Montgomery County Police warn residents to avoid ‘Grandparent Scam’
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Montgomery County Police are warning about a scam that cost two county residents $5,000.
It’s called the “grandparent scam,” and it involves a criminal claiming to be a grandchild of the person who answers. The supposed grandchild then claims they are in trouble and need help.
Eventually, the grandparent is asked to give money.
Joyce Thomas, of Silver Spring, is one of the victims who lost $5,000. She says earlier this month she received a call on a Friday afternoon.
“He sounded very upset, and said, ‘Grandma?’” she said. “Then he said, ‘Do you know who this is?’ And I said, ‘It sounds like Jonathan.’ And he said, ‘Yes.’”
Thomas now realizes that’s how the scammers learned her grandson’s name—from her, but at the time she thought she was actually talking to him.
MCP Reminds Residents: Beware of Grandparent Scam: https://t.co/9oMG2ck9N3
— Montgomery County Department of Police (@mcpnews) November 29, 2017
WASHINGTON (ABC7) — Montgomery County Police are warning about a scam that cost two county residents $5,000.
It’s called the “grandparent scam,” and it involves a criminal claiming to be a grandchild of the person who answers. The supposed grandchild then claims they are in trouble and need help.
Eventually, the grandparent is asked to give money.
Joyce Thomas, of Silver Spring, is one of the victims who lost $5,000. She says earlier this month she received a call on a Friday afternoon.
“He sounded very upset, and said, ‘Grandma?’” she said. “Then he said, ‘Do you know who this is?’ And I said, ‘It sounds like Jonathan.’ And he said, ‘Yes.’”
Thomas now realizes that’s how the scammers learned her grandson’s name—from her, but at the time she thought she was actually talking to him.
“Then he says, ‘I’m in trouble,’” she said. “’I was in a car accident. I was speeding. I went through a red light and I got arrested. I’m in jail.’”
She says the man pretending to be her grandson asked if his public defender could call her to arrange for her to help. A short time later another man did call, saying he needed $5,000 bail that Thomas would get back as long as her grandson showed up for court.
“He says, we have a procedure that we use, we use it all the time. The money has to be wired for the bail,” Thomas said the man told her.
He asked her to wire the money through Bank of America. Thomas said she and her husband did so, all the while very emotional and upset as they believed the story was true.
She says she had been given the number of another person to call after the transfer. A woman answered who claimed her grandson had actually hit a car with a pregnant woman who had lost her baby. She then asked for $4,000 more for fees, which Thomas said she couldn’t provide.
Even though the man pretending to be her grandson had said his cell had been taken away, Thomas eventually called her grandson’s phone anyway and reached him.
She began talking to him as if he actually was in trouble.
“He says, ‘What are you talking about?’ And I said, ‘Somebody called and said you were in jail.’ And he said, ‘Grandma, that was a scam.’”
Not only was her grandson not in jail—he was actually in church.
Thomas hopes her interview with ABC7 News warns others so they don’t fall victim to the scam.
“There was a lot of tension around speed, and a lot make-believe characters, because there were three different voices,” she said of the scam. “I got caught up in the story and didn’t have time to think. And as I started to think, stepping back, I realized there were a number of red flags.”
She says among the red flags, that the supposed lawyer called from a number that was not a Maryland area code, which he claimed was his cell phone. He also said her grandson was in the “county jail,” but didn’t say which county.
Montgomery County Police say the other resident who was scammed was asked to buy gift cards at Best Buy and read the numbers to the scammer to help their grandchild.
Montgomery County Police posted the following advice on their website:
- Do not provide information over the phone. Scammers often ask leading questions to retrieve information from you. Often, you do not realize that you are giving them valuable information. In both of these recent cases, the scammer began the telephone call with, “Hello Grandma” and, “Do you know who this is?”
- Scammers create a sense of urgency; they state that they are in distress and need money immediately. Slow down and ask the caller for detailed information and a contact number. Tell the caller you will call them back after you verify information.
- Then, attempt to verify the caller’s story by calling family and/or friends. Scammers will often tell the loved one not to tell anyone because he/she is embarrassed about being in the situation.
- Remember that scammers often use a technique called “spoofing.” Spoofing provides a fictitious number to a Caller ID display.
- Do not send money. Beware of anyone asking you to wire money or buy gift cards and provide them with the cards’ information.
- Most importantly, contact police immediately if you believe you are a victim of a telephone scam.
