Greg's Corner

New type of threat used in grandparent scam

Scams are almost like their own form of life. They are constantly evolving to adapt to the warnings against them. For example, a scammer may try to keep their victim on the phone while the victim purchases gift cards or withdrawals money from the bank. The scammer will do this in order to tell the victim exactly what to say in case someone recognizes the scam. Scammers will use just about any tactic to pressure their victims into making a payment. Recently, the grandparent scam has seen a new tactic added to it to try to keep victims from notifying anyone.

As you may know, the grandparent scam specifically targets the elderly as the name implies. The scammer will pose as one of the victim’s grandchildren and claim that they need money for bail or some other kind of emergency. They’ll ask the victims not to say anything to the rest of the family. Sometimes the scammers will pose as police demanding payment from the victim stating their grandchild committed some kind of crime.

As more people become aware of the grandparent scam, the scammers will change their tactics in order to pressure future victims into staying silent. Recently, in the state of New Hampshire, the Attorney General issued a warning about the grandparent scam. The New Hampshire AG stated that scammers are calling victims posing as police demanding payment and threatening the victim into not telling anyone by claiming the victim is now under a ‘legal gag order’.

Legitimate gag orders are usually only issued to those involved with a court matter and are not issued by police. You can’t legally be placed under a gag order while trying to bail a loved one out of jail.

If you receive a phone call like this or a similar one, don’t let the scammer pressure you into making any kind of payment without verifying their story. Hang up and make contact with the relative the scammers are claiming to be or with someone who will know the relative’s current location. You may also want to ask the person on the phone a question only the person they’re claiming to be would know. In either case, it’s recommended that you contact the actual police if you receive a call like this so they can inform the public.

Again, we ask that if you know an elderly person or couple who live alone and do not have access to the internet, please let them know about this scam.