With summer comes an uptick in a popular scam that’s been targeting grandparents since 2008, said the FBI. Summer is when many college students travel. So when the phone rings late at night and it’s someone claiming to be your grandson stranded in Morocco, the natural impulse is to try and help.
Don’t do it, warns consumer groups and law enforcement. Older people are frequently targeted by phone and email scammers. But this particular scam strikes a nerve with a lot of people.
“The grandparent scam is so simple and so devious because it uses one of older adults’ most reliable assets, their hearts,” writes the National Council on Aging.
It goes down like this: The phone rings ― generally when the mark is asleep and will wake up confused ― and the caller will ask, “Hi Grandma, do you know who this is?” When the unsuspecting grandparent guesses the name of the grandchild the scammer most sounds like, the scammer has essentially established a fake identity without having done even a lick of background research, notes the NCOA.
Then the “grandchild” describes some unexpected financial problem ― often that they are traveling and have had their money and credit cards stolen ― and begs granny not to tell his or her parents. Granny is asked to wire money as quickly as possible and not tell anyone. While the amounts are generally in the hundreds of dollars, it’s an easy scam to perpetrate, said the FBI.
Once the grandparents realize they’ve been scammed, they are often too embarrassed to report the theft. They also don’t want to appear to be too gullible and have any questions raised about their judgement or competence to live independently.
The scam has become more sophisticated over the years. Using the internet and social networking sites, criminals now can uncover personal information about their targets, which makes the impersonations more believable. For example, their real grandson may post to a social media site that he’s at the airport, ready to fly to Paris. When contacting the grandparents, the scammer will say he’s calling from France, where he was robbed at knifepoint.
So what does the Consumer Federation of America suggest you do:
* Don’t rush to respond. No matter how much the “grandchild” on the phone pleads, insist that you need a few days to get the money together.
* Contact another family member who can verify the whereabouts of the grandchild who called.
* Call the grandchild back on his cellphone.
* If you suspect fraud, report it to the authorities.
Again, here’s how the scam works:
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