Seniors prime targets for phone scammers pretending to be grandchildren, IRS
The phone rings, and a frantic voice begins to speak on the other end of the line: “Grandma, I’m in trouble.”
The caller says he needs money right away to get out jail or to help with whatever financial emergency has arisen.
As a grandparent, you feel obligated to send it — sometimes through direct deposit, other times through gift cards.
The problem is, that wasn’t your grandchild who called. You have just been scammed out of hundreds — sometimes even thousands — of dollars.
“That has happened to some of our residents,” said Michelle French, a spokeswoman with the Henderson Police Department. “We have people who are out $10,000 because of this scam.”
The department is trying to get the word out about telephone scams that have been happening.
“It can affect anyone with a telephone,” French said. “It has been targeting our senior population because they are more vulnerable.”
French added that one of the newer scams going around is when people call pretending to be part of the IRS. The caller says the person hasn’t completed his tax return and threatens fees or jail time. Fearing for what could happen, the victim often cooperates. Callers request an iTunes gift card to pay the fee or to have the money direct deposited.
“It’s happened to three of our residents in the last few months,” French said. “You can buy cards, and it’s difficult for anyone to trace them.”
Once the victim reads the serial number from the card, the thief can take the information and sell the gift card online for cash. With direct deposit, French added, it usually involves a third-party bank account in order to transfer the money.
“We haven’t seen that method used,” French said.
Though there are three people recently affected by this scam, there might be more.
“People might be too embarrassed to come forward,” French said. “A lot of people comment someone has to be dumb to fall for this. But older people may not be as savvy or aware.”
Though it’s a phone scam that’s been around for years, she added that people should be aware of the “grandparent scam” in which people call pretending to be a grandchild in trouble.
“So they call and say, ‘Grandma, it’s me,’ ” French said. “The grandparent will respond, ‘Billy?’ Then the scammer knows the name for the roll.”
Laura Meltzer, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Department, said, sometimes, victims give all the information the scammer needs.
“We do that through our social media,” she said. “We post information about our families and give names and birthdays.”
Similar to the IRS scam, during the “grandparent scam,” the victim is asked to pay whatever fee through a gift card.
“By the time we get the cases, the phone numbers (that were used to call the victim) have been disconnected,” Meltzer added.
French said in addition to getting the word out about scams, she has advice for people.
“If you’re questioning what’s happening, hang up and call the person back,” she said. “Verify the story with other family members.”
Meltzer said family members should look out for one another.
“Especially elderly family members,” she said. “They grew up in a more trusting society. It’s up to us to look after them.”
People should reach out to the police department or fill out a complaint at ftc.gov/complaint if they feel something is wrong.
Though they are getting the word out about two specific types of phone scams, there have been other variations in the past. Meltzer said she has heard of victims receiving a call and being told they have a family member at the Clark County Detention Center and need to pay to have them released.
She has also heard of cases where people get calls and hear people screaming in the background and are told their loved ones have been kidnapped.
Meltzer added that most victims are so frantic at the possibility of a kidnapped loved one that they pay up and don’t bother checking the story out.
A few years back, French said there was an NV Energy scam in which people called trying to collect back fees for bills.
“There are always new ways people are trying to scam other people out of money,” she said.
Visit lvmpd.com or cityofhenderson.com.
To reach Henderson View reporter Michael Lyle, email mlyle@viewnews.com or call 702-387-5201. Find him on Twitter: @mjlyle.
