Two Polk County women out more than $65,000 in so-called grandma scam

LAKELAND, Fla. - Two elderly Polk County women have been scammed out of at least $65,000. It all started with a phone call.

In one case, the caller said the 83-year-old woman’s grandson was drunk, had caused a crash, and the driver of the other vehicle, a congressman, was hospitalized.

To get her grandson out of jail, she needed to pay tens of thousands of dollars in cash to a courier who would come to her door.

She did. It was a life-altering mistake.

"Even if we identify who the scammers are and arrest them, we’ll never get the money back. It’s gone," explained Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

The other older lady who was scammed got a call from a guy claiming to be her son.

The caller told her to call a man who he said was his attorney. When she did, he weaseled more than $35,000 out of her.