elderly woman and tried to make her believe her son was in dire need of bail money.
“The voice on the other end of the phone, she says sounded exactly like her son,” Hartz explained. “It is entirely possible that AI could have been used to recreate the son’s voice” but that “it’s very difficult to prove whether that’s going to be the case or not.”
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Now, there’s a warrant out for the suspect, Jary Sanchez.
Police said a second call, claiming to be from someone saying they were the victim’s attorney, came in telling the woman to withdraw more than $30,000 in cash and get it ready for a courier to pick it up.
“When the vehicle came to pick up the package is when she realized something’s not quite right here,” Hartz said.
Police say the courier, a Lyft driver, had no idea what he was being used for.
“He had no idea what was going to be in the box. he had no idea he was going to take the box,” Hartz told Channel 2 Action News.
Cobb police say this isn’t the first case they’ve investigated involving a rideshare driver unknowingly involved in a scheme.
“In those incidents, those individuals did get their money taken, they did provide the dollar amount to the Lyft or Uber driver or the courier and it wasn’t until later when they received a call from their kids and realized ‘I’m out of this money. I’ve been scammed,’” Hartz said.
Hartz said no lawyer will ask you to withdraw money and then send a courier to get it.
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