![]() If he gets a scam call, he tells them to go to hell, blows that whistle into the phone, then hangs up. My friend had been coached by her family years ago, but, well, that was years ago, and her scammer was here and now.Īnother friend told me her 88-year-old dad has a great response for scammers. Tell them if something seems legitimate, get a phone number and call back when a family member is with them. Pound into their heads that they should never, ever share account numbers, nor withdraw money for anyone on the phone. They’ll leave a message if it’s legitimate. ![]() Make them memorize: “No one has ever won money over the phone!” and “If it’s too good to be true, then it is!” Tell them to use caller ID and only answer to people they recognize - even if it says the police or the IRS or Publisher’s Clearing House. Potential victims need to be more frightened of the stories than of the scammer on their phone. Describe all the insidious ways that scammers operate. Senior folks are easy targets because they’re sometimes lonely, and often trusting. Talk to parents, grandparents, any senior person who might be pulled into this. Yes, they are that insidiously convincing. But she was completely convinced not only by that sergeant (are they all sergeants?) but also because they put her “granddaughter” on the phone, screaming and crying, “You’ve got to help me, Grandma!” He also told her that if she told anyone what she was doing, there was no hope for her granddaughter, and they’d put Mom in jail too. It took a couple of hours of strong talking to get her to break down and share that her granddaughter was in jail, and she needed to go bail her out with $5,000 worth of gift cards. My brother stopped by her home one day and found her headed out the door with her purse in her hand and fear in her eyes. My mom nearly fell to one of these villains. But seriously - they really are that convincing. Unless you or someone close to you has been through this, it’s hard to comprehend how anyone could be so smoothly persuasive. ![]() Why couldn’t she see what was going on? The answer is: scammers are that good. Her life savings plus a few small investments she cashed out are gone, along with peace of mind, enough money to survive on, her plans for a little traveling, and trust in anyone. The sad truth is my friend, who retired years ago, is now looking for work. Always in front of her was the promised pay out, delivered by a very smooth “Chris” who must have been delighted with her friendship because it yielded so much. But not surprisingly, that prize money came with lots of fees and taxes, and even pass-through funds in her account. She and Chris became friends who visited often. He was just full of questions, and so cheerful and friendly and funny …. She was at a loss to explain, except that “Chris” was so friendly, and talked about his family, and talked about her family, and talked about so many things. ![]() “Why didn’t you call the police anyway?” I asked. It was “Chris.” He called to deliver the good news - she had won a large sum of money! He just needed to know the best way to deliver it to her. The phone rang before she could make that call. So she politely finished the conversation, hung up, and reached for the phone book to call the police back, just to make sure that call was legitimate. She told me that at this point, a tiny cloud of doubt showed up in her thoughts. Somebody then told her that a man named “Chris” would soon call her and since they (the police) had already talked with him, it was OK for her to talk with him. I mean, he’s a police officer with a rank and a badge number. Somebody (she doesn’t remember the name) and rattled off his badge number so she was comfortable talking with him. The nice young man on the phone identified himself as Sgt. When your phone’s caller ID says “Layton City Police,” you answer the phone, right? That’s what my sweet, older, single friend thought.
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