Abington police issue warning for telephone scam
October 21, 2010
By Kaitlyn Foti
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Abington police are warning residents against an ongoing telephone scam. The scam, dubbed the “grandchild in distress” scam by police, mostly targets the elderly.
“They will typically get an elderly person on the phone, without knowing the grandchild’s name, and talk the victim into providing the name,” said Abington Deputy Chief of Police John Livingood.
The caller frequently uses tactics such as asking “do you know who this is?” or saying “it’s your favorite grandson,” Livingood said, which confuses the victim into saying a name.
The caller then pretends to be that grandchild and tells the victim that they are in an emergency and desperately need money sent to them.
“This isn’t just now happening, but we’ve had a couple in the last couple of months,” Livingood said.
“It is a crime we’ve seen for a couple of years now, but I’ve seen a little increase recently.”
Livingood gave warning signs of phone calls that could be a scam, including callers requesting money, claiming to be a relative in Canada or other foreign location, insisting on “secrecy,” sometimes claiming they don’t want to bother or embarrass the rest of the family. Livingood said residents should also be wary if the caller is pressuring for a quick response, has an unfamiliar voice and requests that money is sent by wire transfer.
“Ask the person their birthday, something that only the legitimate grandchild would know. That’s the sort of thing that I would recommend,” Livingood said.
The scam isn’t exclusive to the elderly, but they are the main target of the scam. Whether the elderly residents who live alone or at a retirement community does not matter, Livingood said.
“I have examples of both. Folks aren’t insulated from it living in a retirement home. As long as they have a phone they can get one of these calls,” Livingood said.
The callers usually request several thousand dollars, claiming that they’ve been in an accident, got stranded or are in some kind of trouble while traveling in Canada or another country. Livingood said that whether or not residents fall victim to the scam, they should call police and file a report.
“Contact us if it happened in Abington Township and we will attempt to follow up on it. It’s a little difficult because almost always this money is going to a foreign country,” Livingood said.
“It would be beneficial for us to know that and file a report.”
Police said those who have been a victim of the “grandchild in distress” scam or would like more information or a presentation on “Scams and Cons” to contact crime prevention officer Sgt. Pat Molloy at 267-536-1070.
“They will typically get an elderly person on the phone, without knowing the grandchild’s name, and talk the victim into providing the name,” said Abington Deputy Chief of Police John Livingood.
The caller frequently uses tactics such as asking “do you know who this is?” or saying “it’s your favorite grandson,” Livingood said, which confuses the victim into saying a name.
The caller then pretends to be that grandchild and tells the victim that they are in an emergency and desperately need money sent to them.
“This isn’t just now happening, but we’ve had a couple in the last couple of months,” Livingood said.
“It is a crime we’ve seen for a couple of years now, but I’ve seen a little increase recently.”
Livingood gave warning signs of phone calls that could be a scam, including callers requesting money, claiming to be a relative in Canada or other foreign location, insisting on “secrecy,” sometimes claiming they don’t want to bother or embarrass the rest of the family. Livingood said residents should also be wary if the caller is pressuring for a quick response, has an unfamiliar voice and requests that money is sent by wire transfer.
“Ask the person their birthday, something that only the legitimate grandchild would know. That’s the sort of thing that I would recommend,” Livingood said.
The scam isn’t exclusive to the elderly, but they are the main target of the scam. Whether the elderly residents who live alone or at a retirement community does not matter, Livingood said.
“I have examples of both. Folks aren’t insulated from it living in a retirement home. As long as they have a phone they can get one of these calls,” Livingood said.
The callers usually request several thousand dollars, claiming that they’ve been in an accident, got stranded or are in some kind of trouble while traveling in Canada or another country. Livingood said that whether or not residents fall victim to the scam, they should call police and file a report.
“Contact us if it happened in Abington Township and we will attempt to follow up on it. It’s a little difficult because almost always this money is going to a foreign country,” Livingood said.
“It would be beneficial for us to know that and file a report.”
Police said those who have been a victim of the “grandchild in distress” scam or would like more information or a presentation on “Scams and Cons” to contact crime prevention officer Sgt. Pat Molloy at 267-536-1070.
SOURCE: The Montgomery News
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