Beware of the 'grandparents scam'
Filed under: Fraud
The call comes at 10 in the morning, frantic and feverish.Grandma? Is that you? This is Michael!
--Yes, are you okay?
No, I'm in jail -- in Canada.
--What? Where?
I was fishing, but without a license, and now I'm jail, and I need $2,900 in bail money, and please don't tell Mom and Dad -- can you help me?
What would you do if this was your grandson?
Welcome to the "grandparents scam," a trick as old as the hills, or at least grandparents themselves, but it's a scheme that's made a comeback in recent months. Obviously, some con men know no bounds.
Think about it, though, because while you might believe, "Are these victims idiots? Surely, I'd recognize my grandson's voice," maybe you wouldn't -- it's occasionally hard to distinguish voices on another line for anyone, young or older, and if you're a little hard of hearing, it might be even worse.
In any case, these calls have been coming lately, particularly to states fairly close in geographical location to Canada -- after all, it would make sense if a grandson was over the border, fishing or engaging in some other type of activity.
That said, it happened in Missouri recently. It happened in North Dakota. It happened in Montana.
Earlier this month, a newspaper in Illinois, did a story about how the scam had targeted some grandparents in Naperville. A couple named George and Becky (their last names weren't used) detailed how they wound up spending $3,200 and sending it to their "grandson" in Canada. The man on the other end was believable, sounding like their 22-year-old grandson, and the phone line was a bad connection, which obviously disguised the man's voice -- in a plausible way that didn't make the couple question that they might be in the midst of being scammed.
The grandson sounded panicked, begged them not to tell his mother (their daughter), and he said that his cell phone didn't work in Canada. He also had another man come on the line, telling the couple that he was a sergeant from Windsor, Ontario, and the "officer" gave them the address of where they could send a MoneyGram from a nearby Wal-Mart.
It was only after the rush to the bank and wiring off the money that the couple suddenly became suspicious and called their grandson's cell number -- only to learn he was nowhere near Canada.
The same type of story happened to Jane Bologna, 89, from Fargo, North Dakota. She, too, had a call from her panicked grandson, Michael, who was being detained in Canada for fishing without a license. Ms. Bologna took out her money and called her granddaughter, the sister of the allegedly jailed grandson, and asked for help in wiring the cash. The sister called the Winnipeg police station where her brother was apparently being held and was told he wasn't in the system, and that it seemed unlikely he would be incarcerated for fishing without a license.
But she was worried and wanted to help her grandmother and brother and thus wired Ms. Bologna's money: $2,900.
Later, they found out that Michael was at work. If they had called his office number before wiring the almost three grand, they would have located him.
So how, you wonder, do these con men learn the names of the grandparents' grandsons? Easy as pie, apparently. I don't think anyone really knows for sure, but authorities have speculated that they're cherry picking the information off personal web sites and social networking hubs like Facebook and MySpace. It certainly sounds plausible.
Sigh. I miss the old days when grandparents were only conned by their real grandchildren, who would offer up some cheesy sob story in order to get a few bucks so they could buy comic books or go to the movies. Not that I, um, ever did that...
Geoff Williams is a business journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale). He fondly remembers trying to con his grandmother into buying him an ice cream come from the ice cream truck.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
7-24-2008 @ 1:58PM
Donna said...
I'd let the kid stay in jail and call his parents. Then they'll find out it was not their grandchild. If it had been my child.. I'd had let them stay in jail. It makes kids think about what they are doing. I have had 2 and neither have been in jail or arrested. But they have had to think for themselves too.!! Be responsible with your life is how you teach them.
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7-24-2008 @ 2:19PM
GM said...
I agree with Donna! What is really pathetic is how many grandparents would just send off money without ever talking to their own kids!
"A fool and his money are soon parted!"
7-28-2008 @ 12:15PM
Marty said...
Donna, didn't you read the story? It was a scam, the grandchildren didn't do anything wrong
7-28-2008 @ 1:59PM
valerie said...
donna-
oopsie looks like your big ego got in the way of your
understanding. get over yourself and go back and read the
article...it's a SCAM. their own grandchildren were never in jail...be mad at the scum that would exploit a grandparent's love & target the elderly....they were just trying to help out their grandchildren, doing what they thought was right.
7-28-2008 @ 6:29AM
Christopher said...
I really think the first two posters have slightly missed the point here....it's not whether the so-called grandchild was arrested or not, its that completely unscrupulous(sp??) low lifes are preying on elderly people, whether they SHOULD send the money to someone they believe is their grandchild is beside the point I believe.
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7-28-2008 @ 11:41AM
Laurie said...
I agree whole heartedly with you!!!
7-28-2008 @ 6:36AM
Angel said...
I can see agreeing that you should talk to the parents of the child before running off and sending your money. But honestly, if your child was incarcerated for doing something like fishing without a license, you'd get them out, please! That is if you have children. I hope you don't. It is parents like you who turn their backs on their children for something stupid like a fishing licnese that don't need kids in the first place!
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7-28-2008 @ 11:57AM
SLM in SC said...
I think you missed the point, the call was from a scammer, not their actual grandson.
7-28-2008 @ 7:05AM
ericsmusclecars said...
Lets face it,,,,,,the list of scams is out of control and the number of scammers are growing daily.... I say just don't trust anyone.
www.ericsmusclecars.com
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7-28-2008 @ 11:19AM
Misty said...
Oh I'd say your right and the scams seem so real I have had them send me checks wanting me to cash them and wire them the money. They told me I won the lottery and they needed this money to pay the taxes on it and the check waqs included. I have always said if it sounds to good to be true then most of the time it's not. I called the number on the letter they gave me and was playing along with them after alot of research of course because they sent a cashiers check so I called the bank that the check came from and they told me rip it up it's fake now your talking about $1,200 of course I'm going to ask questions but anyway I called the scamers and a man answered the phone and it sounded as if he was cooking or something all you could hear was like pots and pans being banged around and sounded of gaurd at first but caught on real quick they me told where to send the money and I thanked them and called spambusters and gave them all the information
7-28-2008 @ 7:07AM
Sunny said...
In jail in CANADA????
What's so bad about that?
I'd wait and call the parents.
It's not like the kid called frantically and said "Help! I've been thrown naked into a Turkish prison,"
Canada's not so bad...
This just goes to show that unsrcupulous people will target the elderly and the most vulnerable in our society for their own gain.
It's sad.
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7-28-2008 @ 7:50AM
Diane Molinari said...
I'd say"who is this?" oh sorry ,wrong number "lol !!
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7-28-2008 @ 8:20AM
Lin said...
I am sorry, but this smacks of stupidity on the grandparents' part. If my parents had gotten a call like that, they would have investigated first..they would have never gotten scammed in a situation like this. I am also a grandmother, and there is absolutely NO WAY I would have believed this. If a grandparent is hard of hearing, that is even more reason to not go flying off like a loon and mailing hard-earned money just because of a phone call. I just can't believe how absolutely gullible and stupid some people are when it comes to their money.
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7-28-2008 @ 8:24AM
Jadey said...
this doesn't make sense to me.. except that they were perpetrated by somebody who knew the people & their circumstances & had (inside?) knowledge of what would make the story plausable .. I have a granson & would think it very strange he would call me instead of a parent or that I wouldn't call.. esp. my daughter. Old people are really not that gullible.. think about it.. The sad thing here is the total lack of trust & communication within the family.
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7-28-2008 @ 8:33AM
tja said...
Yeh...I dont blame the grandparents. Alot of the elderly are on as many as 10 medications for various health issues that can really cloud their judgement. My late father was on so many meds for his heart condition and high bloodpreasure etc.....he was really getting confused.
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7-28-2008 @ 8:35AM
Shannon said...
My grandparents, would of gotten a number to call me back at so this wouldnt work if someone tried to scam them. Plus their not that dumb.
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7-28-2008 @ 2:08PM
Brittni said...
Then they could have given you a number and you could have called it and they could have answered, "______ Police Department."
My husbands grandmother is just so giving that I could see this working on her. She's not stupid, but I could see her heart overriding her brain. And I hear that she was quite the pistol in her day!
7-28-2008 @ 8:39AM
JJBB said...
Their will always be stupid people falling for scams... hell, I used to have a few close relatives that scammed their own family for BIG $$$$$$. The sad part is some people think they are different in which they don’t have to work for a living like the rest of us. A good scammer can pick out a weak idiot from across a crowded room. Well, me and most people don’t deal with these few anymore…one is dead (much deserving) and the other 2 are as miserable as ever LOLOLOLOL. May god sort them all out in the end!
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7-28-2008 @ 8:40AM
JJBB said...
Their will always be stupid people falling for scams... hell, I used
to have a few close relatives that scammed their own family for BIG
$$$$$$. The sad part is some people think they are different in
which they don’t have to work for a living like the rest of us. A
good scammer can pick out a weak idiot from across a crowded room.
Well, me and most people don’t deal with these few anymore…one is
dead (much deserving) and the other 2 are as miserable as ever
LOLOLOLOL. May god sort them all out in the end!
Reply
7-28-2008 @ 8:41AM
Jay said...
This happened to my grandmother in Connecticut. The caller said, "Hi Grandma." And we think she responded, "Is this Nathan?" And that's where the caller got my brother's name. Regardless, the story was "bachelor party in Montreal" and he needed bail money.
In response to the ealier comments, my grandmother is a sweet old lady. (after the fact) She said the scam works because when she heard a grandson was in trouble, she didn't think twice. All she thought was, "I have to do whatever I can to help him." Unfortunately, she also tried to call my mother's and brother's cell phones on the way home from the bank but both were at work.
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