An Ocean Shores resident recently fell victim to the “Grandparent Scam” and sustained a substantial monetary loss, Ocean Shores Police said Tuesday.
“This nationwide scam has been around for some time now. Two previous bulletins have been sent out by this agency since 2008, and it has also been featured in numerous national and regional news stories and articles. The scam is apparently still around and still catching people unawares,” said a news release from Officer Chris Iversen of the Ocean Shores Police Department.
The names of potential victims are often culled from public telephone directories or similar internet databases. Those with first names commonly attributed to the elderly are usually targeted. The scam commonly operates as follows, according to a 2012 FBI bulletin:
• You’re a grandparent, and you get a phone call or an email from someone who identifies himself as your grandson. “I’ve been arrested in another country,” he says, “and need money wired quickly to pay my bail. And, oh by the way, don’t tell my mom or dad because they’ll only get upset!”
• 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, criminals 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.
Common scenarios include:
• A grandparent receives a phone call (or sometimes an e-mail) from a “grandchild.” If it is a phone call, it’s often late at night or early in the morning when most people aren’t thinking that clearly. Usually, the person claims to be traveling in a foreign country and has gotten into a bad situation, like being arrested for drugs, getting in a car accident or being mugged—and needs money wired ASAP. And the caller doesn’t want his or her parents told.
• Sometimes, instead of the “grandchild” making the phone call, the criminal pretends to be an arresting police officer, a lawyer, a doctor at a hospital, or some other person. And we’ve also received complaints about the phony grandchild talking first and then handing the phone over to an accomplice to further spin the fake tale.
• We’ve also seen military families victimized: after perusing a soldier’s social networking site, a con artist will contact the soldier’s grandparents, sometimes claiming that a problem came up during military leave that requires money to address.
While it’s commonly called the grandparent scam, criminals may also claim to be a family friend, a niece or nephew, or another family member.
“The referenced Ocean Shores Incident very closely resembled one of the scenarios above with only a few variations,” according to Iversen.
Residents are cautioned to be aware of this type of scam and to independently verify the information if a similar call is received. Do not offer any names or disclose any other personal information to callers unless their identities can be verified.
