Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Getting Personal Phone Scams

There are phone scams that attacks personal lives and emotions of the victims. And these scams indeed work because a soft spot of a person is being attacked. One of these scams is the "I am in trouble, Grandma, and you need to help me." Since most families in the U.S.A. lives far apart from one another because of their work locations or other reasons, there are instances that the old folks are not so familiar with the voices of the young ones or the teeners. This is one fact that scammers use to cheat the old victims.

One case shows that a supposed grandson was caught for a misdemeanor. The "grandson" calls the grandma and asks for bail money. He will give a phone number that the grandma should call. The number is supposedly a phone number of the police station or a lawyer who is handling the case of the minor. This "police officer" or "lawyer" would then ask grandma to wire transfer the money needed so that the grandson would be lifted from the case. Since grandma so much wanted to help the grandson out of love and pity, she sends the money.

Another case is a woman scandalizing a housewife. She will introduce herself as the other woman. When the scammer sees that the wife is vulnerable, she will make up stories and eventually blackmail the woman for money. Some of her blackmailing propaganda would be that she will scandalize the family if the woman wont give money. She will threaten the poor wife with many bad things until the wife gives in and just give the money.

When you receive calls like these, communication with your husband and your relatives living far from you is the key not to be victimized. Know first the facts and details. Do not instantly jump into conclusions or decide right away to give those precious dollars. Investigate first before doing any action.

Then, verify the number of the scammer calling you. Do not just let the incident pass without doing anything vigilant. Report to the authorities and create awareness among your group. Do your share in stopping these scams.

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