Grandparents Day is September 11. Seems like a good time to bring up the Grandparents scam. (https://www.fbi.gov/grandparent-scam.) This old scam has resurfaced, or maybe it never went away. Here is some info for you to use to protect yourself and fight back. Nothing is safe from those who want to separate us from our hard earned money, much less our Social Security and retirement.
Report it to the Federal Trade Commission by phone 877-382-4357, or ftc.gov.
Learn about common scams and how to recover from them at ftc.gov/scams.
To file a report online, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Follow these steps-
- They use reports to investigate and bring cases against fraud, scams, and bad business practices, but they can’t resolve reports on behalf of individuals.
- They will share your report with law enforcement partners.
- They use reports to spot trends, educate the public, and provide data about what is happening in your community. You can check out what is going on in your state or metro area by visiting ftc.gov/exploredata.
When they bring cases, they try to get money back for people. Check out ftc.gov/refunds to see recent FTC cases that resulted in refunds.
Additional Information
Thanks to Jeff Tom from Alliance for Adults with Vision Loss for sharing this information.
There are many people who are looking out for us. Be informed, and fore armed!
Deborah E. Joyce
Author of “Identity Theft: A Victims Search For Justice” DB 103152
Check out my new webinar at acb.org. Look for “Scams” under podcasts. I am grateful to Jeff Tom and Dan Sippl for hosting the event on August 29th.
Dan is a retired criminal investigator for the State of Wisconsin. Jeff, an Attorney, is the President of Alliance for Adults with Vision Loss, an affiliate of the American Council for the Blind. acb.org