News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
The caller is convincing - and cunning. He'll convince you that he's a relative in trouble with the law perhaps in another state or even a foreign country, skillfully drawing information out of you and feeding it back, luring you into sending money to "save" your imperiled loved one.
It's a fraud, usually referred to as the "grandparent scam," and it was tried on a Sisters man recently. A caller claimed to be the man's grandson, who had been caught up in a drug bust and was in jail "in the middle of the country" and desperately needed funds so he could get arraigned and get out of jail. A friend of the Sisters man was on hand - a former member of law enforcement who got on the line, asked a few probing questions and unmasked the
scam.
Still, the former cop told The Nugget, the acting on the other end of the line was so good and the technique for eliciting information so subtle that the scam sounded good even to a guy who knew what was up.
It's easy to fall prey to such scams, which focus on the elderly, preying upon their good nature and desire to help loved ones.
The FBI reports that "the grandparent scam has been around for a few years - our Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) has been receiving reports about it since 2008. But the scam and scam artists have become more sophisticated. Thanks to the Internet and social networking sites, a criminal can sometimes uncover personal information about their targets, which makes the impersonations more believable. For example, the actual grandson may mention on his social networking site that he's a photographer who often travels to Mexico. When contacting the grandparents, the phony grandson will say he's calling from Mexico, where someone stole his camera equipment and passport...."
To avoid becoming a victim, the FBI recommends:
• Resist the pressure to act quickly.
• Try to contact your grandchild or another family member to determine whether or not the call is legitimate.
• Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an email - especially overseas. Wiring money is like giving cash - once you send it, you can't get it back.
If you receive a scam phone call, contact local law enforcement to report it.
For more information, visit www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/april/grandparent_040212.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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