Scammers Use Kids To Rob Seniors: Mom Talk

Here's a scam on seniors that actually happened to my family.

Recently, my dad received a phone call from a young man claiming to be my nephew, Andrew, 20. My dad retired out West. Andrew lives in the Midwest. My dad didn't learn until the end of the story that it wasn't Andrew.

The fake Andrew called Dad, coughing and sneezing, claiming to have a cold (hence the altered voice). He said he went to Niagara Falls for a friend's wedding and ended up in a Canadian jail.

He asked "Grandpa" to help him by sending him some money so he could get home. He asked my dad not to say anything to his mom (my sister) until he got home and could explain it to his parents himself.

Apparently the fake Andrew was going on and on about all these details, leading my dad to believe the story was real. He then said he would have his attorney call my dad later because the attorney was apparently in court and couldn't talk just then.

So my dad waited by the phone. About an hour later, he received a call from a man claiming to be a Canadian attorney — we'll call him Mr. Lefaux.

Mr. Lefaux told my dad the story about how Andrew supposedly was in a car with a bunch of other guys and got pulled over. Andrew wasn't drinking, but he had taken cough medicine. They were all arrested for something, I'm not sure what. The rental car company had an insurance company involved.

Blagh, blagh, blagh, details went on, then somehow they needed $900 bond since Andrew was American and considered a flight risk.

Mr. Lefaux gave my dad Western Union numbers and told Dad to call after wiring the money. At this point, Dad thought something was fishy. The fake Andrew and Mr. Lefaux were quite experienced in their storytelling, and convinced my dad the situation may very well be real. Yet, my dad decided to call my sister anyway.

Luckily, my sister knew exactly where the real Andrew was at that very moment, and gave the youth's cell number to Dad. Sure enough, the real Andrew answered his phone and confirmed on the spot that he wasn't in Canada.

My dad called his local police and learned that this particular scam was happening all over. They told him that since the amount of money was under $1,000, the Canadians wouldn't consider it a major crime — although I am not certain about Canadian law.

In either case, the police told Dad there would be no way to get the money back had he wired it.

The seniors are getting preyed upon in vicious ways, both in person and on the phone. Scam artists are everywhere. It is an epidemic. As parents, this is yet another way we need to take care of both our parents and our children.

First of all, no matter how old our kids are, we need to have a conversation with them about these scams. The best way to protect our seniors from this particular scam is have a three-generational sit down. If our parents know their grandkids won't be calling and asking for money in this way, they will know right away this kind of call is a scam.

In this instance, my dad believed that Andrew is generally a good young man who would want to tell his parents face-to-face if he were to get in trouble — whether it were his fault or not. My dad didn't think the story was outrageous.

Remember, these scam artists are truly experienced professionals. They knew my dad by name. The Internet is only making these kinds of scams easier and easier for the criminals.

Talk to your family and spread the word. We need to do everything we can to shut these kinds of scams down.