A Long Island grandma tricked a scammer to come to her home where police were waiting to drag him away

A grandmother from Long Island is being applauded for her quick thinking when a scammer allegedly called her with an alarming request.

Jean, who only wants her first name released over safety concerns, said a man called her on Thursday pretending to be her grandson and said that he had been arrested for drunk driving.

“He starts calling me ‘grandma,’ and then I’m like, I don’t have a grandson that drives, so I knew it was a scam,” Jean told WCBS-TV.

Jean said she was a former 911 dispatcher and wasn't fooled at all.

“I knew he was a real scammer. I just knew he wasn’t going to scam me,” she said.

She said she went along with the scam over several calls until someone claiming to be her grandson's lawyer said he needed $8,000 for bail.

“I told him I had the money in the house, and I figured, he’s not going to fall for that," Jean said. "Well, he fell for that hook, line and sinker."

She then called the police.

When a man arrived at her home pretending to a bail bondsman, Jean gave him a envelope filled not with cash but with paper towels.

Her security cameras caught police jumping in to chase the man down and arrest him.

The video shows Jean watching approvingly from her porch as the police take down her would-be scammer.

Police identified the man as 28-year-old Joshua Estrella Gomez from Mineola and charged him with attempted grand larceny in the third degree.

Police say the elderly are often targeted by shameless scammers.

“Speak to your families. Speak to your neighbors. Visit those that are vulnerable. Let them know, don’t listen to these scams,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “These individuals sit at home and have nothing else to do but think of a way to take advantage of our elderly.”

Here's the local news video about the incident:

Long Island Grandmother Credited With Taking Down Alleged Scammerwww.youtube.com