Police are crediting a Seaford grandmother for the arrest of a suspected would-be scammer.

Police say 28-year-old Joshua Estrella Gomez, of Mineola, was pretending to be a bail bondsman.

Gomez had told Jean that her grandson was in jail. He was hoping to get $8,000 from the 73-year-old woman.

Jean, a former Nassau County 911 call operator, was on to the scam and reached out to police as soon as she received the call.

"She's not afraid of these guys," says Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. "She knows what she had to do, and God bless her."

Police say scams against seniors are on the rise with over 165 of them in 2021 and at least nine so far in 2022.

Jean even got the last laugh against Gomez by stuffing the envelope she handed over with paper towels instead of money. She was still on the phone with one of Gomez's alleged accomplices while he was being arrested.

"I was playing a game, it was entertaining," Jean says. "I didn't think it was really going to happen. I thought the guy would catch me in a lie. Obviously, I was pretty good because he believed me."

Gomez was given a desk appearance ticket for attempted grand larceny and told to show up at court on Feb. 3 for arraignment.

Ryder says there is a second suspect in custody for an elder scam, and police are looking to see if the two are connected.