Scam targets grandparents

I wanted to mention a scam that I have just heard about. It’s a scam that targets grandparents. The vultures that do this should be beaten with a stick.

The way the scam goes a grandparent is called with the criminal asking for either grandparent. When they respond who is on the phone the criminal asks them to guess, hoping to get the name of one of the grandchildren. Once a name is offered they assume that as their own.

Then comes the trap. They mention that they are in a location, normally out of the country but not always, and their car has been in an accident. They may or may not be at a police station. But wherever they claim to be, and whatever the reason they ask for a large sum of money, thousands of dollars. They insist that the grandparent not contact the rest of the family – because they are embarrassed about the situation.

The money is to be sent via Western Union or another similar service.

This kind of scam preys on the fact that grandparents love their kids. They rip of the elderly for money that a grandparent might need to live off of but will provide to help a grandchild in need. There is nothing lower than this kind of scum.

For my readers that are older, never volunteer the name of any family member to someone on the phone. Never provide details of your personal information to someone that can’t confirm they are family over the phone, or the internet. Always check with other family members and the police – locally and at the supposed location of the “grandchild”.

These few steps could be the difference between helping a loved one and losing $5,000 or more.

So far this year one grandparent in Missouri was nearly scammed out of $8,000, another grandmother nearly lost $5,000. Luckily they checked with the police, in these cases at Niagra Falls on the Canadian side, and family before sending the money. It’s not known how many grandparents across the nation have received this kind of call and lost money but have yet to report it due to embarrassment.

Please spread the news on this. I don’t know if the major media will cover this, they ignore important news like this regularly. But this is not a made up internet joke. This is real. You can check this news on the Associated Press at http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQk9EuiZGD3nAeTOPG7uwsFl2x7QD93PQ1L80