The Grandma Scam

This season please be especially careful to not be victimized by a "Grandma Scam." These are on the rise and loving concerned grandparents all across the country are falling victim. Like most scams against seniors, it starts with a phone call by someone posing as your child or grandchild,

The thief begs for money to deal with an emergency, often cast as a dire threat to the loved one you think you're talking to. In one situation a senior, who was living on social security picked up her cell one morning and was led to believe it was her granddaughter calling form a jail in Mexico where she was being held after suffering a traffic accident during a "quickie" vacation across the border. According to the "grandma" the woman sounded like her daughter and she sounded deeply troubled. 

The person posing as her granddaughter threw the senior off her guard by calling her "grandma" from the inception of the call and then quickly introduced another person into the conversation who presented himself as a helpful jailhouse lawyer. He told the senior that she could cover bail for her granddaughter by wiring $3,500 via Western Union to a bank, supposedly in Mexico. In the end, this woman drained her bank account and even borrowed money to meet the demand. Only three days later did she realize she'd been had.

Like other senior scams, this one is becoming more prevalent. Law enforcement doesn't know how to stop it mostly because victimized seniors are often too embarrassed to alert authorities or family members that it's happened to them. The older adult does not want to lose control of their finances which is what an adult child or professional might suggest if they saw this vulnerability. 

Scammers gather their target information from public records, telemarketer's lists, and social networking sites. If you think that you've got a scammer on the line just listen, do not speak and then ask for a good working call-back number. Here are some clues that you might be dealing with a con artist:

• You're asked to send money quickly - and secretly.
• The call or message originates from overseas. (Know that technology can allow scammers to bypass caller ID systems.)
• The person can't or won't answer questions your relative would know.
• The person doesn't sound like your relative but says they have a bad cold.
• You're asked to wire money by a stranger or to send a check or money order by overnight delivery. 

Con artists choose these services so they can steal your money before you realize you've been cheated. (Money transfers can be picked up at any location, which makes it harder for authorities to catch the thieves.)

I let most unknown or blocked calls go to voice-mail. You can let yours take the same route. If someone really needs to talk to you about a legitimate issue, they will leave a message and you will be in the driver's seat. Know that you can rescind a wire transfer if your gut tells you that you might have been duped. 

Sometimes when we have a moment to reflect on things that have transpired (which is what the caller does not want you to do) we may come to terms with reality and if you do so in a timely manner, you can remedy the situation!