"Grandparent Scam" also active

On June 5th, 2017 at about 3:15 PM, after posting a press release regarding citizens of Sauk County receiving a scam phone call where people posing as IRS agents call demanding money and/or information, we received a phone call that citizens were also receiving “Grandparent Scam” phone calls.

These calls are from people pretending to be the grandchildren of the call recipient, who are often in some sort of distress, having allegedly been in a traffic accident or other incident and who have been arrested. They make a desperate plea for money in order to be released from custody. The caller may have a partner in this crime posing as an attorney, supposedly acting on behalf of the grandchild, attempting to further convince the grandparent of the validity of the call and need for money.

These scams target senior citizens, and rely on an emotional response to the plea for money from a grandchild in need. The caller will use desperation and urgency in their voice in order to convince the grandparent to think with their heart rather than their head.

There is always an unusual way that they want the money sent, which is very often if not always untraceable. The phone calls come from “burner phones,” which are discarded after the scam is completed, or use phone numbers that are “spoofed”, which means that the number they are actually using is hidden and replaced with another phone number in order to disguise the true identity of the caller.

The Sauk County Sheriff’s Office urges its citizens to be aware of this and other scams. If you receive a phone call like this, make sure to not give out any information and ask as many questions as possible, especially of the person who is supposedly your grandchild. Asking a question that only your grandchild would know the answer to will oftentimes alert you to the reality that it is not your grandchild you’re speaking to when they don’t know the answer.

If the caller claims to be in police custody and in need of bail money, we suggest determining what the name of the Law Enforcement agency is, hanging up, researching the phone number for that agency and calling them directly. Never send money without first verifying for yourself that the call is legitimate.

A good resource on phone and online scams for senior citizens is located through the AARP at http://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/fraud-watch-network. Additional information can be located from the FBI at https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/sandiego/press-releases/2012/beware-of...

Richard Meister

Sauk County Sheriff