The New York State Police are warning that creative con artists have been targeting the region with the goal of getting unsuspecting would-be good Samaritans to wire lots of money far away.
The first scam, according to a State Police press release, has been dubbed "The Grandchild Scam:"
This is a phone call to someone that is usually elderly purporting to be from a grandson or granddaughter that needs money. The caller doesn't give their name (It's me, grandma!) or makes it seem like a bad connection, prompting the person to provide one - "is this you Tommy?" After that the caller becomes "Tommy". The main theme is that the "grandchild" was in an accident and needs a large sum of money sent via Western Union.
A second scam making the rounds involves someone who is supposedly on vacation and can't get home:
This can involve a phone call but more often involves an email. The perpetrators "hijack" someone's email account, lock them out and take their contact list. The scammers will then email everyone on the contact list, pretend to be the victim, tell them they are out of the country on vacation but has had all their travelors checks and money stolen. The request is for a short term loan to be wired to them in order to be able to get back home. When questioned as to who they really are, the con artists are able to effectively answer a question by using the information gleaned from the victim's email account to provide the answer. Often they say they are in Spain, England or Canada. The number used is from the 416 area code which is in Ontario, Canada.
How to avoid getting snookered? Never wire anyone money unless you're absolutely certain it's really them.
