Possible new scam on older folks (relative, years, pills, grandma)

[Spuggy]

Yes this scam has been making the rounds for years . I have very evil things to say about these scammers but I don’t want to dirty my mouth.

[arwenmark]

Not new I got similar call at least ten years ago. Still important reminder. My grandchildren are all under 12 so would be interesting if they were arrested for drugs.

[yellowsnow]

Originally Posted by brava4

At this point if someone falls for this stuff... then they are not listening or are pretty stupid.

Not necessarily. My friend who is a well respected patent atty almost fell for this! Another thing they do many times is call in the middle of the night when you are not thinking clearly!

[jp03]

Another way you combat this. DONT ANSWER THE PHONE. If you dont recognize the number. Thats why you have an answering machine.

The elderly are especially vulnerable because they are most apt to answer the phone. I see it in my own family. They cant let a call go by without picking it up. Then they have to sweat through a difficult sales call or worse. Just let it ring if you dont know the number. We ALL have caller ID..

[CraigCreek]

Got one from my "grandson" a couple of years ago. Told him I had no grandsons ("Oh, I mean your nephew", the dumbo quickly said) and his real grandparents would be heartily ashamed of him and embarrassed if they knew he was a scammer. He laughed and hung up. And I emailed all my friends who are my age or older...

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by High_Plains_Retired

Thank you for your informative reply.

I will certainly file it appropriately.

No, OP, high plains has a point.

Its been all over local news, national news, in newspapers and is at least a 10 year old news item


Its an OLD SCAM.

Anyone who hasnt heard is either doesn't read or watch news, or is living under a rock.

It may be news to you but all major scams are talked about on news.

At least the elderly sister had law enforcement relatives to look into this.

I had a call from my bank on caller ID that wanted to verify my credit card number so tgey " could reduce my interest rate ". I first, i dont have a cc with that bank, second notified the shift leader at the bank it was happening. She said she'd" notify someone", and later i heard on the news the scam and that the bank stated it would never call you.

I had a call at least 10 or 12 years ago pretending to be my grandson in trouble. I played along until i got the instructions to buy a prepaid card at Walmart or the pharmacy and was directed to call a number to report tge scratch off id or something on the card for $500. Thats when i dropped the bomb on them....that i DON'T have kids, and therefore no grandchildren!!!! I took all the info around the corner to the local police. They thanked me and told me what i already knew
...that it was a scam. I doubt they did anything but i told them.

ANYTIME ANYONE WANTS MONEY OVER THE PHONE IN ANY MANNER ITS A SCAM!!! ANYONE YOU OWE WILL FIRST NOTIFY YOU BY MAIL, NOT A PHONE CALL.

ALSO ANYONE ON SOCIAL MEDIA WHO WANTS MONEY IS A SCAMMER, EVEN IF THEY PRETEND TO BE A "DATE", LONG LOST RELATIVES OR OTHER. NEVER SEND/GIVE/BUY ANYTHING OVER SOCIAL MEDIA.

there. Now you've been updated on all scams via a phone call for any reason.


PAY ATTENTION people!

[galaxyhi]

Originally Posted by jp03

Another way you combat this. DONT ANSWER THE PHONE. If you dont recognize the number. Thats why you have an answering machine.

The elderly are especially vulnerable because they are most apt to answer the phone. I see it in my own family. They cant let a call go by without picking it up. Then they have to sweat through a difficult sales call or worse. Just let it ring if you dont know the number. We ALL have caller ID..

No not all, my FIL and my father dont have caller ID.

Neitger will pay for it and neither has an inclusive package.

So not all have caller ID.

But neither do business over the phone, so they are safe. Also we are childless, so neither has grandsons.

[jp03]

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

No not all, my FIL and my father dont have caller ID.

Neitger will pay for it and neither has an inclusive package.

So not all have caller ID.

But neither do business over the phone, so they are safe. Also we are childless, so neither has grandsons.

doesnt change the fact you are asking for it if you pick up the phone to an unidentified caller. I didnt think there was anyone left who didnt have caller id.

[athena53]

Originally Posted by jp03

doesn't change the fact you are asking for it if you pick up the phone to an unidentified caller. I didn't think there was anyone left who didn't have caller id.

Mine is sporadic. I have MagicJack so I don't know if that makes a difference. My dentist's name shows up on Caller ID if his office calls; same with my advisor at my brokerage. The local CVS is not identified. No rhyme or reason. I can let them leave messages but if it's someone I WANT to reach then it's telephone tag.

My tactic when I've gotten apparent scam messages on FB or e-mails from friends whose e-mails or profiles have obviously been hijacked is to ask the a question only the real person can answer. Some disappear; some try to bluff their way through with amusing results.

[Spuggy]

Originally Posted by jp03

Another way you combat this. DONT ANSWER THE PHONE. If you dont recognize the number. Thats why you have an answering machine.

The elderly are especially vulnerable because they are most apt to answer the phone. I see it in my own family. They cant let a call go by without picking it up. Then they have to sweat through a difficult sales call or worse. Just let it ring if you dont know the number. We ALL have caller ID..

That’s not always a good option for me as I get calls from unfamiliar numbers who are oncologist follow up appts with labs etc. what I do have is a screening app that screens out scam and phishing calls, and those that slip through I hang up instantly. No biggie. Emergencies within the family know how to alert us without calling