Scammers targeted 96-year-old woman for $10,000, claiming son was in jail, police say

YARMOUTH – A bank teller and Cape Cod police officers helped thwart suspected scammers who tried to get $10,000 from a 96-year-old woman.

Bail bondsman scam

Yarmouth police said the woman tried to withdraw the money from a bank after receiving a call from a man claiming to be a bail bondsman.

“The caller told her that her son was in jail and that she had to withdraw the money to save him,” police said.

Police flagged the transaction as fraudulent to the bank and determined it was similar to other scams reported across the country.

Yarmouth Police Officer Jefferson Willis discovered that the alleged scammer told the woman to put the money in a box so it could be picked up by a driver who police said was not involved in the scam.

Officers set up surveillance and monitored package deliveries in Worcester.

Suspects of fraud arrested

They arrested Carlos Santos of Methuen and Maria Ayala of Lawrence. Both were charged with conspiracy and theft by a single scheme over $1,200.

After searching the suspects’ car, police found another $30,000 from a scam they successfully stole from western Massachusetts.

“The Yarmouth Police Department commends the actions of the bank teller who noticed the transaction and alerted police, as well as the police officers and detectives who worked together to successfully prevent a significant loss of money and recover thousands of dollars already sent by people who have been scammed,” Yarmouth police said.

Police warned anyone who receives a call from an unknown person asking for large sums of money to contact local police.