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You might not call your grandparents nearly enough, but Robert Attias, a Canadian citizen whose last known address was in Miami, might have. Attias is charged with ripping off seniors in Minnesota and pretending to be their grandson asking for money. He’s believed to have swindled more than $15,525.
Attias, or occasionally his associates, called up the unsuspecting seniors pretending to be their grandsons. He told them he had been arrested and needed money for jail. Attias would then have the seniors wire the money to Florida where he collected the sums using his own name. One victim sent Attias $6,359 before she realized that the man calling actually wasn’t her grandson.
Now Attias may actually need some real bail money. If police can find him.
According to The Minnesota Star Tribune, such scams are pretty common though they’re hard to crack. Attias’s case was easier to solve because he used his real name. However, police can not find him. The 33-year-old’s last known whereabouts was in Miami.
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