My parents, from the generation where those people believe in the goodness of everyone on the planet, almost got
scammed yesterday by some slick mofo's who mined all the information they needed to get the ball rolling on the
panic scam - then once they got my folks on the phone at 8:00 in the morning...they fished them for more information
over the phone and used that newly learned info to further convince them...
That their 24 year old granddaughter had taken her three children, age 3 to 8 months, to Canada to escape her child
beating/molesting husband and while doing so, inadvertently got caught up in some even worse situation across the
border, was in jail and needed 5900 wired via Western Union to the attention of: 'A Friend'.
"If you make it out to the authorities in Ontario, Western Union will deduct 50% of the amount to pay for this service
and you'll have to send almost 12 grand to get this done properly."
I heard this story on the phone about an hour ago, from my brother, the father of the 24 year old who was being imitated
and whose identity was being 'used' to perpetrate the scam on my 76 and 74 year old parents, who love their children,
grandchildren and great grandkids more than life itself.
I just confirmed the wild tale I heard, on the phone with my father a few moments ago.
They (my folks) were so convinced, that my father had run 20 miles to pull 6 grand out of his account, and my mother
and he were about to run to the nearest WU office (located in the same town where the grand daughter in question, resides)
to send the cash as instructed to the scammers (turns out the PO Box was in Haiti).
The only thing that gave them pause, was the bank teller, where they've banked for 50 years alerted them to the possibility
that 'this could well be a scam'..please get ahold of the husband of the 'runaway wife' before you go through with this process.
They got ahold of the husband, who is in IT security for a large government bureau in Kansas City...about 10 minutes before
they hit the Western Union office...
Then my father argued on the phone with this 26 year old guy (the grandson-in-law) who has been 'in the family for almost 4 years' -
for 15 minutes, telling him that "You don't know what your wife did or where she's at, Your wife is in jail in Canada!!!...and...Are you
beating my grand daughter and molesting our great grand babies? You better not be lying to us!!"
The husband convinced my parents to run by his house and see that their grand daughter was indeed home.
They did. She was. Her cell phone battery was dead.
My folks...got played, big time.
Geezus Keriste...what a fiasco.
My mother had a slight heart attack last night and she's now in the hospital over this stress from this fucking debacle.
I've pleaded with her to get the fuck off of Facebook for the last year. "Please quit divulging so much personal information on that
site. Anyone can see it and use it against you or your loved ones...Please delete your account, Mom."
My brothers and I have some decisions we need to face up to and start implementing.
These two people used to have their bullshit detectors on full bore 24x7 and
could sniff out rats before most people knew vermin were afoot.
Anymore...they are the victim class.
And why do I mention this here? As an anecdotal warning. This shit happens, and I just got wind
of it in my own family, where we were all raised to question authority and have our radar turned on highbeam, 24x7.
Be alert, don't be victimized.
The same GQP demanding we move on from January 6th, 2021 is still doing audits of the November 3rd, 2020 election.
The phone scammers had my neice's voice down cold, according to my father. He swears up and down that the
woman pretending to be his grand daughter sounded just like a very stressed out version of his beloved G-daughter.
My thought is that at some point in time or several points in time...these fucking predators had spoken on the phone
to my neice, recording the conversations...then practicing the voice to a point where they could reasonably pull off
the vocal part of the scam.
We all get calls, from people asking for donations to 'this and that'...calls that are 'wrong numbers' and if 'we' are
naturally friendly, like most the people in my midwestern small town family are...They talk to these wrong number people
or donation pleading people for minutes on end, before hanging up the phone.
Fortunately...I only trust those I can see in front of me...and even then, only as far as it takes me to throw a punch into
their Adams Apple. Til I get to know that person.
People calling me on my phone? GoFuckYourselfAssholes.
The same GQP demanding we move on from January 6th, 2021 is still doing audits of the November 3rd, 2020 election.
sorry to hear about this -hope your mom will be alright
Torture the data long enough and they will confess to anything.
I wish your Mom a speedy recovering. I'm very sorry to hear about People who do not give a damn about anyone else, feelings or what they can get out out Innocent people. May someone come along and make those people regret what they are doing. I wish something could be done to those scammed people. damn evil ugly people
Thank god that teller in the bank mentioned that to your dad. And your dad had pause to think twice. There's been a lot more of this kind of thing here in Florida the talking heads say, because of the economy. One of the best things you all can do is keep tightly in touch with each other and your parents so they know where all their little chicks are and that they're safe. My heart goes out to you and your mom Jeff. I can only imagine that you are so mad that you're seeing red today.
I can't help but wonder, and this would be tough to sell your folks on but, what if you set it up so that if your parents tried to withdraw say more than a thousand dollars, that the bank would alert either you or your brother? That might be one way to protect them.
Reiterating what the others have said, I hope your Mom recovers quickly. It is a crying shame how easily peoples' personal info can be obtained these days. Ya know, it didn't used to be this way did it, or this damn easy?? Just like you said WMM, get off Facebook and the like, OR just be really f'kn careful what personal info you share out there on such sites.
Wish your family well, man.
Just absolutely sicking that ppl would actually do such a thing! Society and human race had become evil! Its almost next to impossible to catch these ppl. Technology can be incredible and a burden sometimes! Its just sad that ppl would do this, and it really does affect those that actually need help, everyone is now becoming more reluctant to donate or give to charity, cause you just never know where your hard earn money is going to!
Wish you and your family all the best!!!
Hey my radar detector just went up a notch.
Bud hope all comes out well for ya in the end.
My heart goes out to you and your family, victims of scammers suffer severly, the shame they feel for being sucked into a trap that was so cleverly laid for them is unreal. I hope your Mom recovers quickly.
It has been scientifically proven that any woman can be satisfied with only 3 1/2 inches --- and it doesn't matter if it is Visa or Mastercard
I'm glad your Mom is all right. You've got every reason for concern. The scammers are so talented these days they can even run their scams from prison. I know a guy, who knows a guy, who told me of a guy so intelligent and talented on the phone that he could basically talk his way through just about any situation. To prove it, this inmate bet a corrections officer that he could get the officer's home address, SSN, and at least one credit card number, using just the jail telephone and his wit. Some twenty minutes later, the inmate won his bet. His prize? He had his telephone privileges revoked, except for a small list of numbers which the officers had to dial for him. he wasn't even allowed to use the regulat phone. They would hand him the handset through a window, and dial the numbers themselves. Somehow I doubt that stopped him for long.
I'm glad your mom is out of the hospital. Thank God the bank teller was alert. What a sick fuckin' world we live in.
Thanks for the heads up, and I'm glad all is well!
This story happens every day. Please warn your friends and family about this scam.
Grim, but there is always some punk on the make regardless of the consequences. Evil abounds in the world alongside good always has and always will.
