(Des Moines) Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and the Department of Public Safety are warning Iowans to be aware of a new wave of “grandparent scams.” Several Iowa communities throughout the state have recently reported efforts by criminal groups to swindle predominately older Iowans.
This scam is not new – the Attorney General’s Office has been warning Iowans about the grandparent scam since at least 2008.
In a grandparent scam, con artists call the victim posing as a grandchild and claiming they have been in an accident, hospitalized, jailed, or even in a foreign country, then ask the grandparent to send money to help them. At times, these scammers will go as far as to send an alleged courier to the grandparent’s home to retrieve the money.
Scammers will often trick the victim by using details about their grandchild that were obtained from social media accounts. The scammer might also team up with another scammer who pretends to be someone backing up the scammer’s claims, such as an attorney, doctor, or police officer.
“Scamming someone out of money is evil enough,” said Attorney General Bird. “But manipulating someone’s love for their grandchild shows just how low scammers will go to steal from you. In today’s digital age, it is more important than ever to double-check when someone calls asking for money and to never send it over the phone. If you or a loved one is suspicious of a grandparent scam, please call law enforcement and my office at 1.888.777.4590.”
The grandparent scam highlights the dangers of sharing personal information, wiring money, providing prepaid money card numbers or bank account information, and buying or transferring crypto currency to strangers by telephone. Grandparent scam transactions generally transfer funds abroad and are often nearly impossible to trace.
The Department of Public Safety and Attorney General Bird recommend the following tips to protect against the grandparent scam:
- Hang up. End the call and verify the information.
- Contact a trusted family member. Call a verified phone number for your grandchild, another family member, or friend to check out the story – even if you have been told to keep it a secret.
- Verify the person’s identity. Ask questions about your loved one that a stranger would not know.
- Resist the urge to act quickly or secretly.If someone is asking for money immediately and using fear, excitement, or sympathy, it’s a scam.
- Report the scam to local law enforcement.Scammers attack several residents and communities, so get assistance for yourself and help others avoid scam efforts.
- Don’t answer the door unless you know and trust the visitor.Don’t send money. Do not give out personal information, cash, wire money, or send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier.
- File a complaint. In addition to notifying local law enforcement authorities, scam calls can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission, as well as the Office of the Attorney General of Iowa.
- Learn more about family emergency scams.For more information, read the FTC’s Family Emergency Scams, or visit the Attorney General’s Office website page on grandparent scams.
Iowans suspicious of a grandparent scam should immediately contact local law enforcement for assistance and report the scam to the Iowa Attorney General’s Office at 1.888.777.4590 or iowaattorneygeneral.gov.
They may also file a complaint with the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/.
