Seniors are often the target of scam artists. Scams perpetrated against seniors range from phony lotteries to prize offers to business opportunities.  

One old scam, has taken on an alarming new twist. The so-called Grandparent Scam generally works like this―the grandparent receives a distressed phone call from someone they believe is their grandchild. The supposed grandchild typically explains that they are travelling abroad and have been arrested or involved in an auto accident, and need the grandparent to wire money to post bail or pay for damages―usually amounting to a few thousand dollars.

The scammers’ basic tactic is to pose as a grandchild and let the unsuspecting grandparent fill in the blanks. For example, the scam caller might say, “It’s me, your favourite grandchild,” to which the grandparent will guess the name of the grandchild it sounds the most like, and then the call proceeds from there.

In the updated scam, callers identify themselves by the name of a particular family member. They say they are being held in jail in Mexico and they need bail money wired immediately. They lace their conversation with correct references by name to other family members, increasing their credibility. One caller even knew that the real person being impersonated had a twin who was born two minutes later.

There are a lot of ways that scammers can get this kind of detailed information. One is through social media, where people update their status on Facebook or send a message on Twitter announcing details of their travel plans. A quick Google search on the user can yield a lot of information for scammers to take advantage of: name, hometown, employment, even relatives.

To protect yourself from this nefarious scam, and other scams that may use a distressed loved-one tactic, remain calm and confirm the status of the caller. Get their phone number so you can call them back directly, or verify the story with other family members before taking any further action. Even developing a secret code that is known only within the family can save lots of heartache and distress.

Also limit the amount of personal information that you and your family share on social media sites, and only “friend” people that you personally know.