Northwest Scam

[Howard1955]

If you know elderly folks who live alone, this might be of interest to you.


I know an 84-year old lady, who lives by herself. Today, she got a phone call from someone who claimed to be one of her granddaughters. The scammer wasn't working alone - there was at least one other person involved, who claimed to be an attorney. These people had done their homework, and knew the granddaughter's name, along with other pertinent family information. They gave a case number, a phone number, and other details that convinced her that she needed to "rescue" the granddaughter. (Bail her out of jail.)

Here's where this scam differs from the "Send it to me through Western Union" scam. These guys were planning to come to the lady's home (they knew her address) to pick up the cash.

Yep. $7,800 cash.

She went to the bank, and attempted to make the withdrawal. Thankfully, a bank employee recognized this was a scam, and convinced her not to follow through with the "rescue" of the "granddaughter".

The most dangerous part of this particular scam is that the crooks were prepared to come to their victim's home. This means there is a local element to this group. They're not just calling Granny from some other country - they're coming to her front door.

The police are now involved, and we're hoping that's the end of this little adventure.

So, friends - these scammers are in the Northwest, and are targeting the elderly. Be careful.

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[Kruel J]

They've been here for years. And they're not even actually "here". Phone numbers and personal info is cheap these days. I get at least 2 calls a year. I enjoy messing with them.

BTW, the "local" number they're calling from is just a spoof app. Don't let the caller ID fool you. It's all BS.

 

[Howard1955]

I think what was most disturbing about this was the statement "We'll come by to pick up the money".

 

[Kruel J]

I think what was most disturbing about this was the statement "We'll come by to pick up the money".

I was told the sheriff was on the way to collect a credit card debt I never had.

They prey on the elderly that don't understand laws or technology.

https://www.spoofcard.com/free-spoof-caller-id

They COUNT on an 84 year old to get scared and pay the "ransom". POS's all of them.

 

[Alex V]

I generally ignore any numbers I dont recognize. If it's important enough, they'll leave a message. I have worked in retail management and aside from the usual theft and fraudulent returns, we get money transfer scams all of the time. Both elderly being defrauded and scammers trying to get us to send "test" transactions. We're trained to hang up on or deny transactions we suspect of being fraudulent, but they still get through. I'm sorry I missed my chance to really mess with them.

 

[po18guy]

Oh, please! Come right on over! I haven't OC'ed anyone in years. Still have the 8oz magnum bear spray canister that I carried to break parties up. A little 10% oleoresin capsicum in their mucosa would give them reason to "reflect" while I wait 1.5 hours for the deputies to arrive.

 

[Jonnyuma]

My mom got this call a few yrs ago... she told me about it because they were using my son's name.

She told em to get bent.

 

[teflon6string]

Sadly, oldsters unwittingly play right into this.

"Hello?"

"Hi Grandma."

"Who is this?"

"Your grandson!"

"Johnny?"

At the other end, Abdul Rahim Schmedlap scribbles on the notes - "Grandson = Johnny." Okay, we might have a live one here.

I see 12-20 calls weekly from unknown or spoofed dialers. But I ignore any number I don't recognize since merely answering will signal an auto-dialer that my number is legit, manned by a human and a potential target for more focused exploitation.

Got half a decade of LEO in my varied resume, and I'm retired now. With an elderly mom and mother-in-law, and the time to do what I want, I'd love to work for any agency that investigates scams like this. Hell, I'll happily volunteer my services for free if it might lead to shutting some of these bastards down (better yet, some sort of conviction). With no idea who to contact, I'm open to suggestions on where I might inquire about being of service.

 

[teflon6string]

Funny true story here. My mother-in-law (age 86) is naturally suspicious, actually closer to paranoid regarding strangers. A year ago, she got the standard call starting with "Hi Mom." Asked who it was. It was supposedly her "son."

In her thick German accent she replied, "This is funny, because my son is here mit me now, you son of a bjtch!" SLAM!!!

One for the good guys.

 

[Hawaiian]

This happened to my 90 yr old mother in law. She was told her grandson was in a MVA and was arrested. They wanted 8k for bail. The would send UPS to her house to p/u the payment. She went to the bank and withdrew 8k. Fortunately, she called her grandsons house and he was there and flipped out when she told him what she was doing. He called a friend who lives close by and had him go get his grandma and take her back to the bank to redeposit the money and stay with her in case anyone showed up. They called the police and they really did not seem interested. Told them to file a report with the state AG's office

When I told this story at work, a coworker said it happened to her MIL and she actually paid 5k to the scammers.

 

[teflon6string]

Yup, it's either for emergency medical bills or quick bail for an easily explained false-arrest.

 

[teflon6string]

Funny (as in funny ironic, not funny haha), as we speak, my phone rings...

 

[DuneHopper]

May or may not be legal, so this is something done( not me ) .

See fake number they ask to speak with so so and so. They must have missed when answered with a Blank Blank Police DEPT, how can I direct your call. It then goes about asking them to hold for the Sgt, when they say its a mistake, one says thats ok we have your number and will be in touch. Phone goes click on the other end.
It also stopped calls for like two years, umm i'm told. This is not advice, just something a bird told me.

 

[teflon6string]

May or may not be legal, so this is something done( not me ) .

See fake number they ask to speak with so so and so. They must have missed when answered with a Blank Blank Police DEPT, how can I direct your call. It then goes about asking them to hold for the Sgt, when they say its a mistake, one says thats ok we have your number and will be in touch. Phone goes click on the other end.
It also stopped calls for like two years, umm i'm told. This is not advice, just something a bird told me.

Might work, but so many of those are robo calls, at least initially, until the oxygen bandit at the other end sees a light indicating someone's on the line at your end. Which explains why you might say hello 2-3 times before "Kevin" (in India) finally responds on line 14.

 

[Flymph]

A lot of people who deal with financial transactions are trained to deal with this sort of thing.
These are also the sort of people who need to be more harshly dealt with. It's pitiful to do that to somebody.

 

[clearconscience]

Another reason to not have a landline.

She should have had a few good ol' boys waiting to give them what they were due

 

[Rickenbacher39]

I am elderly. My wife not so much. I robbed the cradle........
I am also not nearly stupid enough to be sucked into something like that.
We have no landline. That got rid of 1/2 the idiots.
We both have cell phones and we have spam blockers that block anyone
that is not on our contacts list from calling us. That got rid of the other 1/2.
It's not really that difficult.

 

[parallax]

MAN, i HAVE BEEN GETTING THESE CALLS ALOT LATELY, GETTING OLD REAL QUICK. !
I had a guy with a strong accent call me yesterday wanting to know if I would like to sell my home.
I replied " I don't know who put you up to this, but i am homeless and live at the park. So its pretty mean of you to make me feel worse than i already do. "

 

[DuneHopper]

I am elderly. My wife not so much. I robbed the cradle........
I am also not nearly stupid enough to be sucked into something like that.
We have no landline. That got rid of 1/2 the idiots.
We both have cell phones and we have spam blockers that block anyone
that is not on our contacts list from calling us. That got rid of the other 1/2.
It's not really that difficult.

I kinda disagree, we have had the same number a landline for 25 years and everyone from old business acquaintances, people i trade with etc all have this long time number. The number is an old one with one of the older prefixes. Anyways id love for all the calls to stop, charter has call blocking and last call block that helps. But we seldom ever get any on our cell. I wish I could throw away the landline but to much time invested in it.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I generally ignore any numbers I dont recognize. /QUOTE]

This here, leave a message maybe I'll call... yeah yeah.... lifes been good to me so far.