After 60,000 complaints nationwide – 1,600 victims in New Jersey – state and federal officials are rolling out a national campaign to talk about a booming scam targeting seniors.
Jim and Dorothy, an elderly couple from Wayne, NJ, are among the victims in what officials call one of “the most malicious scams in our society.” The couple spoke publicly on the condition that their last name not be used.
The couple said they got a phone call about a month ago from a person who said he was their grandson asking for help and money.
Jim said the man on the phone explained he was in jail in Canada after a car accident.
“The caller sounded like my grandson only with a stuffed nose,” said Jim.
The man claimed he broke his nose in the crash and then asked them to wire $2,800. They agreed.
“We thought our grandson was injured, in trouble and in need of money and we wanted to help him,” Jim said.
However, first they called their grandson’s mom just to make sure. Their grandson was fine and in school. Jim and Dorothy narrowly escaped being victims of “The Grandparents Scam.”
The caller had specific details about their family which Jim and Dorothy believe he got from their grandson’s Facebook page.
“We feel violated that someone knew so many details about our family,” Jim said. “If it can happen to us, it can happen to anyone.”
The State Division of Consumer Affairs noted that the average New Jersey victim who complained about the Grandparent Scam lost $3,500.
“The scammers themselves are very smart and they do their homework, they know how to work the process and the emotions” said Paula Dow, New Jersey State Attorney General. “They may pretend to be your grandchild, a law enforcement officer or an official at the hospital.”
Authorities say Jim and Dorothy did the right thing. Double-check before sending money and maybe create an emergency code word for close relatives.
New Jersey acting Consumer Affairs Director Thomas R. Calcagni says a nation-wide campaign warning seniors about the scam is kicking off.
“The best weapon against this type of crime is awareness,” said Calcagni.
{CBS Broadcasting/Matzav.com Newscenter}
HASHEM & the FBI are not the only ones in the world that are aware of every step you take & things you do every minute. WELCOME to communist America, where thousands of people you do not know, know lots of info about you.
BE AWARE they are sent from Hashem as a reminder & wake up call to let everyone know that you can’t hide from Hashem & everything from A-Z is seen & written down. A person is only fooling himself when he thinks he can fool Hashem because noone is watching him sin C”V
Dear wake-up, what do these people have to do with Hashem? You say they are communist. I doubt they know Karl Marx from Groucho Marx. In my opinion they are just crooks ordinary-crooks, no more no less.
to brain dead
i wasn’t talking about the crooks. i was talking about Klal Yisroel & every Yid. & these goyishe crooks are sent as Hashems messengers to wake all Yidden up etc… above.
if yidden would be more aware & in awe of Hashem-that he is everywhere-then sinning would not be as often as it is R”L (whichever sins they might be R”L…) (EX. if we were more aware of Hashem always being in front of us 24-7. a person would not EVEN THINK of picking up his cell phone while davening…) Hashem is everywhere & not just in Shuls. Hashem is just closer in shuls & a person can feel closer to Hashem when he davens, compared to the rest of the day when he is working.
Yet another reason not to use Facebook and other social networking sites!
i know someone this happened to. Its unbelievable how they use the names and find the right grandparent for it.