Share, email, print, bookmark SOURCE reports.

[broadstreet zone=”52386″]

FRAMINGHAM – A Framingham resident was robbed of $16,000 in a bail money scam, said Framingham Police spokesperson Lt. Rachel Mickens.

A man described as a Hispanic male, thin build, and about 5-feet, 6-inches tall went to a Westgate Road residence to pick up the money, said Lt. Mickens.

The male left in a white SUV with Mainer plates, said Lt. Mickens.

The man tricked into giving the money in the bail scam was over the age of 65, said police.

[broadstreet zone=”53903″]

In some bail scams, the caller claims to be a bondsman helping a relative arrested or involved in an accident and urgently asks the individual for bail money.

AARP recommends the following tips, if someone calls and demands bail money:

  • Hang up immediately and call the family member in question, on a known number, to make sure they’re safe. With luck, they’ll answer, and you’ll know the supposed emergency call is a scam.
  • Contact other family members or friends if you have any concern that the emergency could be real. Scammers plead with you to keep the situation a secret precisely so you won’t try to confirm it.
  • Trust your instincts. As the American Bar Association advises, if something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.

[broadstreet zone=”59946″]

  • Don’t drop your guard because the number on your caller ID looks familiar. Scammers can use technological tricks to make it appear that they’re calling from a trusted number, the Federal Communications Commission warns.
  • Don’t volunteer information — scammers fish for facts they can use to make the impersonation believable.
  • Don’t send cash, wire money, or provide numbers from gift or cash-reload cards to a person claiming to be a relative. Scammers prefer those payment methods because they’re difficult to trace.
  • Don’t panic, no matter how dire the relative’s predicament sounds. Scam artists want to get you upset to distract you from spotting the scam

[broadstreet zone=”59947″]

[broadstreet zone=”61074″]

By editor

Susan Petroni is the former editor for SOURCE. She is the founder of the former news site, which as of May 1, 2023, is now a self-publishing community bulletin board. The website no longer has a journalist but a webmaster.