'Granny Scam' surfaces in Marin
03/28/2009
The followup call never came, and her bank account was $2,000 lighter.
The woman, who asked that her name not be used, was the victim of an elder abuse technique known as the "Granny Scam," a widespread fraud that is beginning to surface in Marin, according to police reports.
Under the scam, an elderly resident receives a desperate call from someone claiming to be a grandchild in need of emergency funds. The caller directs the victim to wire money to a location, often in Canada, and not to tell other family members about his embarrassing troubles.
Canadian authorities say the scam resulted in $2.2 million being wired into the country by more than 400 grandparents in the United States last year.
In the case of the San Rafael woman who wired money to grandson "Tom," there was an additional element of menace when a man claiming to be her grandson's lawyer got on the phone and said the $2,000 would not be enough to keep her loved one out of jail. Another $16,000 would be necessary, he said.
The woman did not send it because she did not have it. Then she alerted her adult daughters, and they confirmed it was a scam.
"Somebody should tell somebody so little old ladies like me know what's going on," she said. "It's got to be in the paper so little old ladies will read this and they don't fall for this. They need to ask questions."
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