Jean in Newcastle Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds17 just got a call from his aunt asking if he was ok. Apparently she had gotten a call from "him" saying that he had been drinking and driving, had gotten in an accident and needed bail money. She had the presence of mind to call us at our home to check the story out. I've heard of this type of scam before on the news - usually trying to scam money out of elderly people to bail out their "grandson". So. . . how do the scammers get the necessary information to do this scam? The aunt does not have the same last name as ds and does not even live in the same country. Do we need to beef up some kind of internet security or something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My dad has gotten two of them! Both claimed to be my nephew, and it really weirded him out. But it would never work with him- he'd never bail any of us out.g We've wondered how they get the info- I hope someone here knows! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I've gotten those by email but never by phone. That is really scary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Oops, I accidently gave this thread only four stars; I meant to give it five. :o Thank you, I will forward this info to my parents. Sorry, I cannot help with any information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Did they give his name? Yes, first name. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My FIL got one of these calls about my ds. We are not close to him and only talk a couple times a year. Apparently ds called and said he was arrested in Mexico. FIL called the house to make sure. We aren't close enough that he would know ds voice. It was strange though. The guy used the nickname my ds goes by. Made me think our info really had to have been compromised at some point. Facebook maybe? We never did figure it out but no one else got any calls. Very odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 In my dad's case, my 'nephew' called and used the name my dad calls him, AND he called my dad Papa. I know that both of those could be accidents but that's odd. I know some kids call their grandfather Papa but in our family, each of us siblings' kids call my dad a different name. So odd that they knew which one nephew uses. And it happened twice, a couple of months apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 If I type in my dad's name on the internet a list of his relatives pops up. Then I could look up a local phone book and find these relatives phone numbers. I don't think it is anything you can control. Unfortunately my name number and address are listed on the internet. I have no clue how. I have no control over getting it removed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I would suspect FB, as it asks how people are related. Especially if aunty has an unusual last name--it's a quick hop to the white pages for her phone number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 First name right up front, or did she give them the first name? Like did they say, "Come get John." Or did they say, "Your grandson/nephew has been in an accident." And then she says, "Oh, you mean John?" They volunteered the name. Actually, I would have liked to have been a fly on the wall for that conversation. Auntie's English is challenging for me and I know her well. Plus, she's rather well known as a bit of a tartar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caroline Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I just texted my parents about this. They said they knew about it. They live in an over 55 community and apparently they sit around the pool and discuss these things. My dad said his cousin (about 85) got a call supposedly from my dad (73) about being bailed out. The person knew the nickname my dad had for his cousin and everything. Cousin knew had to be a scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My in-laws got a weird call like that once saying my husband's cousin was stuck overseas and needed some money transferred ASAP. It was definitely not the cousin and it really creeped us all out. The in laws would probably have fallen for it had we not intervened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 One grandma-great I know started asking them questions about said *grandson*. They hung up quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I just texted my parents about this. They said they knew about it. They live in an over 55 community and apparently they sit around the pool and discuss these things. My dad said his cousin (about 85) got a call supposedly from my dad (73) about being bailed out. The person knew the nickname my dad had for his cousin and everything. Cousin knew had to be a scam. They haven't moved to one in Western NoVa, have they? Cause that would be really freaky. I need to tell my parents about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds17 just got a call from his aunt asking if he was ok. Apparently she had gotten a call from "him" saying that he had been drinking and driving, had gotten in an accident and needed bail money. She had the presence of mind to call us at our home to check the story out. I've heard of this type of scam before on the news - usually trying to scam money out of elderly people to bail out their "grandson". So. . . how do the scammers get the necessary information to do this scam? The aunt does not have the same last name as ds and does not even live in the same country. Do we need to beef up some kind of internet security or something? Relatives are often listed with your records. Do a simple record search and check who is all listed with you. Sometimes people you don't know can be appearing there too. :) My mother (who lives in Europe) has gotten a call "from her grandson who was stuck somewhere and needed her to send some money because he could not reach his parents." My mother laughed and said: "You've got the wrong grandmother. My grandson lives in the U.S. Evidently a quite ubiquitous scheme. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My husbands grandmother in another state sent over $2000 to someone in Mexico to bail him out of jail. What was really sweet of her bc she almost never even sees him. Nothing personal. They just can't travel and we can't ever seem to find the time and money to go there. She called me to ask if he was okay and did he get the money. My dh has never been in any kind of jail anywhere and we've never asked her for money. Her, "Well honey I know that which is why it scared me so bad when that bail bondsman called. I knew it had to just be the worst thing if he was calling me for money at 3am. And all I could think was of our little Robby in some Mexican hellhole without insulin or anything so I got dressed and sent the money via western union right away. But then I didn't hear anything more and I know he wouldn't ever want you to know he had been in jail but I'm really worried. Are you sure he isn't in jail down there on one of his business trips?" Uh. Yeah. He was 17 miles from me. He had to call her and call an uncle nearby her to go calm her down and check her bank accounts were okay and report the crime. On the plus side, we now know who to call if we're ever in a pinch in Mexico. :D On the negative, she might not have the money now. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My DH's grandma got one of these calls. She doesn't have the money and told them where to go. Then called his Dad. Who verified we were OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Excelsior! Academy Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds17 just got a call from his aunt asking if he was ok. Apparently she had gotten a call from "him" saying that he had been drinking and driving, had gotten in an accident and needed bail money. She had the presence of mind to call us at our home to check the story out. I've heard of this type of scam before on the news - usually trying to scam money out of elderly people to bail out their "grandson". So. . . how do the scammers get the necessary information to do this scam? The aunt does not have the same last name as ds and does not even live in the same country. Do we need to beef up some kind of internet security or something? This same thing happened two or three years ago to an elderly lady we know. The caller claimed to be her grandson and gave her grandson's name. I can't remember the details, but the caller gave enough information that she thought it was one of her grandson's "friends" calling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My cousin spent some time traveling through Mexico and Central and South America. His parents got a phone call from someone claiming to know him and saying that he was in prison. I don't remember which country he said but the caller knew names and details. What made it worse is that she couldn't get in touch with my cousin. She ended up calling an international prison ministry to see if they could help her verify if he was actually in prison. Obviously, they couldn't find anything about him. I think he checked in with her a day or so later so she knew he was okay. It's crazy how much of our personal information is out there. ETA: My cousin was making blog posts through his trip so I'm sure some of the information was there but his last name wasn't on the blog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted July 11, 2014 Author Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds tells me that apparently his aunt spent most of the time badgering the imposter to get on the straight and narrow! :D I'm fairly sure there is a guy somewhere in a bit of shock. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I think we've been phished for the Spanish language version of this. Some scumball keeps calling and pretending he's dh's Mexican nephew. I've been polite, I've been rude, I've cussed him out in Venezuelan Spanish, but he keeps calling every few months to try it again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohdanigirl Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I have gotten a similar call like that three times. In my case, the person had looked up the name connected to our phone number. Then they called and acted like they knew one of my kids and said, "guess who from Blank family this is." Basically trying to get a name to use. People some times give out info without realizing it. I have since made it very clear to the kids never to give out their name, and if the person calling doesn't give a name after asking twice get are to hang up. This was a very common scam in Mexico. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingmama Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My MIL fell for this scam a couple years back. Someone called saying he was her grandson and was in trouble in Canada, didn't want dad to know, yada, yada. She sent money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds tells me that apparently his aunt spent most of the time badgering the imposter to get on the straight and narrow! :D I'm fairly sure there is a guy somewhere in a bit of shock. . . As he should be...perhaps repentance will follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieSong Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Two nuns who were friends of my MIL (I say were because MIL passed away) had this happen to them! A guy called saying he was my dh's brother and was in Chicago (a long long way from home) and had been in an accident and needed money. Fortunately they did not fall for it. They tried to call dh's brother at home but could reach him, so they called the younger sister who knew the story sounded really suspicious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 In my dad's case, my sister was there and she sent a text to our nephew, who responded right away that he was sitting at the airport waiting for a flight. Nope, not sitting in a jail cell after being arrested for dui. Dad would have never wired money, but it did throw him off because even though the guy's voice was much quieter than my nephew's, he thought it might have been because he was in trouble. But Dad also knew that nephew would have called his wife or his mom before he'd call his grandfather. Still, it's such a mean thing to do to old people! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I know. I asked her why she didn't think we'd call her son, my dh's dad, instead of her and she said she figured he wouldn't want him to know. Why? What did she think he might have been in jail for? "Bail bondsman" told her my dh was arrested for visiting hookers! LOL Um. Well points to him for guessing that if my dh got caught with a hooker he better not call here for bond money bc yep, we'd not pony up. Of course it's never even remotely been an issue either. I pointed that out to her and she said she shocked but men can go through an extra stupid phase in midlife and was prepared to beat him to death with her bible as soon as she found out he was okay. I so appreciated that age old southern can do spirit of women for dealing with their menfolk. ;p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieMarie Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Dh got an email from a friend saying he was stuck in another country, had been robbed and need money wired to him. Because this friend frequently does international travel and it came on his email it was very believable. Luckily we found out that he was still in town. His email got hacked and it was sent to everyone in his address book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenaj Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My mom just got this scam call last week. My Mom has four teenage-young 20's grandsons but talks to three of the four regularly on the phone so when the guy on the other end said, "Hi Grandma" she went through the possibilities and said, "Noah?" That gave them the opening they needed as far as a name. Fortunately, even though my mom bit on the the truthfulness of the whole "I"m in jail in FL and need money for bail" thing, my Dad wasn't home and Mom told the guy that she would never send that much money without discussing with it with Grandpa. The guy on the other end got a bit belligerent and then hung up. Mom immediately contacted my brother to let him know of the problem and found out that Noah was in summer school. She felt so stupid but I'm so glad that she wasn't willing to follow through immediately without a bit of checking. My in-laws almost got sucked in several years ago to an email scam. They are missionaries and have acquaintances in many different countries and received the email from one of them about being in jail overseas. They were ready to send the money and happened to call me about something else and mention the troubles this poor man was having. I was able to stop them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 FIL got a call once; Caller: Hey Grandad, do you know who this is? FIL: No Caller: It's your favorite grandson Fortunately FIL is a suspicious type (plus he didn't recognize the voice) so he started asking questions. The caller hung up. Now, it could have been a wrong number and the guy really thought he was calling his grandfather, but it might also have been the beginning of a scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My mother got this call a few days ago saying it was their grandson needing bail money in Canada. The only grandson they see/talk to regularly is 8 years old. I don't think so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 My grandma got a call like that, and they had the names of many family members and knew where my cousin lived that they were calling about. It was scary. My grandma reported it to the police, but it is hard to track those things. They did drive by and check on my grandparents though given the amount of info these people had on our family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Ds17 just got a call from his aunt asking if he was ok. Apparently she had gotten a call from "him" saying that he had been drinking and driving, had gotten in an accident and needed bail money. She had the presence of mind to call us at our home to check the story out. I've heard of this type of scam before on the news - usually trying to scam money out of elderly people to bail out their "grandson". So. . . how do the scammers get the necessary information to do this scam? The aunt does not have the same last name as ds and does not even live in the same country. Do we need to beef up some kind of internet security or something? I got one of those "I'm stuck in a foreign country, and my ID has been stolen, please send money" emails the other day. It was from a friend! At least from her email address. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I got one of those emails about a friend. It was something about her being beaten up and hospitalized in some Central/South American country. Meanwhile, this friend is posting pictures from China. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 My mom has gotten two of those calls from "grandchildren" who were traveling and got in an accident and needed money to get home. She has zero internet presence, so that's not where people got the information to call her. They also answer questions with pretty generic answers because they target older people but don't necessarily have much information to go on. For example, the first one was a guy and when my mom asked who it was, he said your oldest grandson. She asked where his parents were, and he said they were at home. That was a giveaway, since my oldest nephew's mom (my sister) died a couple years before the call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 My mom has gotten two of those calls from "grandchildren" who were traveling and got in an accident and needed money to get home. She has zero internet presence, so that's not where people got the information to call her. They also answer questions with pretty generic answers because they target older people but don't necessarily have much information to go on. For example, the first one was a guy and when my mom asked who it was, he said your oldest grandson. She asked where his parents were, and he said they were at home. That was a giveaway, since my oldest nephew's mom (my sister) died a couple years before the call. Even people who don't go online can have an internet presence. I was surprised at how much info I found on my mom. Her name, current address, past addresses, and people she was associated with at those addresses. Google your mom and you might find something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Even people who don't go online can have an internet presence. I was surprised at how much info I found on my mom. Her name, current address, past addresses, and people she was associated with at those addresses. Google your mom and you might find something. Found her age, town and state, my dad's name, and her current husband's name (she remarried after my dad died). That's it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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