Grandparents Scammed (USA)

Intelligencer Journal
Lancaster New Era

Nov 05, 2009

Wallace and Marian Case have eight grandchildren.

So when the Penn Township retirees received a telephone call recently that one of their grandchildren was in trouble, they didn't hesitate to help.

Only problem was, police said, it wasn't really their grandchild in trouble, and the money they sent to help him instead went straight to a professional group of criminals.

"I feel stupid," Marian Case said on Wednesday, "but if telling other people about it can help someone else from becoming a victim, we're willing to talk about it."

Penn Township police said the scam artists who duped the Cases have been operating out of Canada for at least five years.

Authorities said "The Emergency Cash Phone Scam Double," as it's called, has been used to target an increasing number of elderly people in the past two months.

The Cases, unfortunately, were two such typical victims, police said, losing more than $6,000 to the scam.

Marian Case, 78, said the call came about two weeks ago from a con artist posing as their grandson.

"He said, 'Hi Grandpa,' and said he was in Canada and had rented a car but was in an accident," Marian Case said.

"He said he needed money to repair the car before they would let him leave the country."

And Marian Case said their "grandson" asked her 81-year-old husband not to tell anyone.

"I guess we thought his father would be mad at him for going to Canada without telling them," she said.

The caller posing as their grandson and his friend "were very convincing," Marian Case said. "They knew everything.

A Web site, phonebusters.com, which was set up by a Canadian law enforcement task force, contains a long list of such scams.

The Canadian scam task force can be reached by phone at 1-888-495-8501.

Pennsylvania residents concerned about scams or other issues also can contact the state Attorney General's Elder Abuse Unit.

The Attorney General's Office has a unit specifically designed to help protect senior citizens.

They can be reached by visiting the Web site at www.attorneygeneral.gov or by calling toll free 1-866-623-2137.

Abridged

SOURCE:    LancasterOnline

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