Is your grandchild really in danger?

Beware! Watch out for scams

It would be nearly impossible to list all of the telephone and computer scams perpetrated against seniors. Many of the techniques employ very similar methods. The ones listed below are of a particular variety that have been reported by Villages residents over the years. Always be on the lookout for new scams as well as the “old favorites.” These two old favorites rely on the very powerful emotion of fear and the ensuing panic:

Your friend in trouble abroad. You get an email that appears to be from someone you know—a relative, friend or neighbor—in a predicament, desperately asking for help, usually in the form of money to be wired overseas. Being the compassionate person you are, you immediately send them the money so they can get out of their unfortunate situation—after all, you know they will pay you back. If you wire the money, you have just donated your mad money to criminals. This scam is simple to defeat. Just stop and think. Call the supposed “victims” at their home number, and they’ll most likely answer the phone and tell you that they are not trapped in a holding cell somewhere overseas. Of course, to foil the criminals, they’ll have to change their e-mail address because someone has hacked their email address book.

The grandchild in trouble. Similar to the previous scam, you get a panicked call from someone with a young voice saying, “Grandma I’m in jail! I need bail money or they’re going to…” You panic and send the money to the place the voice tells you. Oops! You forgot to ask that poor “victim” a few questions in order to prove the scammer was really a family member. Hint: Have a family code word to verify identity. Don’t panic, call the parents and most likely you will find that your grandchild is on the couch watching television.

Sadly, just last week a Bay Area news broadcast featured just such a story about a grandmother who was seen at a local supermarket feeding hundred-dollar bills into a cash-for-coins/Bitcoin machine. After several people approached her and tried to convince her she was being scammed, she came to the realization that the call from a distraught young voice was fake when she called her grandson to find out he was not in police custody in need of bail—the damage was done, however, because she had converted $90,000 into Bitcoin and lost that money forever. The criminal callers had upped the amount to $160,000 by that time.
And recently, some of the scumbags came up with a new wrinkle—hire an Uber or Lyft driver to come and pick up a box of cash or gift cards, etc. that has been placed on your porch to be picked up.

A Good Thing to Remember

Remember, it is easy for criminals to pose as agents or representatives of government agencies, financial institutions, companies or organizations in order to trick you. Most often they’ll use the powerful motivators of fear or greed to entice you into their traps. As they pull you in, they’ll urge you to “hurry” because of enhanced consequences or a potential missed opportunity. Once they have you in a state of panic or in a “feeding frenzy,” you’ll be easily manipulated because you’ve been misdirected.

Agencies In Place to Help Us

Depending upon the type of fraud, there are numerous agencies you can contact to report criminal activity. You may call the San Jose Police Department’s 311 number to report credit card fraud or attempts to steal your identity. The FBI and Federal Trade Commission also have fraud departments. Furthermore, these attacks fall under the category of elder abuse. The county district attorney’s Elder Abuse Unit can be reached at the toll-free number 1-855-DAELDER or 1-855-323-5337.

Summary

You can keep from being scammed!

Stop and pause

Don’t panic

Think about the situation

Report illegal activity