Greg's Corner

New version of grandparent scam changes the target

By Greg Collier

If you haven’t heard of the grandparent scam, it’s called that because it mostly targets the elderly. The way it works is, scammers will call their elderly target and pose as one of the target’s grandchildren. The call usually starts with the scammer saying something like “Grampa?”. They’re hoping the target will respond with a grandchild’s name by replying with something along the lines of, “Is this Brandon?”. The scammer will reply with yes to no matter what name they’re supplied with. Then the real grift begins.

While posing as the grandchild, the scammer will tell their target they’ve gotten into legal trouble and need money to fix the situation. Typically, the phony grandchild will claim they’ve been in a car accident that was their fault and need money for bail or some other legal fee. Sometimes, the call is passed off to the scammer’s partner, who will pose as the police, a bail bondsman, or attorney to add an element of urgency to the target.

Payment is usually asked for through means that are hard to recover, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, or through payment apps like Zelle, Cash App and Venmo. The target is also instructed not to tell anyone else in the family, sometimes under the threat of a gag order.

That’s how the grandparent scam traditionally worked until the development of AI voice-spoofing technology. Now, the grandparent scam has become more focused, with scammers targeting specific victims instead of random elderly people.

With that development, the Better Business Bureau has issued a warning that scammers have also flipped the script on the grandparent scam. According to the BBB, scammers are now posing as grandparents in distress on these scam phone calls. Thanks to AI voice-spoofing, scammers are now targeting children and grandchildren instead of just the elderly with this scam. You can imagine how panicked this would make the victim of this new version of the scam.

However, the ways to protect yourself remain the same. Educating your family about the scam is the best defense. Your family should also set up a code word you can use to verify the identity of the person who is calling. Or, you could ask the caller a question only they would know the answer to. Lastly, don’t believe your ears when you get a call like this, it may sound like your loved one, but now, scammers can mimic any voice down to a T.