Hingham Bank Prevents Elderly Resident From Being Scammed: Police

HINGHAM, MA — Hingham Institution For Savings employees prevented an 83-year-old resident from falling victim to a scam that would have cost her $8,000, said the Hingham Police Department in a news release Wednesday.

An officer was dispatched to the bank located in the Linden Ponds senior living center complex on Friday, Feb. 12 after the bank reported to security that the woman had withdrawn thousands of dollars and may be falling for a scam.

The woman told police that she received an email from someone claiming to be from Amazon who informed her that there was an $899 charge on her account for an iPhone. She called the "Customer Service" phone number listed on the email to file a dispute.

During that phone call, which lasted for two hours, she was transferred to the "Fraud Department" and was told to go withdraw the money without telling anyone about the conversation.

The officer told the woman it was a common scam and further explained the situation. Once she understood that she was being scammed, she deposited the money back into her bank account.

"We applaud the bank staff for their alertness and taking the extra steps to prevent the elderly resident from becoming a victim of a scam in which she would most likely not been able to recover her money," said the police department in a statement.