Monday, May 6, 2013

Tuolumne County Sheriff press release re: Scam Alert



THE GRANDPARENT SCAM


GRANDPARENTS BEWARE!  DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

The “Grandparent Scam” has been reported to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) since 2008.  It is the #1 scam here in Tuolumne County.  Sadly, grandparents are still falling for this impersonation of their grandchild. Scam artists have become very sophisticated and are able to uncover personal information about their targets on social media websites resulting in a very believable impersonation.

The common scenario goes like this:  a grandparent receives a call from their grandchild or occasionally a niece or nephew.  The call comes in early in the morning or late at night catching the grandparent off guard and not alert.  The impersonator claims he is out of the country, usually Mexico, and has been involved in a car accident, caught with drugs, in jail or has been mugged and needs money wired ASAP.  Once that money is wired it is gone FOREVER!

If you are convinced this is a call from your grandchild…. DO NOT RESPOND IMMEDIATELY.  First call the parents and find out the whereabouts of your grandchild.

   

Jane Koskela
Sheriff’s Community Service Unit
Scam Supervisor

April 29, 2013