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Attorney General Mike DeWine
Phone Scams
Continue to Target Grandparents
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today warned
families to beware phone scams targeting grandparents as National
Grandparents Day (Sunday, Sept.13) approaches.
The “grandparent scam” occurs when a con artist calls a grandparent and
claims to be a grandchild who is away from home and in need of
immediate financial help. Grandparents are asked to send thousands of
dollars to help the grandchild return home safely.
In 2015, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has received approximately
40 complaints involving this type of scam, with an average reported
loss of more than $4,000.
“One of the reasons this scam works is that the relationship between a
grandparent and a grandchild is different than the relationship between
a parent and a child,” Attorney General DeWine said. “Grandparents are
more likely to send money, no questions asked. Scam artists understand
this and they take advantage of it.”
Grandparents who are targeted by the scam often are told their
grandchild has been in an accident, arrested for driving under the
influence, or found with marijuana in the car. Sometimes an “officer”
or an “attorney” comes on the phone to explain the seriousness of the
situation and why money is needed right away (to post bail or to cover
medical costs, for example).
Then the grandparents are asked to purchase prepaid money cards, which
are commonly available at grocery and convenience stores. Once they
purchase the cards, they are told to provide the multi-digit codes on
the back of the cards. With this information, scammers can go online
and drain the cards’ funds.
In a recent variation of the scam, con artists ask victims to buy
iTunes cards, to provide the card numbers over the phone, and then to
mail the cards to someone else, making it harder for victims to report
the scam or attempt to recover their money.
Consumers can protect themselves from the grandparent scam by following
these tips:
Talk to your family about these scams and discuss
how you would communicate during a true emergency.
If you get a call from a grandchild or other family
member who claims to be in trouble, ask questions only your real family
members would know how to answer.
Don’t send money via wire transfer or prepaid card
in response to an unexpected phone call. These are preferred payment
methods of scammers because they are difficult to trace or recover once
payment is provided.
Watch for any unusual banking activity or prepaid
card receipts from your grandparents or other family members.
Limit the amount of information you post online and
limit who can view your information. For example, don’t post upcoming
travel plans online, because scammers could use that information to
take advantage of your family.
Ohioans who suspect a scam should contact the Ohio Attorney General’s
Office at 800-282-0515 or www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov.
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