How does it work? An unknown person will telephone an elderly resident and tell them that a family member has been arrested and needs bond money to be released from jail. The suspects will identify the victim’s family member, usually a son or daughter or grandchild, and then identify themselves as a ranking representative of a certain police agency.

Then the victim is told a lengthy set of unusual circumstances surrounding the arrest, often portraying the arrested family member as an unfortunate participant that happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The trap is now set and unsuspecting elderly family members begin the process of feeling sorry for their relative and engage in the conversation of how to wire the money to the police representative.

When the elderly victim conducts the initial wire transaction, a routing number is provided only to the victim. After the money is "wired" the victim is told to call the "police agency" back at a provided number. An unknown person will answer with the name of the police agency and when the victim requests to talk with the ranking officer they believe they had talked with previously, the person will "page" the requested officer. When that person answers, a conversation occurs where the victim is told to change the routing of the cash to a different city in the US. The routing number is then requested by the suspect and usually provided by the unsuspecting victim. Once the routing number is given, the cash can be obtained from any location in the world.

ISP reminds Hoosiers to use extra caution when dealing with unknown individuals by telephone or internet.