Grandparent Scam Still Active

The grandparent scam is still active and making the rounds. It usually comes in one of two forms; email or phone call.

The scammers often troll Facebook for info so that they can pretend to be a relative, often a grandchild.

Here is a typical phone call to "Bob":

Caller: Hello Grandpa, this is your granddaughter. I have laryngitis so I don’t sound like myself

Bob: You certainly don’t. Which granddaughter?

Caller: What do you mean?

Bob: Well, I have several.

Caller: Your oldest.

Bob: Oh, OK (Suspicious because she should have said her name.) Is everything OK?

Caller: No.

Bob: What’s the matter?

Caller: I was visiting a friend in Niagara Falls and on my way home, I was involved in a car accident.

Bob: Are you OK?

Caller: Yes, everyone is fine.

Bob: And the car?

Caller: The car is fine. This woman came out of nowhere, and I hit her but she’s OK.

Bob: Thank God.

Caller: Yes, but when the cops came, they asked if I was drinking. I told them no but, because I’m taking medicine for my laryngitis, I failed the breathalyzer and spent the night in Jail.

Bob: Did they assign you an attorney?

Caller Yes, but I need bail money. Can you send me $500.00 via Western Union?

Bob: That’s going to really be hard. We just had some medical bills so things are pretty tight.

Caller: Please Grandpa, can’t you put it on your credit card?

Bob: Sorry, they are all maxed out.

Caller Please Grandpa, I don’t want to stay in jail.

Bob: Sorry sweetie, but I really can’t and don’t have any money I can send.

Caller: click…. she hung up.

In an interview with a former scammer, he acknowledged that the scam could make him up to $10,000 on a good day. “We target people over the age of 65, mainly, because they’re more gullible,” the former scammer said. “They’re at home. They’re more accessible. Once you get them emotionally involved, then they’ll do anything for you, basically.”

How to protect yourself from the Grandparent Scam

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has these suggestions:

• Resist the pressure to act quickly.
• Try to contact your grandchild or another family member to determine whether or not the call is legitimate.
• Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an e-mail…especially overseas. Wiring money is like giving cash—once you send it, you can’t get it back.

Source: Avast