YARMOUTH – A bank employee and Cape Cod police officers helped thwart alleged scammers who were trying to get $10,000 from a 96-year-old woman.

Bail bondsman scam

Yarmouth police said the woman attempted to withdraw the money from Cape Cod 5 Bank after receiving a call from a man who claimed to be a bail bondsman.

"The caller told her that her son was in jail, and she needed to withdraw the money to bail him out," police said in a statement.

Police flagged the transaction as fraudulent to the bank, determining it was similar to other scams reported around the country. The woman then called her son, who said he was fine.

Yarmouth Police Officer Jefferson Willis found that the alleged scammer had told the woman to put the money in a box to be picked up by a rideshare driver, who police said was not involved in the scam.

"Maybe feel a little bit scared," said rideshare driver Christian DaSilva. "I think she maybe thought I was a gangster too. I'm not, I'm just a worker."

Police said she gave the box to DaSilva and inside the box was a GPS tracking device. As DaSilva drove from Yarmouth to Worcester, where he was supposed to meet the suspects, police said they called him during the trip to confirm his ID and ask for his help.

"I'm so scared about the guy coming inside the car," said DaSilva.

 DaSilva allegedly told police where his destination was and they were able to send officers on ahead.  

Scam suspects arrested

They arrested Carlos Santos of Methuen and Maria Ayala of Lawrence. Both were charged with conspiracy and larceny by a single scheme over $1,200.

"It always comes down to 'we're going to get your money,'" said Yarmouth Police Detective Eric Nuss.

After searching the suspects' car, police found another $30,000 from a scam they had successfully stolen from western Massachusetts.

"The Yarmouth Police Department commends the actions of the bank employee who noticed the transaction and alerted police as well as the Police Officers and Detectives who worked together to successfully prevent a substantial loss of money and recovered thousands of dollars that had already been sent by people who were scammed," Yarmouth police said in a statement.

Police are now searching Santos' cellphone to see if there are more victims and suspects involved.

Police warned anyone who receives a call from an unknown person requesting large sums of money to contact local police.

"Anytime someone wants money from you and they want to keep you on the line, you are getting scammed every single time," said Nuss.