Posing as a grandson -- who needs money to get out of jail in Canada because of a fishing violation -- apparently is a successful scam operation.
In my last blog I had described how a friendly young guy claimed to be my grandson, Jim. He tolld me that he and his buddies unknowingly were fishing on hallowed Indian grounds in Ontario, and now he needed money to get out of jail. .
He said he had a cold and I was completely convinced I was talking to Jim with a cold. Fortunately I had no cash available to contribute. I told him I would have to sell some stock and that would take four days to clear. When I suggested he call "Uncle Mark," he suddenly hung up.
Calls among my family members located Jim at his desk at work, followed by my call to the New Berlin Police Department. Checking back with an officer last week, he said there had been no other similar complaints.
But there are a many reports about "grandparent scams," listed on the internet.
For instance, a Massachusetts newspaper reported that a third resident had fallen prey to this telephone scam and two of the victims lost more than $9,000. Their grandsons supposedly were arrested in Canada for fishing without a license and the grandmothers needed to wire money immediately from either Wal-Mart or U.S. Bank.
Or the caller might say there was some type of motor vehicle violation.
The Pittsburgh Gazette noted a grandmother, who walks with a cane, drove to Wal-Mart to wire $1,000 in bail money. Then she was contacted a second time. Becoming suspicious, she called her grandson’s mother and learned he was at work. The scammer still had the nerve to call her a third time.
When in doubt about a request for money, police advise asking the caller how to reach him and that you will call him back. If he doesn’t do that, it’s a sign he is up to no good.
It is amazing how much information there is about each of us on the internet, including the names of our family members. So this guy who called me actually knew I had a grandson named Jim.
Shortly after this scam attempt, my son Mark was in Montreal, Ontario. Telling a business associate about my phone call, he replied that this type of arrest would never happen there. He jokingly explained that if the Indians caught you on their hallowed grounds, they probably would shoot you and the police would never know about it.
