Omaha man embarrassed after losing $7,000 in 'grandparent scam'

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/news/crime/omaha-man-embarrassed-after-losing-in-grandparent-scam/article_77eb2fde-e83e-50e2-903e-4a880ea53f6d.html

POSTED: TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 2015 4:50 PM
By Kevin Cole / World-Herald staff writer

A familiar and costly scam hooked an Omaha grandfather last month when he paid $7,000 to get someone pretending to be his grandson out of a legal jam.

“We took their story hook, line and sinker,” said the 82-year-old Omahan, who spoke on the condition that he not be named. “It’s embarrassing that this happened, and now we’re down to zero. They took our last penny in the bank.”

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center has been receiving reports about this type of “grandparent scam” since 2008. According to the ICCC website, scam artists have become more sophisticated because of the Internet and social networking sites.

A criminal can uncover personal information about their targets, which makes the impersonations more believable. For example, the actual grandson may mention on a social media page that he’s traveling for spring break. When contacting the grandparents, the phony grandson will say he’s calling from a popular destination and that he’s now stranded or in jail.

FULL story at link.

[Mz Pip]

1. That happened to my in-laws

They received a phone call saying their grandson had been in an accident in Mexico and his friends had been killed and the police found drugs in the car. He was in jail and needed money wired to a bank in Haiti. Oh and please don't tell anyone since he's so embarrassed.

My in-laws went to the bank and were going to wire the money, but the bank teller asked them why they were wiring money to Haiti. My MIL told the teller the story and the teller knew enough to recognize the scam.

Close call.

[Liberal_in_LA]

3. good teller

[johnnyreb]

2. I put my 90 year old WWII veteran mom on Ooma and Nomorobo.

Her donotcall.gov-"protected" sixty year old landline-and-phone-number that she won't let go was getting five to ten robocalls per day. Now with Ooma and Nomorobo, ZERO robocalls in 28 days. I know, because I watch the log. Nomorobo is probably the main factor, and so far it's free. It checks incoming calls against a big ol' list of known bad numbers before ringing your phone. Ooma and some other VOIPs have incorporated nomorobo into their service.

Email me if you want to send me lots of reward money. And don't think your cell phones are safe! They're coming for you. Learn your call-blocking apps now.

[Ino]

4. Thank you!

I signed up for Nomorobo. If it stops all the "Credit Card Services" calls, I'll be so happy!