Guest
Blog: Who’s Calling? Grandparent and Person-In-Need Scams
By Jackie Blaesi-Freed,
Assistant Director, Department of Justice Consumer
Protection Branch
An 87-year-old woman in California—who we’ll
call Jane Doe—received a call from someone claiming to be
Jane’s granddaughter. The “granddaughter” stated she had
been arrested following a car accident and needed $9,000
for bail. She asked Jane to talk to her lawyer, “Matthew
Halloway.” Matthew Halloway called and told Jane that he
needed $9,000 and warned Jane that a gag order prevented
her from talking about her granddaughter’s predicament.
Halloway said someone would pick up the $9,000 from Jane’s
house. Jane handed the money to the woman who came to her
door.
Within a day after Jane handed over $9,000,
she received another call, purportedly from an accident
specialist, who told Jane the other individual in her
granddaughter’s car accident has lost her baby and unless
Jane paid another $42,000, Jane’s granddaughter would be
charged with manslaughter and spend 15-20 years in prison.
If asked about why she was wiring the money, the accident
specialist told Jane to say that it was for a real estate
investment. Jane wired the money as directed.
But the scammers weren’t done. A week later,
Jane was called again and told that Jane and her
granddaughter had broken the gag order and her
granddaughter would go to jail, unless Jane wired $57,000.
As evidenced by Jane’s story—which is based
on a victim’s experience included in criminal charges
secured by the U.S. Department of Justice—grandparent or
person-in-need scams are a particularly horrifying version
of an imposter scam. These scams typically begin with a
phone call, generally placed by a fraudster based overseas.
Fraudsters pretend to be a loved one, or someone calling on
that person’s behalf, and state that the family member is
in serious trouble and urgently in need of money.
Fraudsters try to isolate the potential victim by inventing
a reason that the family members’ situation cannot be
discussed, preventing interventions from family members,
community members, and others. These fraudsters are
aggressive and move quickly. If victims pay, they will
receive additional requests for more funds. When sentencing
a defendant involved with the network, a federal judge
called the scheme “heartbreakingly evil.”
If you know someone who has, unfortunately,
fallen for a fraudster’s well-honed tactics, report to
local law enforcement or call the Department of Justice’s
Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-372-8311. The Hotline can help
with reporting the activity and also can provide the assistance
of case managers trained to support fraud victims, who may
be able to make connections with needed resources.
Not every report to law enforcement will
result in a federal prosecution, but prosecutions can’t
happen without victims coming forward. The ring of people
associated with Jane’s experience stole over $2 million
from more than 70 victims. Six defendants have pled guilty
and three have been sentenced, with one receiving a
nine-year prison sentence.
Help also is available from the
aging network, including adult protective
services, to support older adults who experience this and
other scams. Contact the Eldercare Locator at eldercare.acl.gov
or by calling 1-800-677-1116 to get connected to services
that can help.
Educating the public about scams and talking
about fraudsters’ tactics are two of the most impactful
tools we have to prevent international criminals and their
facilitators from persuading older adults to part with
their money. Please join the Department of Justice, the
Administration for Community Living, and other agencies and
nonprofits in working to increase awareness about these
scams. Free awareness materials are available from the
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and from the
Federal Trade Commission to help you get
the word out. .
Editor’s Note: On September 14, ACL and
Elder Justice Coordinating Council partner DOJ hosted a
webinar, Understanding and Fighting the Grandparent Scam:
What Aging Network Professionals Should Know to Empower
Older Adults. The webinar discussed how aging network
professionals con understand and fight the grandparent
scams through partnering with law enforcement and by
supporting those who have experienced this scam to recover
from their losses and regain their agency. Watch a
recording of the webinar.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment