Telephone Fraud (Page 2)
Advance to next page in the series
“GRANDMA, IT’S ME!”
A young person calls and starts by saying “Grandma (or Grandpa), it’s me! Don’t you know who this is?”
If you say the name of a grandchild, the person calling uses that name and then pretends to need help. The caller will say that they are in trouble and pleads that you don’t tell “my parents”. The ruse they will use is that they have been arrested, hospitalized, have been in an accident or gotten in others forms of trouble. The fake grandchild asks you to wire money or will send a friend to your home to pick up cash. Losses from this scam can range from $200 to $20,000.
Victims of this scam have commented that the people who have called had detailed information about their family members, possibly obtained on websites such as Facebook.
CREDIT CARD OR IDENTITY THEFT INSURANCE
Someone calls offering protection from identity theft and from people who might appropriate your credit card information via the Internet. The person will say that thieves will run up tens of thousands of dollars in obligations, and that you will need to pay these bills if you do not purchase protection for $200 – $500. The fact is that US law already protects you from such theft and for possible misuse of your credit cards.
GUARANTEED GOVERNMENT GRANTS
A person calls to say that you seem to qualify for a free, guaranteed government grant because of personal reason, like your age, job status or where you live. The caller asks a number of questions, such as, “Have you ever committed a crime or been delinquent on your taxes?” When you say “no”, the person will say that you definitely will receive the grant money. The caller then asks for your banking info so he can deposit the funds in your account. Instead of depositing money in the account, the caller talks money out.
RECOVERED ASSETS
You receive a notice in the mail saying that property belonging to you has been located. The notice tells you to call a number for additional information. When you call, they ask you for your bank account number, Social Security number and mother’s maiden name so that the money can be released. They use this information to repeatedly remove money from your account.
Acorn wishes to acknowledge the Office of the Attorney General of North Carolina for this valuable content. If you think a loved one has been victimized, call the NC Attorney General office at 877-5NO-SCAM.
Let’s connect!