Manning senior receives call under continuing 'Grandparents Scam'

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The Clarendon County Sheriff's Office has reported another county resident as the victim of what law enforcement in surrounding areas and states have been calling the "Grandparents Scam," in which senior citizens get calls from "grandchildren" in desperate need of money. A 77-year-old man living on Plummer Circle in Manning told deputies 10:30 a.m. Monday that he received a call from his "grandson," who said he was in the Dominican Republic and that he needed $3,000 for a personal recognizance bond. A man claiming to be Capt. James Neal from the U.S. Army then told the older man that the boy needed the money to get out of jail. The "grandson" told the 77 year old that he was in a taxi that was stopped, and police found a bag next to him with drugs in it. Kathleen and Thomas Wetherald of Wyboo received a similar phone call in late April from a man purporting to be their grandson. That young man told the couple that he was in Mexico on vacation, had gotten into some trouble and needed money for bail. But the Wetheralds have no children or grandchildren. Doug Shadel of AARP said the Grandparents Scam works against common sense because it triggers an immediate emotional reaction. “We’ve had doctors and lawyers fall for this,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what your educational level is because it triggers something emotional. It causes you to act.”