Jerks Playing On The Emotions Of The Older Set

uncadonego · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 19:54:34 pm

Yesterday my wife's parents called our house, frantic about my son, wondering if he was alright.

Somehow, some unscrupulous people found out my son's name and tried to use that small bit of knowledge against a couple of seniors.

First, a younger voiced person calls the grandparents, acting frantic and crying, saying he is hurt and in jail. His nose is broken and he needs to go to the hospital. He begs the grandparents to not call us, his parents, because he is in big trouble, and wants to tell us himself.

Then, a "lawyer" gets on the phone and informs the grandparents that they need to wire $2800.00 bail and legal fees to get my son out of jail. It's a Friday afternoon, and if they don't bail him out by 4:30 p.m., he will be stuck in prison until Monday morning without medical attention.

Both of them were distraught, but a few flags went up, and the grandfather demands more proof. The "lawyer" says it will take up precious time to go back to his office and fax info. As if lawyers don't have cell phone cameras and wireless e-mail these days. I guess they hope senior citizens are thinking old school. Anyway, the "lawyer" realized he was loosing the fish, so he hung up.

My in-laws called the police. RCMP has a division for this type of fraud.
Best thing would be to tell the scammers you need an hour or so to get the money together, then let the police know immediately and wait for the scammers to be foolish enough to call back.

This scam really agitated my in-laws. The scammers were such good actors that they really bought it.

How do some scumbags sleep at night?

dukeprince · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 20:15:14 pm

I am very reluctant to say this , but in case you have not given it a thought , I would perhaps look closer to home , again my apologies if you find nothing ,but problems nipped in the bud if found will be worth my rudeness.

I have encountered something not so sophisticated , but nevertheless similar involving substance abuse very close to home with my family.

kriszick · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 20:18:56 pm

That is awful! Also a little scary that they got enough info to pull this kind of stunt.

It could be as simple as listening to grandma in line at the store talking to a favorite clerk about her grandson who just graduated high school etc., then having the clerk say,"Thank You Mrs. Suchandsuch." A quick look in the phone book and they have all the info they need.

I hope they catch the guys before they defraud someone who isn't as savvy as your parents!

(And hopefully dukeprince is very wrong, but I would agree that it is sound advice nevertheless

)

uncadonego · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 20:45:10 pm

dukeprince wrote:

I am very reluctant to say this , but in case you have not given it a thought , I would perhaps look closer to home , again my apologies if you find nothing ,but problems nipped in the bud if found will be worth my rudeness.

I have encountered something not so sophisticated , but nevertheless similar involving substance abuse very close to home with my family.

I can't begin to explain all the reasons I know why this isn't the case, but for one, sending money to the east coast isn't very practical for getting drug money in Ontario. I've worked with my son six days a week side by side for the last two years. He's not a stranger.

The RCMP have had multiple reports of the same scam with other seniors.

dukeprince · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 21:16:43 pm

uncadonego wrote:

dukeprince wrote:

I am very reluctant to say this , but in case you have not given it a thought , I would perhaps look closer to home , again my apologies if you find nothing ,but problems nipped in the bud if found will be worth my rudeness.

I have encountered something not so sophisticated , but nevertheless similar involving substance abuse very close to home with my family.

I can't begin to explain all the reasons I know why this isn't the case, but for one, sending money to the east coast isn't very practical for getting drug money in Ontario. I've worked with my son six days a week side by side for the last two years. He's not a stranger.

The RCMP have had multiple reports of the same scam with other seniors.

Thats great news , good luck to you and your family with your investigations

Lakatoi 4 · **Posted:** Sat Aug 20, 2011 22:00:30 pm

Let's hope the scammers either used a landline from their home or a mobile phone they own.

After all, they are scammers not neurosurgeons :idea:

The current technology available to the RCMP will be able to recall the phone calls origin and if it was a mobile, pinpoint it's current location either via triangulation or GPS.

uncadonego · **Posted:** Sun Aug 21, 2011 10:38:41 am

My wife said this scam is also in the states, and almost step by step was described on a U.S. news magazine on TV a while back.

Targetting the elderly should be considered especially abhorrent by the legal system. Ask those guys after a year of breaking rocks by day and sleeping in a cell by night if it was worth the $2800.00 they may have tricked out of a couple of seniors. Yes, I realize that would never happen nowadays, but still.....you can dream.

Seniors have payed their dues, they should be respected, not flim-flam'd or pushed aside.

DCP23 · **Posted:** Sun Aug 21, 2011 18:08:43 pm

A very popular phone scam over here, along with a dozen more scenarios the scammers use to get your money out of you. Don't know about Canada, but here in Russia a significant % of these phone scams (some say more than half) originate from... guess where? ... prisons. :shock:

Mobile phones are routinely smuggled into prisons, and criminals doing their time have plenty of time of course to work on their voice acting and psychology skills and spend countless hours calling random people with all sorts of scamming scenarios.

doug2222usa · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 02:23:04 am

Re: Russia.

The right kind of paint on the cell walls would quickly put a cheap and effective stop to these scams.

aethelwulf · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 03:01:43 am

An Argentinian film, Nine Queens, (whose plot was stamp-related by the way) profiled a scam that con artists use on old people. (Seniors are often targeted since they're often more trusting, they have money, they're not 'up' on technology...)

A man walked up to an apartment building and buzzed a name. The woman responds on the intercom. He says "Hi Mrs. X, I'm a friend of your nephew, we had a car accident down the street. Can you come downstairs and give me some money for the tow truck?"...Woman replies "which nephew?"...Cunning con artist replies "Why, your favourite nephew of course"...Woman says "oh, Z? He's hurt?"...Con replies "Yes, yes, its Z, he's hurt, he told me your address here and asked me to come ask you for help"...Woman comes downstairs, hands over the money..... :roll:

uncadonego · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 15:15:06 pm

doug2222usa wrote:

Re: Russia.

The right kind of paint on the cell walls would quickly put a cheap and effective stop to these scams.

Do certain kinds of metal filings in paint "shield" the radio waves? :?:

doug2222usa · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 15:23:29 pm

My understanding is that it can be done, but let's find an electronics guy to confirm.

muruk · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 16:27:50 pm

doug2222usa wrote:

My understanding is that it can be done, but let's find an electronics guy to confirm.

That will be me.

You are talking about a device called a Faraday Cage. An enclosure made of conducting mesh (eg, copper wire) with openings smaller than the wavelength of the frequency being blocked. Used to isolate electronic instruments (such as MRI scanners) from outside electrical interference.

Yes, they can work on mobile phone signals but the effect varies. Some signals can be completely blocked ... some merely attenuated (reduced).

Mobile phones do work inside cars, aeroplanes, and in houses with metal rooves.

A Faraday Cage could be specifically designed to exclude mobile phone signals and installed in prison cells, or even the entire building ... but I'm not certain the same effect could be achieved with conductive paint. Theoretically, if the phone's antenna socket were patched into the paintwork it could serve as an antenna and have opposite of the desired effect.

aethelwulf · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 17:15:19 pm

When Doug said "the right kind of paint", I thought he meant lead-based, to poison the convicts.

uncadonego · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 17:36:25 pm

Oh! I seriously hope not.... :shock:

The Faraday Cage principle is used in making wallets now that protect your RFID chips from being scanned. I still think the first guy to ever sit in one of those cages was probably nervous though.... :shock:

muruk · **Posted:** Mon Aug 22, 2011 17:44:36 pm

They have been made into suits worn by linesmen who work on live high tension electric lines.

Including in the former USSR which has the world's highest voltage lines, running in excess of one Megavolt.


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Jerks Playing On The Emotions Of The Older Set

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