SHAWNEE COUNTY, Kan. (SNSO) - Sheriff Brian C. Hill announces that the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office would like to make the public aware of a current scam that has taken place mulitple times in Shawnee County within the last month. This scam has resulted in the loss of over $300,000 from area residents.

The basics of the scam are as follows:

• The target of these scam calls are primarily elderly residents that have grandchildren.
• The caller will state that they are an attorney in another state and that they are representing the victim's grandchild who has been involved in an injury accident or another crime.
• The scammer will then put on another male or female on the phone and that person will say they are the victim's grandchild and that they need help. The scammer then gets back on the phone.
• The scammer states that they have worked out a deal with the judge and says that they can bail their grandchild out of jail with a large cash payment. They commonly say that the judge has placed a "gag order" on anyone involved and they can't talk about this to anyone else or the grandchild will go to jail. The scammer will often say this is a very urgent matter and tell the victim they need the cash quickly.
• The scammer then directs the victim to go and withdraw a large amount of cash from their bank ($20k-35k). They instruct the victim to tell the bank, if asked, that the money is for home improvement, gifts for children, or to buy a vehicle.
• After the victim has withdrawn the cash, they may give instructions on how a "courier" will pick up the cash from the victim's home. Victims have also been instructed to ship the cash through the mail or other shipping service.

Please be aware of this scam tactic and contact the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office as soon as you receive any type of phone call as described above.