Hilton Head man tried to save granddaughter from fake cop. It cost him $3K, police say

A Hilton Head Plantation man was scammed out of $3,600 while trying to save his granddaughter from a fake police officer Saturday, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

A person claiming to be Officer Mike Harris of the Charleston Police Department called the man about 8:45 a.m. and told him his granddaughter had been arrested after police pulled over the car she was in for running a stop sign. There were two pounds of marijuana in it, the report said.

The “officer” told the man the granddaughter’s bond hearing was scheduled for the next day and her bond was $1,600. He told the victim to go Walmart or Target and buy gift cards totaling that amount, the report said. The man bought four $400 Walmart gift cards and gave the information to the officer.

The scammer called back multiple times, including once to say the granddaughter had gotten into a fight and the bond was upped an additional $2,000, the report said. The man bought four $500 Best Buy cards and gave the information to the officer as he was instructed, the report said.

The man got another call that night, the report said. He asked to speak with his granddaughter, the report said. He told Sheriff’s Office deputies the woman on the phone sounded like his granddaughter. She asked him not to tell her father, the report said.

The man then called his son, who told him it was a scam.

The victim then spoke to his granddaughter who said she was OK and at work, the report said.

The man told deputies he didn’t call his granddaughter originally because the fake officer had told him her phone was taken away, the report said.