HOW TO HELP YOUR GRANDPARENTS STOP CREDIT CARD THEFT SCAMS BY AARP!! (1420 hits)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
The grandparent scam involves callers pretending to be your gran5 Ways to Protect Yourself
Build a wall around your computer. Use both antivirus and anti-spyware software to keep intruders from stealing personal information from your computer.
Don't open file attachments in emails from strangers. These can contain programs that enable crooks to get into your computer remotely. Be cautious on social media. Anything you reveal about your family, travels or schedule can be easily picked up by bad guys.
Ask lots of questions. If you get an impassioned call for money from a family member, take a deep breath and try not to get emotional. Instead, ask some questions that would be hard for an impostor to answer correctly. Examples are the name of the person's pet, his mother's birth date, or his boss's name.
Slow the process down. Never say yes to a money transfer based on a single call. Always hang up and do some research, such as trying to contact the person directly on her cell or work phone, or talking with someone she is close with to corroborate the situation.
Don't be embarrassed. If you fear that you have fallen prey to a scam, do not let pride get in the way of contacting authorities. And if you've wired money, immediately call the money transfer service to report the fraud. If the money hasn't been picked up yet, you can retrieve it.
He asked: "Can I tell you something in secret that you won't tell anybody else, please?" This turns out to be a familiar request by scammers.
Intrigued, I responded, "Of course."
I was the potential victim of a financial trick that is aimed at countless grandparents across the country, costing them millions of dollars, according to Federal Trade Commission estimates. In 2015 alone, the FTC received 10,565 "family/friend impostor" fraud complaints; it's impossible to say how many more recipients of these calls didn't notify the authorities.
