Press Release 1/18/17
For More Information Contact: Lt. David Niedert
Recently the Oelwein Police Department has received a report of an attempted scam on one of our citizens. This scam is usually aimed at elderly residents with family, so it is named the “grandparents” scam.
The Grandparent Scam:
A grandparent receives a frantic call from someone they believe to be their grandchild. The supposed grandchild sounds distressed and may be calling from a noisy location. The supposed grandchild claims to be involved in some type of trouble while traveling in Canada or overseas, such as being arrested or in a car accident or needing emergency car repairs, and asks the grandparent to immediately wire money to post bail or pay for medical treatment or car repairs. The scammer typically asks for several thousand dollars, and may even call back again several hours or days later asking for more money. He or she may claim embarrassment about the alleged trouble and ask the grandparent to keep it a secret. A common theme of the scam across the nation is the caller's request for the grandparent to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram or to provide bank account routing numbers. Wiring money is like sending cash; there are no protections for the sender. Typically, there is no way you can reverse the transaction, trace the money, or recover payment from the telephone con artists.
How to Avoid Being Scammed
Be suspicious when you receive a telephone call where:
- A grandchild calls you from a faraway location.
- The grandchild says, "It's me," or "It's your grandson," or "It's your favorite grandchild."
- The grandchild is in some trouble or some type of distress.
- The caller asks for money to be wire transferred
If you receive such a call, you should verify the identity and location of the grandchild claiming to be in trouble. You should hang up and call another family member who can confirm your grandchild's whereabouts. Try calling your grandchild at the telephone number through which you normally reach him or her. Stay calm and avoid acting out of a sense of urgency. Do not wire money unless you have verified with an independent third party that your grandchild is truly in trouble.
In addition, never give out any personal identifying information such as bank account or credit card numbers to anyone who calls you on the phone. As in the Grandparents Scam, con artists will lie, cheat, steal, and make up plausible stories to convince you to wire money or divulge sensitive information. The callers are often professional criminals who are skillfully able to get you to wire money or give personal information before you have time to properly assess the situation.
If you feel you, or a relative are a victim of a scam, you should immediately call your local law enforcement agency.