It’s the phone call no grandparent wants to get.
It is a beloved grandson, or granddaughter, calling from a hospital, or from jail. There’s been an accident, a sudden illness, or an unfortunate misunderstanding.
They need money for medical bills or for bail, and they need it now.
Help me grandpa or grandma, they plead. Help me.
Their voice doesn’t sound quite right, but they have an explanation for this, they suffered damage to their throat or a broken nose in the accident.
Sometimes they’ll have someone else speak for them. An attorney, perhaps, or a bail bondsman.
Your grandchild may have been detained as a result of the wreck, facing criminal charges, and are being put in a cell with drunks and drug addicts.
I need your credit card information, they say, or your checking account number, or a certain amount of money in gift cards. Or maybe you could just wire some money, could you please? If not, they whine, they just don’t know what they will do.
Can I count on you grandpa, or grandma?
What grandparent receiving such a call wouldn’t feel compelled to help, to try and fix a dire situation?
I received such a call recently. Hello, I said. Hello grandpa, came the voice on the other end of the line.
I asked them to repeat themselves. Hello grandpa, they replied.
I hung up. I wish now I would have stayed on the line, heard their whole impassioned plea, gotten a few more details. What kind of heartless, unfeeling grandfather am I? But there was just one big problem with the whole scenario. I have no grandchildren.
I was the target of a popular ploy among those who make their living stealing money from other people, the grandparent scam.
The grandparent scam is lucrative. In 2021, according to the Internet Crime Complaint Center, more than 450 Americans were victimized by grandparent scams, resulting in these people being cheated out of an estimated $6.5 million. I’m no mathematician, but that works out to roughly $14,444 per victim.
‘Tis the season when we are encouraged to give to the needy. That’s fine, but make sure you aren’t also giving to the greedy.
I know a lady who fell victim to this ploy a few years ago, to the tune of more than $3,000.
And it doesn’t only happen in America. In Ontario, Canada, two people were recently arrested for bilking a 95-year-old woman out of $19,000. Granted, that’s Canadian money, but that is still a large chunk of change.
This is the season for love and good cheer, but it also is a time scammers are particularly active.
I got a text the other day saying someone, it didn’t specify who, tried to deliver a package to my home, but couldn’t because, “Your package cannot be delivered to you since wrong house number, fill in the address for re-deliver.”
First of all, someone needs to work on their English, and second I was tracking all the items we had ordered and all were accounted for. Other texts say someone tried to deliver a parcel to your house but couldn’t because there was an unpaid delivery fee, and go on to give you instructions of how to pay the fee.
If the people who are sitting somewhere, right this very minute, scheming about how to separate you from your hard-earned money worked as hard at a legitimate job, they would be very successful. As it is they are probably already successful, but as criminals.
The Better Business Bureau has 10 tips to remember to avoid being scammed, during the holidays or any time of year. Don’t send gift cards or wire money to anyone you have never met face-to-face. Don’t click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails. Don’t believe everything you see. That email might not be from Amazon, Walmart or Target, but from some crook.
Double check your online purchase is secure before checking out. Be cautious in dealing with anyone you’ve met online. Never share personal information like banking, credit card or Social Security numbers. Don’t act quickly if someone pressures you online or on the phone. Take time to think it through. Use secure and traceable transactions. Don’t pay with gift cards, prepaid money cards or wire transfers. Work with local businesses whenever you can. Don’t share too much information on social media.
Be cautious. Be wary. Be careful. Be suspicious. The bank account you save may be your own.
And don’t call me grandpa.
Mullin is an award-winning writer and columnist who retired in 2017 after 41 years with the News and Eagle. Email him at janjeff2002@yahoo.com or write him in care of the Enid News & Eagle at PO Box 1192, Enid, OK, 73702.
