Grandparent scheme

[Sandtrap328]

The online news had a letter to the editor from a great housekeeper in Silver Lake. She overheard the man of the house on the phone with someone who was asking for money. He was saying he will get the money right away. She took the phone, got the message repeated from the person saying they are a police department and his grandson is in legal trouble and needed $2,000 in gift cards to pay the bail and didn't want his parents to know. She knew it was a scam.

Point being - if not for the housekeeper, this man would have been scammed out of $2,000. Shouldn't the housekeeper notify his family about this happening? Maybe he should be declared incompetent and placed in an assisted living home? Thoughts?

[Bogie Shooter]

A lot of competent people have fallen victim to this scam.

[twoplanekid]

A lot of competent people have fallen victim to this scam.

Regrettable and true - based on events that occurred during my computer store owner days

[Bjeanj]

Happened to my dad. He is not senile or otherwise mentally incompetent. He now has an education on many of the scams out there, courtesy of his children and his (painful) experience. If you still have parents out there, have this discussion with them.

[mixsonci]

I realize that it would be easy to fall for scams because some of them are so elaborate and real sounding. BUT, I can't understand why anyone would fall for someone asking for payment in gift cards? Really? When did we ever pay any bill or fee or ticket or bail in gift cards. To me and it may be just me, but to me that it the biggest red flag. I just don't get it.

[Bogie Shooter]

I realize that it would be easy to fall for scams because some of them are so elaborate and real sounding. BUT, I can't understand why anyone would fall for someone asking for payment in gift cards? Really? When did we ever pay any bill or fee or ticket or bail in gift cards. To me and it may be just me, but to me that it the biggest red flag. I just don't get it.
But, the bad guys do get it.................that's why they continue making the calls.

[Sandtrap328]

I realize that it would be easy to fall for scams because some of them are so elaborate and real sounding. BUT, I can't understand why anyone would fall for someone asking for payment in gift cards? Really? When did we ever pay any bill or fee or ticket or bail in gift cards. To me and it may be just me, but to me that it the biggest red flag. I just don't get it.

Exactly the point I was trying to make. The request for bail money in gift cards would be a red flag. A short time ago was a story about a senior who got scammed by a phony IRS phone call and actually did send several hundred dollars in iTune music cards to satisfy her tax debt.

Someone sending money in the form of gift cards or iTune cards for a government payment is not competent to have control of their money.

[Loudoll]

No he should not be interred as incompetent in a nursing home. This scam is brilliantly done, in fact, you can't get taken if you're incompetent. You have to be rational enough to understand that your grandchild is in trouble and bawling their eyes out over the phone. There is also a flattering element to it that the grandparent is the one trusted when the grandchild is in trouble. My aunt? $4000. At that time the request was for cash which should be electonically sent. I blame Walmart for not asking my 89 year old aunt if she had heard of the grandparent scheme before they transacted her cash plus an $85 fee for doing so. Anyway, Walmart had warnings up not to send money to someone you don't know. But she thought she knew him, that it was her grandson. Her husband worked hard to support her and their 8 children. He would have turned over in his grave to know this happened to her. She died about a year ago but I will never get over it.

[fred53]

None of your business

[Sandtrap328]

None of your business

Fred,
It is not our business to see how some seniors are ripped off and not to wonder if their family members should be aware?

If the housekeeper had said it is none of her business, the senior would have been out $2,000.

We all have to look out for friends and neighbors and family! If this takes the notification of a family member for a senior who is in trouble, do it.

[Fraugoofy]

The online news had a letter to the editor from a great housekeeper in Silver Lake. She overheard the man of the house on the phone with someone who was asking for money. He was saying he will get the money right away. She took the phone, got the message repeated from the person saying they are a police department and his grandson is in legal trouble and needed $2,000 in gift cards to pay the bail and didn't want his parents to know. She knew it was a scam.

Point being - if not for the housekeeper, this man would have been scammed out of $2,000. Shouldn't the housekeeper notify his family about this happening? Maybe he should be declared incompetent and placed in an assisted living home? Thoughts?
I hope the housekeeper gets a YUUUGE raise! She did the right thing and helped a person she cares about. Many of our housekeepers are reliable and trustworthy people!

Sent from my SM-N910R4 using Tapatalk

[CFrance]

None of your business
Spoken like a true humanitarianist.

[pauld315]

I have a friend whose mom got caught up in the scam where they said she had won a lot of money but she needed to wire them money first before they could send it to her. She was wiring money to Jamaica on a regular basis.The manager at the pharmacy where she was wiring money from warned her that she shouldn't be doing that but she insisted. Then, her phone number was circulated around and a bunch of these Jamaican scammers were calling her. She considered them her friends. By the time my friend discovered this was happening his mother was out about $100K. He turned it over to authorities but they could do nothing about it since the scammers were in Jamaica. You just have to remain skeptical and whenever something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

[ColdNoMore]

How to Beat the Grandparent Scam - AARP (http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2016/how-to-beat-grandparent-scam.html)

[Loudoll]

Another scheme is getting you to say "yes" and they record it and change what you answered to.
It’s not a Verizon commercial: If you receive a phone call from someone asking “can you hear me,” hang up. You’re a potential victim in the latest scam circulating around the U.S.

Virginia police are now warning about the scheme, which also sparked warnings by Pennsylvania authorities late last year. The “can you hear me” con is actually a variation on earlier scams aimed at getting the victim to say the word “yes” in a phone conversation. That affirmative response is recorded by the fraudster and used to authorize unwanted charges on a phone or utility bill or on a purloined credit card.

“You say ‘yes,’ it gets recorded and they say that you have agreed to something,” said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America. “I know that people think it’s impolite to hang up, but it’s a good strategy.”

[Pointer]

Thanks for the heads up on saying Yes. I always say "no, thank you" and just hang up even if their still talking and sometimes not even that and just quietly hang up. It's not impolite, it's my phone. I'm under no obligation to speak to anyone I don't recognize. We need to protect ourselves. And always say "send it in writing" if it's not something that you initiated.

[Loudoll]

Thanks for the heads up on saying Yes. I always say "no, thank you" and just hang up even if their still talking and sometimes not even that and just quietly hang up. It's not impolite, it's my phone. I'm under no obligation to speak to anyone I don't recognize. We need to protect ourselves. And always say "send it in writing" if it's not something that you initiated.
You are welcome and yours is an excellent way to handle calls. :coolsmiley: