{"id":1537,"date":"2017-06-12T15:12:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T19:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/?p=1537"},"modified":"2017-06-12T15:12:00","modified_gmt":"2017-06-12T19:12:00","slug":"warn-seniors-grandparent-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"Warn Seniors About “The Grandparent Scam”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Bob\u2019s phone rang early one morning. \u201cGrandpa? This is your grandson.\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cEli, how good to hear from you!\u201d said Bob. It had been a long time since his college-age grandson had called him.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Eli sounded upset and afraid. He had been arrested for drunk driving in Mexico during his spring break trip, and he needed $5,000 for bail money. \u201cDon\u2019t tell Mom and Dad,\u201d Eli begged. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Bob thought of calling his son and daughter-in-law, Eli\u2019s parents, but he was pleased that the boy had turned to him, and trusted him enough to keep his secret. Bob went to Western Union right away and wired the money to the location Eli had specified. <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

He waited several days for Eli to confirm that he\u2019d been released from the Mexican jail\u2014but there was no call. Finally he called his son and daughter-in-law to sound them out. \u201cHow\u2019s Eli?\u201d <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

His daughter-in-law laughed. \u201cOh, he\u2019s been here all week with the flu! We\u2019re going to drive him back to school tomorrow. Want to talk to him?\u201d<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Bob got a sinking feeling. He called Western Union, but of course his money was long gone.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Bob was the latest victim of what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) calls \u201cthe family emergency imposter scam.\u201d It\u2019s just as often called the \u201cGrandparent scam,\u201d because so many of the victims are older adults. In this scam, the impostor pretends to be a young relative who is in some kind of trouble and needs money right away. The fake grandchild might claim to be in jail, in the hospital, stranded in a foreign country\u2026you name it.<\/span><\/p>\n

These con artists are very skilled. They will sometimes glean information from a grandchild\u2019s Facebook page to use in their impersonation. Or they just dial number after number until an older person answers. Then, as in the case of the crooks that conned Bob, they use a clever ploy by merely starting the conversation with \u201cGrandpa?\u201d The victim\u2019s impulse is to respond by name\u2014\u201cEli, is that you?\u201d Later on, victims like Bob might marvel\u2014\u201cHow did they know my grandchild\u2019s name?\u201d It\u2019s one of the oldest tricks in the scammers\u2019 book.<\/span><\/p>\n

These scammers play on the emotions of a grandparent, knowing that love and concern often will override prudence. The request is always urgent, and the scammer often includes a plausible reason why the grandparent should keep the situation a secret.\u00a0 And, of course, the \u201cgrandchild\u201d always specifies that the money should be sent via wire transfer, a prepaid credit card or other payment method that can\u2019t be traced or reversed. It works: The FTC reports that these scammers bilk seniors out of more than $20 million each year.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you or a loved one have been victimized by this scam, file a complaint right away with the <\/span>FTC<\/span><\/a> and your state\u2019s attorney general (you can find the contact information <\/span>here<\/span><\/a>). If you wired money through Western Union or another company, notify them right away\u2014though your money is most likely gone and the con artist can\u2019t be traced, there\u2019s a small possibility that they haven\u2019t picked up the money yet and you could reverse the transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Knowledge is power<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The best way to help seniors avoid these scams is to build awareness. Talk about this scam when everyone is together\u2014including grandchildren! And remember that scammers are always evolving their tricks. A caller might claim to be your grandchild\u2019s attorney, a friend, a doctor, or even a police officer. But remember: Any time you\u2019re being pressured to send money immediately, it\u2019s probably a scam.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some victims reported that while they were hesitant and things didn\u2019t seem quite right, they didn\u2019t want to risk letting their grandchild down. So the first thing is to ascertain whether the caller is who they say they are! Ask the caller a personal question that only your grandchild would know. \u201cWhere did we go on vacation last summer? What was your dog\u2019s name when you lived in Dallas? What kind of car do I drive?\u201d Some families even establish a family code word.<\/span><\/p>\n

In some cases, falling for a scam could be a sign that a senior needs help managing their affairs, especially if they have memory or thinking problems. But people of every age and sophistication have fallen for impostor scams. If your loved one has been victimized, reassure them that they are not alone. Encourage them to channel feelings of embarrassment or remorse into helping others avoid being victimized. Sharing the information with their friends and other seniors is empowering. Forward this article, or let them know about these resources:<\/span><\/p>\n

The Federal Trade Commission offers information about <\/span>imposter scams<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>online videos<\/span><\/a> they can watch to see how these crooks work.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source: Assisting Hands Home Care in association with IlluminAge. Copyright \u00a9 IlluminAge, 2017.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bob\u2019s phone rang early one morning. \u201cGrandpa? This is your grandson.\u201d \u201cEli, how good to hear from you!\u201d said Bob. It had been a long time since his college-age grandson had called him. Eli sounded upset and afraid. He had been arrested for drunk driving in Mexico during his spring break trip, and he needed $5,000 for bail money. \u201cDon\u2019t…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1537","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWarn Seniors About "The Grandparent Scam" - Central New Jersey<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Warn Seniors About "The Grandparent Scam" - Central New Jersey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bob\u2019s phone rang early one morning. \u201cGrandpa? This is your grandson.\u201d \u201cEli, how good to hear from you!\u201d said Bob. It had been a long time since his college-age grandson had called him. Eli sounded upset and afraid. He had been arrested for drunk driving in Mexico during his spring break trip, and he needed $5,000 for bail money. \u201cDon\u2019t...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Central New Jersey\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt Redshaw\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt Redshaw\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt Redshaw\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c\"},\"headline\":\"Warn Seniors About “The Grandparent Scam”\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\"},\"wordCount\":825,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Blog\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\",\"name\":\"Warn Seniors About \\\"The Grandparent Scam\\\" - Central New Jersey\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Warn Seniors About “The Grandparent Scam”\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/\",\"name\":\"Central New Jersey\",\"description\":\"Quality Home Care You Can Trust\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c\",\"name\":\"Matt Redshaw\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab9ff27deaf3ac76bc555c7278acee05aa36118b83abf7735ca890122329ae69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab9ff27deaf3ac76bc555c7278acee05aa36118b83abf7735ca890122329ae69?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Matt Redshaw\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/author\/mredshaw\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Warn Seniors About \"The Grandparent Scam\" - Central New Jersey","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Warn Seniors About \"The Grandparent Scam\" - Central New Jersey","og_description":"Bob\u2019s phone rang early one morning. \u201cGrandpa? This is your grandson.\u201d \u201cEli, how good to hear from you!\u201d said Bob. It had been a long time since his college-age grandson had called him. Eli sounded upset and afraid. He had been arrested for drunk driving in Mexico during his spring break trip, and he needed $5,000 for bail money. \u201cDon\u2019t...","og_url":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/","og_site_name":"Central New Jersey","article_published_time":"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Matt Redshaw","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Matt Redshaw","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/"},"author":{"name":"Matt Redshaw","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c"},"headline":"Warn Seniors About “The Grandparent Scam”","datePublished":"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/"},"wordCount":825,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg","articleSection":["Blog"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/","url":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/","name":"Warn Seniors About \"The Grandparent Scam\" - Central New Jersey","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg","datePublished":"2017-06-12T19:12:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2017\/06\/grandparent-scam.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/warn-seniors-grandparent-scam\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Warn Seniors About “The Grandparent Scam”"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#website","url":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/","name":"Central New Jersey","description":"Quality Home Care You Can Trust","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/e6e58a9d09f44604373ef04337e52d8c","name":"Matt Redshaw","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab9ff27deaf3ac76bc555c7278acee05aa36118b83abf7735ca890122329ae69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ab9ff27deaf3ac76bc555c7278acee05aa36118b83abf7735ca890122329ae69?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Matt Redshaw"},"url":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/newjersey\/centralnj\/blog\/author\/mredshaw\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1537"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1544,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1537\/revisions\/1544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1537"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1537"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/assistinghands.com\/6\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1537"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}