In the "Grandchild in Jail" scam, the caller claims to be a friend or relative in trouble, often in another country, and needs money to get out of jail. The scammer will often tell the victim they are a police officer and their grandchild has been arrested and needs money.
Another recent scam is the "IRS Tax Warrant." A scammer will call pretending to be an IRS agent or police officer inquiring about a past due tax balance. The caller then will threaten to have the victim arrested at their home if the debt is not paid immediately.
A similar scam also demands that a "Jury Duty Warrant" or "Delinquent Con Edison Bill" be paid immediately. In the case of the Con Edison scam, the caller sometimes knows the victim's account number.
In all of the aforementioned scams, the caller demands payment via a Green Dot MoneyPak or Western Union MoneyGram. No government agency would ever demand a debt be paid via either of these methods.
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