Grandson in Trouble?
I’ve received two calls from two personal friends in the last 24 hours concerning their grandsons being in trouble with the law and needing cash. It’s a scam.
In one case, the grandson was stopped at the Canadian border and the person he was with tested positive for drugs, but the grandson didn’t. Since he was with the person, he was headed to a Canadian jail unless the grandparent could send $3,000 cash within two hours by Western Union and by the way, don’t tell anyone or it could jeopardize my position in the military/job/father/etc. Nope, it's all a lie.
In the other case, the grandson got in a minor car accident in New York City and ended up in a fight. He was on the verge of tears and would end up in jail for 90 days with some rough looking characters unless he received $2,200 cash in one hour – again by Western Union. Nope, never happened.
In both cases, the grandson sounded kind of like the real person, but because of the stressful situation, the grandparent was unsure.Some keys points to watch for:
- Western Union is like dropping cash in a black hole that can be picked up by anyone in the world. Attorneys, government officials, etc. don’t do it that way.
- Told not to tell tell anyone or can’t get ahold of anyone – must act within the next few hours. That’s a big red flag. Again, legitimate officials don't act that way.
These crooks are smooth and very good at what they do. Don’t fall for it. If you’re afraid it might be real, give me a call and I’ll walk you through it.