The Blogster suggests that if you’re a grandparent and get a call from your “grandson” or “granddaughter” stuck somewhere in Canada or someplace and need money wired to them immediately, you first ask “Is that you Lucretia/Homer?” depending on the gender. When they say yes, in the unlikely event they’re actually named Homer or Lucretia, write down their phone number on your caller ID, then immediately hang up and call your local police to provide them with details. Unwitting elderly people are getting robbed to the tune of thousands of dollars because phony relatives are taking advantage of them.
Here’s the news release from the Beter Business Bureau:
“Grandparent Scam Sweeping North America
Connecticut BBB Urges Families to Explain to Grandparents How to Avoid Getting Swindled
Wallingford, CT – March 9, 2010 – Grandparents from Connecticut to British Columbia, Canada are being targeted in another wave of the so-called “Grandparent Scam.”
The scheme, which preys upon grandparents’ love of their grandchildren, has proven to be a lucrative venture for con artists.
The ruse begins with a telephone call from someone posing as a grandchild who urges the grandparents to send money by wire transfer for a variety of phony reasons ranging from medical bills after a car accident to posting bail because the “grandchild” was arrested.
In some cases, to lend legitimacy, the scammer will put someone else on the telephone posing as either an MD or police officer. The grandchild then requests that money be sent through wire transfer to cover expenses.
One Wisconsin couple was bilked out of $19,000 by con artists posing as a grandson and his lawyer.
Connecticut Better Business Bureau President, Paulette Scarpetti, says the grandparents themselves sometimes inadvertently provide information that helps the scammers.
“In many cases, when the grandparents pick up the phone, the scammers will say ‘Hi Grandma. Guess who’s calling?’ Frequently the grandparent will answer that question feeling comfortable that they know who they are supposedly talking to.”
The scammers will often plead with the grandparent not to tell their parents about the ‘accident’ or ‘arrest.’
Grandparents are singled out because they may be hard of hearing and because they will likely not know where their grandchildren are. Connecticut Better Business Bureau urges families to discuss the way the scam works.
If you receive a call from someone claiming to be your grandchild in distress, BBB advises that you don’t disclose any information before you have confirmed it really is your grandchild. If a caller says “It’s me, grandma,” don’t respond with a name but instead let the caller explain who he or she is.
One easy way to confirm their identity is to ask a simple question that your grandchild would know such as what school he or she goes to or their middle name. Another way to potentially stop the scam in its tracks is to contact the parents to verify the grandchild’s whereabouts.
If you have fallen victim to the scam, BBB recommends that you report the incident immediately to local police and the Connecticut Attorney General’s office. If there is a request to wire money to Canada, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Centre has established the PhoneBusters hotline and Web site to report such fraud. Reports can be filed easily online through the PhoneBusters site at: www.phonebusters.com, or by phone, toll free at, 1-888-495-8501.
Any discussion of this sort should include a warning about agreeing to any request that requires sending money by wire transfer to an unknown recipient. Once the transfer is made, it is extremely difficult and usually impossible to recover the money.
More information on how to avoid becoming a victim of this and other scams is available at www.bbb.org”