Senior citizens in Missouri are the current targets of an old ruse called the "grandparents scam," state officials warn.
In this scheme, con artists call senior citizens and pose as a grandchild in trouble. The callers say they need money for bail, car repairs, or even to return from a foreign country.
The con artists then ask the seniors to send them money usually by wire transfer.
Some seniors have fallen for this scheme because they want to help their grandchildren.
"This is about as low as it gets," Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon said in a written statement. "These crooks are striking right at the heart of these Missouri seniors, who are just trying to be there for their grandchildren when they think they're in need."
The scheme has surfaced twice in Missouri in the past two weeks, Nixon said.
In one case, a central Missouri man sent $6,000 to a person he thought was his grandson.
"In reality, the person who called him was a con artist claiming to be his grandchild, saying he needed money to get out of jail," according to Nixon.
In another case, a southwest Missouri woman received a call from someone who claimed to be her grandson. The caller said he needed $5,000 for bail money.
But the woman became suspicious and called police. Authorities told her the caller was most likely a con artist trying to take her money.
Earlier this year, another Missouri senior almost fell for this scheme. Employees at the wire transfer station, however, warned him he was about to send $8,000 to a crook.
Nixon said grandparents can protect themselves from this scheme by:
Verifying their grandchildren's whereabouts;
Quizzing the caller for details that only their grandchild would know, such as family members' names or hometowns;
Being leery of wiring money to anyone. Nixon said requests for wire transfers--especially to Canada--are usually a red flag of a scam. Wiring money is one of the most common ways consumers lose money to con artists, he said.
Consumers with questions or complaints about this or other schemes can call the Missouri Attorney General's Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-392-8222. They can also learn more about this and other scams--and file complaints--on the attorney general's Web site.
