The Grandpa Scam

[ESchwab]

For the fourth time in the last three or four years, the Grandpa scam was tried on me today. I got a call from a guy who said he was my grandson (sounded like him) and was calling from the Dominican Republic. He said he was down there to act as best man at a friend's wedding. He tried to pledge me to silence on his problem (he didn't want his dad to know) which was that on the taxi ride to the airport to leave the country, the taxi was stopped and 2 and one-half pounds of weed was found in his luggage. He needed money for an appearance bond. We never got to the amount, because I told him this was the fourth time I had gotten such calls and all previous ones had been attempted scams. I told him I would call his dad. The call just faded out after that.


I called my son, who lives in Syracuse, New York, and he told me my grandson was in Rhode Island. My son called back a half hour later and told me my grandson was in fact in Rhode Island and had no plans to go to the Dominican Republic.


I have received similar calls before; two involving fake calls from my grandson and one involving a fake call from my youngest granddaughter. The previous ones asked for money to get my grandchildren out of traffic law violations and an accident. In each instance, they said they did not want their dad to know.


My son has considerable contact with Syracuse University and other colleges in the Syracuse area. He has learned from those schools that this scam is pretty common in upstate New York and has been surprisingly successful. I don't know about elsewhere.

[Frank X. Morris]

Howdy ESchwab,
No grandpa scam here, but have had the irs, your computer needs to be cleaned and the police league scams.

[JB3]

this is a nationwide problem. a step grandmother of mine received at least a dozen calls a decade or so ago all with a similar story like above, most about a cousin of mine who was in this or that fake trouble. I figure he hit some kind of clickbait or something, as hes the only one she got scam calls on.

She was living in CA and he was all over the midwest and east coast during 5 or 6 years.

[Idle]

Just tell them they will have to lay it out in jail as a character building exercise.

And then go into detail about how you did your time, even though the guy who was slowly beat to death was someone one you didn't know and you weren't even there, and the twenty years to life didn't do you any harm. Why, you even came out the better man for it!

And the anger management issues! If only you could solve those. But you are working on it. The only thing that really sets you off now are the scam phone calls. Those tended to drive you nuts and bring out the worst in you.

And then ask them, "What were you calling about again?"

[t walgamuth]

There are some pretty clever scammers out there.

[CarpeDiem51392]

My grandma got a call like that, she was telling me. I wonder how they know who is a grandparent.

I once got a call from a woman with a thick southern accent. It was so soothing I found myself lulled.

Until she asked if I had gotten the email. What email? We sent you an email, what was your email address???

[jplinville]

I get called multiple times a week. I rather enjoy the guy from the Windows department of Microsoft. The longest I've kept him online, stringing him along is 22 minutes. I am hoping to break the 30 minute mark with them.

[Air&Road]

Keep up the good work Jon! String those scumbags along!

[jplinville]

PSP investigates fake kidnapping scam – AKVNEWS.COM

PSP is investigating scams very much like the one the OP is talking about.

[sunedog]

Of course you've already heard this one:

"This new scam is being pulled mainly on older men. What happens is that when you stop for a red light a young, string bikini clad woman comes up and pretends to be washing your windshield. While she is doing this another person opens your back door and steals anything in the car. They are very good at this.

They got me 7 times Friday and 5 times Saturday. I wasn't able to find them on Sunday."

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by sunedog

Of course you've already heard this one:

"This new scam is being pulled mainly on older men. What happens is that when you stop for a red light a young, string bikini clad woman comes up and pretends to be washing your windshield. While she is doing this another person opens your back door and steals anything in the car. They are very good at this.

They got me 7 times Friday and 5 times Saturday. I wasn't able to find them on Sunday."

While at my now-deceased 90 year old father's house, I once got a call saying that I was severely injured in a traffic accident in Toronto and that Blue Cross of Canada required a $ 500.00 bond prior to entry into the hospital.


I told them, " Let him die on the sidewalk like the dog he is" and hung up.

[Stretch]

I've been saying it for years on this forum and nobody listens to my "I is a poor Nigerian orphan" story. Not one of you have ever sent me any money.

I'll keep trying though.

I've been reliably informed it is a numbers game and eventually I'll get lucky.

[P.C.]

Originally Posted by strelnik

While at my now-deceased 90 year old father's house, I once got a call saying that I was severely injured in a traffic accident in Toronto and that Blue Cross of Canada required a $ 500.00 bond prior to entry into the hospital.


I told them, " Let him die on the sidewalk like the dog he is" and hung up.

Thanksgiving dinners must have been warm and fuzzy occasions...

[jplinville]

I love the ones that say they're from the Grant Department, and I have been awarded a grant from the US Government in the range of $10K, but I need to send $500 ASAP to secure the grant, and to pay for processing. I told one guy to call me back on another number because I couldn't hear him so well...412-432-4000, which is the Pittsburgh office for the FBI.

[strelnik]

Originally Posted by P.C.

Thanksgiving dinners must have been warm and fuzzy occasions...

They were. If you read carefully, you'll see that I was denouncing myself but the caller didn't realize it.