BOARDMAN — A local woman is credited with saving her parents from a telephone scam that got a little too close to home.

A Boardman police report states that officers responded to a home in an unspecified neighborhood on Monday afternoon to meet with the couple and their daughter. The couple told police that they received a call about an hour earlier from someone claiming to be their grandson.

The report states the person on the phone told them that he was being held in jail, charged with OVI after being in an accident, and that “a pregnant lady was taken to the hospital.”

The person told them they needed to call his attorney — name redacted — to make arrangements to pay his $8,500 bail in cash.

The couple then called the number they were given and spoke to an unidentified man, who told them to put the money in a sealed envelope, along with the grandfather’s personal information, the attorney information and the case number, inside a box, and to seal the box with tape.

The report states the man on the phone told them that a woman — name redacted — would come to their house in a silver Chevrolet SUV to retrieve the money.

The “grandson” also gave the couple a number for the court, and when they called the number an unknown man told them their grandson was “incarcerated.”

The report states that when the couple’s daughter — aunt to the grandson in question — went to their house after one of them called her to ask about her nephew’s dilemma, she found one of her parents standing outside with the box, waiting for the woman to arrive and pick it up.

She told her parents that she had spoken to her sister and been assured that the boy was not in jail for any reason, that the call was a scam and they were not to give money to anyone.

The report states that the daughter then saw a silver Chevrolet SUV parked in the driveway and went out to confront the woman in the car.

She told police she told the woman to leave or she would take a picture of her license plate. The report states the woman in the car told the daughter she didn’t know what she was talking about and that she was only an Uber driver who had come to pick someone up at a nearby address.

The daughter warned the woman she was calling the police as the woman backed out of the driveway. She told police she saw the woman’s car parked in front of a nearby neighbor’s house for 10 minutes before leaving the area.

The report states the daughter described the woman as being in her 50s with red or blonde hair, “unattractive,” with eyeglasses and a masculine voice.

Boardman police reports have detailed several cases in recent months, and even the past few years, of residents being targeted by phone call, text messages or emails in attempts to carry out any number of devious and elaborate fraud schemes. Many have succeeded.

Just last month, two residents alone were bilked out of more than $20,000 through digital fraud. But the scammers still rely on more rudimentary methods like phone calls to target older victims. The “grandchild in jail” fraud is one of the more popular approaches law enforcement has warned residents about.

The U.S. Department of Justice in March 2025 announced that it had charged 25 Canadian nationals in Vermont for carrying out a grandchild in jail scam that stole more than $21 million from residents in more than 40 states nationwide.

“It’s unfortunate, they do try to maximize their access by casting a wide net, and as they do that, they’ll find some people are easier to victimize, and often those are more elderly residents,” Boardman Police Chief Todd Werth said.

A former FBI agent himself, Werth said that while the internet and evolving digital technology like AI make many things more convenient, they also put Americans at greater risk.

He said education and preparation are vital tactics in the fight against fraudsters.

“One of the biggest things that is successful, as family members get older, is having those continual conversations about their accounts,” he said. “If you’re not actively monitoring their accounts for them, at least have those discussions about those potential issues. And if you ever have any concerns about something, you should never hesitate to contact local law enforcement, or at least do some research before you commit to spending money or transferring any funds.”