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The incident took place around noon, Wednesday, Dec. 2, when the North Sea would-be victims received the call from an individual claiming their granddaughter had been arrested and was being held in New York City, said Lt. Susan Ralph of the Southampton Police.
The scammer requested $15,000 for bail and said they would send a courier to retrieve the cash from the local couple, Ralph said.
After conversing with his wife, the couple realized that this was a phone scam.
The male victim contacted Southampton Town Police and officers took the initial report and placed officers on surveillance to wait for the scammers.
When they arrived an officer pretending to be the victim spoke to the male and female scammers and they were taken into custody.
The scammers have been identified as Steven Lugo,19, and Angelina Velasco-Ramierez, 19, both from Patterson, New Jersey.
They were charged with attempted grand larceny and conspiracy.
Due to bail reform, the two were released on a field appearance ticket to report to the court at a later date.
Southampton Town Police would like to remind people to never provide any personal information over the telephone.
- Do not wire money to people you do not know.
- Police or courts will not request bail money over the phone and before sending money to your family or friends contact them to ensure that they are requesting the money.
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