Watch out for the Grandchildren scam; here is how it works

The FTC have warned of a trending scam where crooks use the identities of grandchildren to trick elderly people into sending them money.

Scams that involve crooks impersonating a friend or family member to trick a victim into handing over money are incredibly popular, and are collectively known as family imposter scams. However the FTC has recently reported about a rise of a particular subset of family imposter scams – the grandchildren scam.

As you would expect, this is where crooks will pretend to be (or pretend to be representing) a victim’s grandchild, and as such, targeted victims are usually over 70 years old. Like many of these scams, they often begin with a phone call, or could be initiated over social media as well.

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Most of these scams are targeted. This means that the crook would have done their research before initiating a scam, and has collected personal information on their would-be victim. This can include personal details such as where they live, the name of their grandchildren as well as their ages. This is all designed to make the scam more convincing.

Most of these scams will take on the “friend-in-crisis” model. This is where crooks will pretend to represent a friend or family member in crisis and in need of urgent money. This is also a popular scheme when Facebook accounts get cloned or hijacked.

In one real case, the crook pretended to be a lawyer representing the victim’s grandchild who was (according to the crook) involved in an accident after drink driving. The victim was told to Fedex money which could be used to bail out the grandchild.

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Alternatively, the crooks could pretend to be the grandchildren themselves claiming they’ve lost their money abroad and urgently need cash to return home.

As you would expect, any money the victim hands over is then stolen and unlikely to be seen again.

Clearly such scams are specifically designed to exploit emotions, and panic victim’s into handing over cash. While many of us would be normally immune to such schemes, crooks know that the thought of loved ones in peril may cloud our judgement, leading us to make impulsive and ill-advised decisions.

As with any “friend-in-crisis” scam, family imposter scam and grandchild scam, where someone is claiming to be (or representing) a loved one asking for money urgently, it is important to follow some simple tips.

– Don’t panic or be rushed into action. Most crooks know that the more time a victim has to think about the situation, the more likely they will correctly determine they are being scammed. If you ever find yourself in a situation like this, take your time, speak to friends or family members and don’t rush into action.

– If possible, use your own contact information to get in touch with the family member who is mentioned in the scam.

– Don’t Fedex money, and don’t wire money using services like Western Union. These are not recommended ways of sending money to people you don’t know.

– Make sure your privacy settings are right. The crooks will target victims who share lots of personal information, because the crooks know that this personal information is what will make their scams appear far more convincing. Don’t overshare on social media, and always use the recommended privacy settings.

And remember, if in doubt, always ask!