By Andy Crossland
For the most part, grandparents and close friends have always been portrayed in television and movies as caring, friendly and helpful people. This is also true in real life. Criminals also are in touch with this portrayal and are waiting to make you a victim. The “grandparent scam” has cost many unsuspecting grandparents and friends many thousands of dollars and potentially the loss of their identity.
Here’s how it works. You receive a telephone call or an email from someone who claims to be a relative or very close friend. The phone conversation, which is usually the method of first choice may, go something, like this:
“Hi Grandpa,” the scammer says, betting on that you have a grandchild. If you ask, “Sam is that you?” the scammer will say “yes.” Then there are several frequently used lines: “I’m in Mexico and my car broke down and I need money to get it fixed right away” and “I need money to get back into the United States for customs duties.” Another favorite one is, “I have been in an accident.”
No matter what the conversation is, the scammer’s goal is for you to send money immediately! This is usually via a money-transfer service such as Western Union or MoneyGram as the scammer can pick-up cash by using a phony ID which can’t be traced.
How did they choose me and find out my personal information to target me for this scam?
There are several ways:
- Relatives or friends may have been listed on social media sites
- Your relatives or friends’ names may have been mentioned in an obituary
- Hacking into your email account and sending messages to your contacts
- Targeting and searching for random names in known senior-citizen communities
- Theft of your postal mail
- Looking up names in a telephone directory
- Searching trash cans for identifying information
I’ve been scammed, what can I do?
Immediately contact the money-transfer service to report you have been scammed. If the money hasn’t been picked up yet, you can retrieve it, but if it has, it’s not like a check that you can stop. Your money is gone. Report what happened to your nearest local law-enforcement agency.
How do I protect my e-mail account from being used by scammers?
Use a firewall and anti‐virus and anti‐spyware software. They are easy to find on the Internet. Keep all your software updated. Don’t open attachments in email from any strangers, since attachments can contain hidden intrusion programs that enable criminals to get into your computer from a remote location.
What else can I do to protect myself?
- Obtain an unlisted telephone number
- Use a telephone that has the caller ID function
- If you don’t have caller ID, ask the caller for the number they are calling from and tell them you need to call back. If they refuse, you know it’s a scam and hang up. Alert your friends and relatives as they maybe next.
- When engaging in a conversation with scammers, remember what TV detective Columbo always said: “just one more thing.” You need to ask them only information the true person and you would know such as a mother’s birthday.
- Try to reach the person they are claiming to be
- Shred all personal information documents with a cross-cut shredder
Andy Crossland has more than 30 years combined experience in law enforcement, security and safety. He can be reached at andyc@timesofsandiego.com.
