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Post by Basket1lady on May 13, 2016 3:52:56 GMT
The same sort of thing happened with my grandmother, but it was simply a wire transfer. My "nephew" (her grandson) supposedly called her from Mexico needing to get out of jail. All for the low, low cost of $10,000. It ruined my grandmother financially and caused a lot of hard feelings with my aunt and her son (the grandson) because he didn't repay Grandma the $10,000. The crazy thing was that he really was in Mexico. We never did figure out how the scammers figured that one out. Grandma wasn't on any sort of social media. Do you think they could have hacked an email? My mom was contacted by someone doing the same type of scam, but it was a grown man that "needed help." He was overseas and had some sad sob story. My mom didn't fall for it, but it seemed like it could have been true since the man was indeed overseas in the country they named. A hacked email would have supplied this information. No, Grandma had no online presence and there wasn't a computer in the house. I think Eddie-n-Harley guessed it-it probably was just a coincidence. My cousin would have been in his early to mid 20s and it was in the spring.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,180
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on May 13, 2016 3:54:16 GMT
Scammers don't care who they hurt. They often target the elderly because they are more likely to succeed in getting money out of them.
I have heard of this scam before, but it's always sad to hear about someone falling for it.
I'd probably tell the phony grandson to sit in his cell and figure out how his choices led to the consequence of getting arrested, because there is no way that I would bail him out.
I have ten grandkids. Most are pretty young. None call me "Grandma," so that would be a red flag right there.
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Post by alexa11 on May 13, 2016 4:03:07 GMT
That is terrible! I am so sorry- scammers are the worst.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 8, 2024 23:37:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 4:50:46 GMT
Two years Ago my husbands email account was hacked and scammers sent emails to people in his address book saying he was traveling in Turkey and had been rushed to the hospital for an emergency condition. He needed them to wire him $3000 for medical expenses.
One of his co-workers took it very seriously and actually took his credit card down to the local place to do a wire transfer. Fortunately, his wife convinced him to call their shared boss just to "confirm".
He was just minutes from wiring the money. Scared the crap out of me.
My husband does travel internationally...
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azredhead
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,755
Jun 25, 2014 22:49:18 GMT
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Post by azredhead on May 13, 2016 5:20:57 GMT
Two years Ago my husbands email account was hacked and scammers sent emails to people in his address book saying he was traveling in Turkey and had been rushed to the hospital for an emergency condition. He needed them to wire him $3000 for medical expenses. One of his co-workers took it very seriously and actually took his credit card down to the local place to do a wire transfer. Fortunately, his wife convinced him to call their shared boss just to "confirm". He was just minutes from wiring the money. Scared the crap out of me. My husband does travel internationally... That is scary!! This is similar to my mom incident. She didn't do it though. She has traveled internationally so she wasn't sure at first how they got so much information.They got enough to make her think twice but then thought the better of it and did some checking. That was a while ago. That was what freaked her out. My step dad still has family overseas. My MIL would never answer the house phone for that reason. She was always afraid she would be a victim. She has super nice tendencies and she wouldn't know if she was being 'played' or not.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 8, 2024 23:37:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 11:20:12 GMT
Happened to my MIL to the tune of $14,000. There were so many obvious things that she missed in her multiple conversations with the scammer. Your grandson got ticketed for driving down the road on the wrong side. Her grandson, our son is legally blind and cannot drive.
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on May 13, 2016 11:44:09 GMT
Sorry that happened but the entire ITunes thing sounds ridiculous. Though why would anyone believe that the CRA wants iTunes cards in a form of payment?!?! I'm always amazed by what people will fall for. Money wires MIGHT be legit, but i-Tunes cards? Or for that matter, ANY kind of gift card. You'd think that would be an immediate red flag to people.
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Post by anxiousmom on May 13, 2016 11:50:20 GMT
Sorry that happened but the entire ITunes thing sounds ridiculous. Though why would anyone believe that the CRA wants iTunes cards in a form of payment?!?! I'm always amazed by what people will fall for. Money wires MIGHT be legit, but i-Tunes cards? Or for that matter, ANY kind of gift card. You'd think that would be an immediate red flag to people. And, on the flip side, I keep getting phone calls telling me that I have won a gift card after 'visiting a website' and the only thing I have to do in order to collect the reward (gift card) is give the caller my credit card number to pay for the $4.95 shipping fee. I swear, I get more phone calls from the IRS wanting to settle for back taxes, Microsoft wanting to fix my computer, some one from the 'legal department' that wants to settle a a judgement against me over the phone (if I pay today, they won't send the local constabulary after me) and various political polls than I ever get from actual human beings that I know.
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Post by ExpatBackHome on May 13, 2016 13:26:17 GMT
That's awful! Thanks for making others aware of this scam.
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Post by mtscrapper on May 13, 2016 14:14:36 GMT
A couple of years ago, my FIL was on his way to the bank to wire money to scammers. This time, they said my son was in Haiti passing out water and got in some trouble (my son at the time was serving an LDS mission, so it kind of made it even more believable since he wasn't home, although my son was in California at the time). Thank goodness he had the thought to check with me first. I immediately knew he was being scammed, but I had to call the mission office for him to verify that he was okay.
These are awful, awful people who prey on the elderly who love their grandchildren and know they will do anything for their grandkids. Makes me ill thinking about it.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Jun 8, 2024 23:37:37 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 13, 2016 15:42:07 GMT
Sorry that happened but the entire ITunes thing sounds ridiculous. Though why would anyone believe that the CRA wants iTunes cards in a form of payment?!?! I'm always amazed by what people will fall for. Money wires MIGHT be legit, but i-Tunes cards? Or for that matter, ANY kind of gift card. You'd think that would be an immediate red flag to people. Yes, the iTunes thing might be a huge red flag for someone who knows/understands what an iTunes card is, but for a panicked, elderly person who's not very (or at all) computer and gadget literate, I can see where they'd just do what they're instructed to do. I'm not a fan of blaming the victim, or just writing them off as way too gullible. The fact that people are taking advantage of an older person's weaknesses and exploiting their love/concern for family members makes these kinds of crimes extra egregious.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on May 13, 2016 15:57:14 GMT
This week I have gotten calls from
-Microsoft telling me that my computer is in serious danger if I don't upgrade NOW! -the IRS teling me I owe back taxes or I'll go to jail. -my grandson telling me he's in jail. -a pro-life organization telling me that my husband made a pledge to it but hasn't paid up and I should give my credit card so I won't be sent to collections for an unpaid pledge.
In one week.
PLEASE: Do make sure that the young people in your life know about these scams. One of my younger employees came into work the other day, crying. Seems "the IRS" had called her cell phone an hour before to tell her that she owed $1250 in back taxes or she was going to jail tomorrow. She and her boyfriend were panicking, trying to come up with the money. They had gone so far as to list belongings on Craigslist for quick sales.
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Post by BoilerUp! on May 13, 2016 17:38:27 GMT
This week I have gotten calls from -Microsoft telling me that my computer is in serious danger if I don't upgrade NOW! -the IRS teling me I owe back taxes or I'll go to jail. -my grandson telling me he's in jail. -a pro-life organization telling me that my husband made a pledge to it but hasn't paid up and I should give my credit card so I won't be sent to collections for an unpaid pledge. In one week. PLEASE: Do make sure that the young people in your life know about these scams. One of my younger employees came into work the other day, crying. Seems "the IRS" had called her cell phone an hour before to tell her that she owed $1250 in back taxes or she was going to jail tomorrow. She and her boyfriend were panicking, trying to come up with the money. They had gone so far as to list belongings on Craigslist for quick sales. Holy smokes, that is a lot . . . Where do people get the contact information from? Cold / random calling just doesn't seem possible.
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Post by anxiousmom on May 13, 2016 17:41:40 GMT
This week I have gotten calls from -Microsoft telling me that my computer is in serious danger if I don't upgrade NOW! -the IRS teling me I owe back taxes or I'll go to jail. -my grandson telling me he's in jail. -a pro-life organization telling me that my husband made a pledge to it but hasn't paid up and I should give my credit card so I won't be sent to collections for an unpaid pledge. In one week. PLEASE: Do make sure that the young people in your life know about these scams. One of my younger employees came into work the other day, crying. Seems "the IRS" had called her cell phone an hour before to tell her that she owed $1250 in back taxes or she was going to jail tomorrow. She and her boyfriend were panicking, trying to come up with the money. They had gone so far as to list belongings on Craigslist for quick sales. Holy smokes, that is a lot . . . Where do people get the contact information from? Cold / random calling just doesn't seem possible. From what I understand they have robo dialers that just dial numbers until someone answers. Or calls them back-lots of people see the caller id and rather than listen to a voice mail (if there even is one) and they call the numbers back. Crazy. I have started googling every number that shows up before I even entertain the idea of calling some one back.
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Post by anniefb on May 13, 2016 17:45:02 GMT
That's absolutely terrible. Haven't heard of that scam here, but will certainly keep watchful.
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Post by BoilerUp! on May 13, 2016 17:56:56 GMT
Here is another strange thing . . . COULD BE COMPLETE COINCIDENCE, but I don't know.
Early today, I get a text message from a number that is not in my phone. It says "(calls me by name) . . . I haven't received anything from you guys yet. Just checking in with you . . . Can you check on that for me please mam"
I did a reverse number look up and the call is a cell phone that originates from Montgomery Alabama. I do not know anyone from Montgomery Alabama!!! I did not respond.
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scrapnnana
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,180
Jun 29, 2014 18:58:47 GMT
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Post by scrapnnana on May 13, 2016 19:30:20 GMT
After reading the various replies, the one thing that stands out to me is how many people answer calls from people/numbers that they do not know. If you are worried about elderly parents, there are ways to help protect them.
I suggest two things that have reduced the scam calls we get to nearly nothing:
Invest in a Panasonic phone that can block at least 250 numbers. Mine only does 30, and yes, it got full. Until I signed up for....
NoMoRobo, which won a government "contest" by the FCC on how to cut unwanted calls. Actually, two companies each got the $25,000 prize. Between our phone blocking and NoMoRobo, 95% of the crap calls only ring once. I check caller ID if it rings twice. I only answer calls that have a number I recognize. The others I let go to voicemail. We no longer have to deal with scammers and telemarketers.
The NoMoRobo service is free, but it does not work with all phones. Not sure about the other service. I believe you can go to the FCC (US govt.) site to see the name of the other company and how to do this.
We are moving to Texas soon. I will be sad if NoMoRobo doesn't work with our phone service there.
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Post by bratkar on May 13, 2016 20:17:55 GMT
that's horrible! is there a way she can cancel the iTunes purchases/codes? I know my grandma would've fallen for this in a minute, especially given one of her grandkids is in and out of jail often. No, unfortunately not. I spent a lot of time on the phone with ITunes, and they informed me that the codes are extremely generic and only used for the monetary denominations. They cannot actually be traced to an actual ITunes account. It was worth a try, but the only thing they could help with was searching each card code individually to try and deactivate the card if it hadn't already been used. I personally suspect that these scammers were probably selling the cards for cash. They could offer a code to prove its active, and then get cash for the others. My DH thinks that is far-fetched, but its my gut! Either way - THEY EFFING SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most of them are selling the codes on ebay, most people that buy 'gift cards' on ebay, for things like iTunes, don't need the actual card, so the thieves just need to send the people a redemption code.
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Post by 950nancy on May 13, 2016 22:55:13 GMT
I'm always amazed by what people will fall for. Money wires MIGHT be legit, but i-Tunes cards? Or for that matter, ANY kind of gift card. You'd think that would be an immediate red flag to people. And, on the flip side, I keep getting phone calls telling me that I have won a gift card after 'visiting a website' and the only thing I have to do in order to collect the reward (gift card) is give the caller my credit card number to pay for the $4.95 shipping fee. I swear, I get more phone calls from the IRS wanting to settle for back taxes, Microsoft wanting to fix my computer, some one from the 'legal department' that wants to settle a a judgement against me over the phone (if I pay today, they won't send the local constabulary after me) and various political polls than I ever get from actual human beings that I know. I have taken to emailing these people back and stringing them along. Such ridiculousness.
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Post by threegirls on May 14, 2016 1:29:07 GMT
This almost happened to my mother about 2 years ago (she was about 83 at the time). Thank goodness she was having a new bathroom installed and the workers heard her on the phone. One of the workers was nice enough to go to her and tell her it was a scam and to hang up. She did. She then called my sister to see if her son was in trouble. Nope.
My nephew had lost his phone and didn't have it password protected. He had my mom listed in his contact list as "grandma" so they knew her phone # and where she lived.
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edie3
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,498
Jun 26, 2014 1:03:18 GMT
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Post by edie3 on May 14, 2016 2:43:44 GMT
A friend of mine son in law is going to a big city for a stem cell transplant. His wife found an apartment on Craigslist for his parents to stay in while he is in the hospital. Signed the lease, sent money, the whole 9 yards. Guess what, there is no apartment, and she was scammed out of the money. Someone who can scam people out of money while they are fighting cancer need to burn in hell.
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mallie
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,253
Jul 3, 2014 18:13:13 GMT
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Post by mallie on May 14, 2016 3:44:22 GMT
After reading the various replies, the one thing that stands out to me is how many people answer calls from people/numbers that they do not know. If you are worried about elderly parents, there are ways to help protect them. I suggest two things that have reduced the scam calls we get to nearly nothing: Invest in a Panasonic phone that can block at least 250 numbers. Mine only does 30, and yes, it got full. Until I signed up for.... NoMoRobo, which won a government "contest" by the FCC on how to cut unwanted calls. Actually, two companies each got the $25,000 prize. Between our phone blocking and NoMoRobo, 95% of the crap calls only ring once. I check caller ID if it rings twice. I only answer calls that have a number I recognize. The others I let go to voicemail. We no longer have to deal with scammers and telemarketers. The NoMoRobo service is free, but it does not work with all phones. Not sure about the other service. I believe you can go to the FCC (US govt.) site to see the name of the other company and how to do this. We are moving to Texas soon. I will be sad if NoMoRobo doesn't work with our phone service there. Interestingly, I never answer the phone, but decided to try answering for one week to see who is actually calling our landline. (Because we are considering ditching it.) So in that week, all of our incoming calls were scammers, telemarketers or political calls. If you Google "Dodge county sheriff IRS scam", you will read about how he followed up on a call he personally received from a scammer.
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Post by OntarioScrapper on May 15, 2016 19:28:52 GMT
I'm always amazed by what people will fall for. Money wires MIGHT be legit, but i-Tunes cards? Or for that matter, ANY kind of gift card. You'd think that would be an immediate red flag to people. Yes, the iTunes thing might be a huge red flag for someone who knows/understands what an iTunes card is, but for a panicked, elderly person who's not very (or at all) computer and gadget literate, I can see where they'd just do what they're instructed to do. I'm not a fan of blaming the victim, or just writing them off as way too gullible. The fact that people are taking advantage of an older person's weaknesses and exploiting their love/concern for family members makes these kinds of crimes extra egregious. I was thinking about the iTunes thing. I think that too many people have caught onto the other scams because a bank teller may be more likely to ask why so much money. A cashier at some store may not question the big purchase of iTunes cards. And yeah, my parents and in laws do not know about those cards.
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Post by anniefb on May 15, 2016 19:42:48 GMT
This week I have gotten calls from -Microsoft telling me that my computer is in serious danger if I don't upgrade NOW! -the IRS teling me I owe back taxes or I'll go to jail. -my grandson telling me he's in jail. -a pro-life organization telling me that my husband made a pledge to it but hasn't paid up and I should give my credit card so I won't be sent to collections for an unpaid pledge. In one week. PLEASE: Do make sure that the young people in your life know about these scams. One of my younger employees came into work the other day, crying. Seems "the IRS" had called her cell phone an hour before to tell her that she owed $1250 in back taxes or she was going to jail tomorrow. She and her boyfriend were panicking, trying to come up with the money. They had gone so far as to list belongings on Craigslist for quick sales. Wow that's crazy!
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Post by OntarioScrapper on May 15, 2016 20:04:25 GMT
Yesterday I got a call from the Visa Security guy. So of course I thought of this thread! And yes I played along for shits and giggles.
He did not say my first name. I assume he was using the phone book and my landline got tagged to use. (I do NOT have a Visa card in my name BTW).
So I acted all concerned. He sounded like he was from India. He spoke like Captain Kirk though. A... pause...after...every...word. Yep was reading a script.
He spoke fast but I could understand him him clearly. Asked if I had made a $400 purchase at 9am that morning. Oh no, I had not! Then I overhead a faint giggle in the background. I'm sure they thought they had a sucker. Then asked if I had used Western Union for a $1,000. So I said, I didn't know you could use Visa for Western Union. He seriously said, I don't understand what you are saying. Crap I went off script! So I repeated myself. He ignored the questioned. Then went on about how my VISA is now compromised. Well I was getting board of this shit. So I said quickly, can't you just cancel my Visa card right now then? He stopped and said WHAT?. I repeated the question. Then he said Motherfucker Asshole. I kind you not! Crap I was made. So I sounded shock and said Then I will call Visa myself! And he hung up. Now when he swore, there was no pauses at all. Funny how those swear words can role off the tongue like that! I guess I pissed him off for wasting his time. However since he's scum of the earth, I don't care!
I told hubby too bad he hadn't got the call. He grew up in India (his parents were Christian missonaries) and he could've put his accent on just to confuse them. Or try to speak in Hindi. He could've had so much fun!
I'm sure the next thing I would've been asked for was my VISA number. And I was prepared to give a random number. Too bad I got impatient.
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