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| A Friend Almost Fell for a Scam | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 26 2013, 06:18 AM (849 Views) | |
| Olive Oil | Jan 26 2013, 06:18 AM Post #1 |
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Gold Star Member
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An older friend and her husband received a phone call this morning. The caller said he was her grandson and he was in deep trouble. She said his voice was muffled and she said his name as in Is That You, ------? Then they had a name. Please don't tell my Dad, he pleaded but "I'm being held in jail and I need l800.00 bail to get out. I'm really scared. My lawyer will arrange to pick up the money." She believed it all but didn't have money in cash. She told them she would get the money from the bank as soon as it opened. Then she decided she would tell his Dad as she was so worried about the grandson. She called him and he said his son was not in town. The Dad called the son and he was on a skiing trip, perfectly fine. She was so stunned as they were so believable. I remember hearing about this scam before but never believed they could fool someone as savy as my friend and her husband who also believed them. I wonder how they get the names of older people to do this. She's going down to her local police station to report it. Too bad they don't set up stings and grab these ----holes. |
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| haili | Jan 26 2013, 06:30 AM Post #2 |
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Gold Star Member
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The same thing happened to a friend of mine and she was smart enough to call her daughter. |
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| Darcie | Jan 26 2013, 07:10 AM Post #3 |
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Skeptic
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It happened to me last year, I did not say his name, but they already had my grandson's name. I didn't fall for it as I do know about this scam. |
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| angora | Jan 26 2013, 08:01 AM Post #4 |
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WWS Book Club Coordinator
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despicable |
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| wildie | Jan 26 2013, 09:09 AM Post #5 |
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Veteran Member
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This is where Call Display pays off! I can filter my calls and the ones that I don't recognize, go to the answering machine. Scammers don't usually leave messages.
Edited by wildie, Jan 26 2013, 09:10 AM.
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| Dialtone | Jan 26 2013, 09:39 AM Post #6 |
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Gold Star Member
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Call display is worth every penny. We just don't answer any number that we don't recognize especially ones without a name attached, the calls end up going to our voicemail, so they can leave a message. Our Telus Optik TV service even puts the calling number and name on the screen while you're watching TV, so you don't need to get up to see who's calling. |
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| Darcie | Jan 26 2013, 11:17 AM Post #7 |
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Skeptic
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I have the same service now, this was before I got it. I find that adding over $14 a month for this is highway robbery. |
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| agate | Jan 26 2013, 01:54 PM Post #8 |
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This happened to my friend last week. She was taken in at the begining but clued in. She said to the caller, her supposed g-son..what is your girlfreinds name and he hung up.- Good thing we are getting more aware and it is through places like this on the internet that we are learning :snowflake: |
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| Deleted User | Jan 26 2013, 04:49 PM Post #9 |
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Deleted User
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That scam has been in the works for several years now. I just posted in the computer section, the 10 most common scams ... it does pay to read those alerts to remain educated & be aware of any new scams. |
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| Trotsky | Jan 27 2013, 02:10 AM Post #10 |
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Big City Boy
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We got a e-mail that an acquaintence of DP's was stranded in some country or another and her wallet was stolen and she needed a couple hundred bucks to get home. Would we wire it to American Express? We of course did NOT. Talked to her a couple days later and she said someone had hacked her computer and sent the same request to every single person in her address book. Edited by Trotsky, Jan 27 2013, 02:11 AM.
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| Olive Oil | Jan 27 2013, 03:45 AM Post #11 |
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Gold Star Member
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I don't understand how they get the information or is it just hit and miss? I for one, don't have a grandson nor do most people. . I wonder if they just call until they hit the jackpot or go by some list. My friend believed it at first because she has a grandson who has been in trouble speeding in the past few years. |
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| wildie | Jan 27 2013, 06:27 AM Post #12 |
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Veteran Member
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I like to toy with these scammers! The last one was a young sounding woman who called to say that my computer was causing problems on the internet. She asked if I had it turned on? I told her that I haven't been able to start it up lately and would appreciate some help to fix it. I danced her around a bit, all in fun of course, then she finally realized that I was playing with her and her last words were, "you asshole" and then she hung up without saying good-bye. |
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| Dialtone | Jan 27 2013, 06:42 AM Post #13 |
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Gold Star Member
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I did almost the same thing, had a bit of fun with a guy called George with an accent. As the scenario progressed, it ended up with me calling him an A-hole, and then he told me to F-Off, so I did after a couple more insults. About 30 minutes later, my entire internet connection crashed, and I had to turn off the DSL router and let it sit for about 20 minutes before I could come back online. Coincidence ? :Hmmmfrown: |
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| Durgan | Jan 27 2013, 12:53 PM Post #14 |
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Veteran Member
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Come on! The victim is an adult. I would say tough titty. Recently a friend of mine went to Cuba. I got an E mail from the Island asking for 500 bucks, since he had his wallet stolen. I ignored the plea. Anybody that stupid should not leave the house unless on a leash with an attendant. When he returned to Canada, he asked how long I would have ignored him, and left him in Cuba. My reply was he would be in great shape from machete cutting sugar cane. At a dollar a day or less, it would take awhile to accumulate air fair back to Toronto. He would have been in better shape than the squaw, who recently went off the gourmet hunger strike. |
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| wildie | Jan 27 2013, 04:59 PM Post #15 |
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Veteran Member
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Wow! You two must have really been burning up the line! :soapbox.gif: |
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