80-year-old grandmother scammed out of $30,000 after thinking her grandson needed help
As police work to find out who was behind the case, experts want you to be on high alert by urging family members to have safe words to avoid scams like this one
As police work to find out who was behind the case, experts want you to be on high alert by urging family members to have safe words to avoid scams like this one
As police work to find out who was behind the case, experts want you to be on high alert by urging family members to have safe words to avoid scams like this one
An 80-year-old Edmond, Oklahoma, woman was scammed out of $30,000 after thinking her grandson needed help.
The woman said she got a call that sounded just like her grandson, but she thinks it could have even been artificial intelligence. He was telling her that he needed money to pay bail, but the scammer took it one step further by having someone meet her near her neighborhood to get the money.
"They're able to get a snippet of your voice and then use it to manipulate you so it does sound like your grandchild or your loved one is on the phone," said Genevieve Waterman, the director of corporate partnerships and engagement with the National Council on Aging.
The scam call to the 80-year-old convinced her that her grandson was in trouble, and it cost her big. Police reports say the initial caller gave the grandmother another phone number to call.
That person posed as an attorney to guide her, telling her that she needed to give $30,000 to help her loved one. The suspect even went as far as meeting her in person, with surveillance video showing the scammer walking up to the car, taking an envelope of cash and leaving.
Some experts say it's a scam that's all too common and dubbed "The Grandparent Scam."
"The Grandparent Scam is being used more often for older adults. They try to get at you by tugging at your heartstrings, so they use your adult children or grandchildren, putting them in precarious situations such as being in the hospital or in jail," Waterman said. "They're actually hiring people to act as curriers. So, they will say, 'Please give us cash, and we'll show up at your door,' and they actually do sometimes."
As police work to find out who was behind the case, experts want you to be on high alert by urging family members to have safe words to avoid scams like this one.
"It's your way of authenticating that this is actually a real situation, that the hospital is really calling rather than falling in the hands of a scammer to manipulate you to get the money they need," Waterman said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to reach out to the Edmond Police Department.
