07/22/2010
Various local newspapers have recently reported that the so-called "grandparent scam" has re-surfaced, with a twist. The typical grandparent scam involves a scam-artist randomly calling phone numbers in a retirement community asking, "Hi Grandma! Do you know who this is?" The scam artist uses these types of open ended questions to gather information from the victim, and then uses that information to gain the victim's trust and to eventually ask for money.

In today's electronic age, sophisticated scam artists use the internet to scour various social media sites such as Facebook and Myspace to gather all kinds of information about the victim and the victim's family, prior to placing the telephone call. In the new version of the grandparent scam, the caller, already armed with lots of information about the victim, pretends to be a grandchild and claims that he or she is in jail, has been in an accident or is stranded. The scam artist pleads with grandma for emergency cash to get him out of this jam, and then places a second scam artist on the phone who pretends to be some type of government official, such as a police officer, and then and gives instructions on how to send money.

A telephone call might go as follows:

Scam Artist No. 1 (crying): "Hi Grandma Mary. It's me, Suzie. Mom told you how I am spending the summer studying in Spain, right? Well, I did something really stupid and got arrested in Barcelona, and I need $2540.00 as soon as possible to get out of this awful jail. Can you please help me?"

Scam Artist No. 2 (sounding very official): "Is this Mrs. Mary Jones? Mrs. Jones, this is Constable Luis Fernandez of the Cuerpo Nacional de Policia, and we have your granddaughter Suzie Jones in custody on suspicion of drunk driving. I am afraid she must remain in custody through the weekend unless someone can post her bond by the end of business today."

If you use social media websites such as Facebook, remember that, while you might have taken extra precautions to ensure the privacy of your own personal information, any posts that you make on another person's Facebook page can be viewed by complete strangers. Even the most innocuous seeming posts can give would-be scam artists plenty of information to use against you in a "grandparent scam". In the above example, perhaps Mary Jones posted the following on her granddaughter's Facebook page: "Hi Suzie. Have fun on your study-abroad program in Spain. I can't wait to hear all about Barcelona. Love, Grandma Mary."

If you ever receive a telephone call from anyone urgently asking for money, please exercise a healthy dose of skepticism. It's a good idea to verify the identity of the caller by asking personal questions that a stranger would not know the answer to. If you suspect that you are the victim of a scam, or even an attempted scam, please do not hesitate to notify the authorities immediately. Some people might be embarrassed or scared to report such a scam. Don't Be! Authorities have no chance of catching scam artists when their crimes go unreported.

by Grandparents Beware !

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