The Grandparent Scam

[VickiM68]

AARP's new 12-week podcast series The Perfect Scam, hosted by Will Johnson, former Discovery Channel podcast host/producer and leading fraud expert and AARP Fraud Watch Network Ambassador Frank Abagnale, profiles America's biggest scams through personal stories of scam victims and their families as well as interviews with professional con artists and leading experts on scams and fraud. Hear about how these scams happen and how to avoid them from those who know best.

This week's episode explores the Grandparent Scam. Listen here and let us know what you think.

Have you or someone you know been a victim of this scam? Share your stories and any tips you have with us.

[j162868t]

My MIL got a call from someone claiming to be my son. The guy told her he had been in a car accident and then confided he had been drinking a little. It was a dead giveaway because she knew my son doesn’t touch the stuff. She called the caller a liar numerous times until he hung up. Never even got around to asking for money. The call shook her up though and I gave her some tips about questions she could ask to verify it was really him she was talking to. But most importantly in our family, that if either of my boys was in some sort of trouble, they would not call her. They would call us. And, of course, never to send money but call us to verify the facts.