Recently, a man we’ll call Jon explained that his wife’s grandparents, Jim (80) and Lilly (62), had been conned out of $25k in two weeks. He clarified it could be tens of thousands of dollars more.
Jon said that his mother-in-law received a phone call from Jim. He stated that they had no money and were broke. However, Jim has always been responsible with money, owns his own business, and is attempting to sell it so he can retire.
Lilly is in charge of handling bills and invoices for home and work. So Jon evaluated their bank statements and learned they last paid bills a couple of months ago.
Lilly’s daughter notified Jon and his wife they were concerned Jim was scammed out of a couple of hundred dollars. So they stopped by their home and dug through their personal and business banking accounts to determine what had happened.
Here Is Where Things Begin to Unravel
Unfortunately, Lilly believed she was befriending her “favorite celebrities” when following Facebook pages. When she began interacting with the phony page, she’d receive a direct message that led to scammers moving their chat to message apps such as WhatsApp.
Once she complied, they sweet-talked with statements such as “you’re my favorite fan” and “your support means so much to me.” Afterward, they asked her if she was part of their fan club and requested $100-$500 for membership fees to be paid via gift card.
A Twist on the Nigerian Prince Scam
Jon explained the following scam is a “twist on the Nigerian prince scam.” Someone posing as a manager for the “artist” would explain the celebrity had selected her as one of only twenty to win $20k. First, however, she needed to pay a “shipping fee” using a gift card to obtain it.
So Jon and his wife searched their phones and discovered they had taken pictures of their IDs and gift cards. Initially, they uncovered receipts totaling $2k. However, after searching Lilly’s car, they found a stack of receipts “about 8 inches tall,” with totals ranging between $100-$700. Ultimately, it totaled $25k in two weeks!
Eventually, they determined Lilly maxed out a credit card, cleaned out the last $5k from their checking account, and transferred the final $8k from Jim’s business account. Then, she removed $10k from their safe and spent all this money on gift cards.
Jon shared this story with a loving warning, “Please keep an eye on who your elderly family members are talking to” to avoid these situations.
Someone Stated Sincere Concern
“Sorry, this happened to your family members. It sounds like more is needed than simply explaining it to her; someone would have to be extremely confused and out of touch with reality (to some extent) to send gift cards repeatedly to the extent described.”
Another Suggested They Get Grandma Screened
“It might be beneficial to have her screened by a medical professional for signs of dementia or Alzheimer’s. 62 is a bit young, but my father is 65 and has Alzheimer’s, and his symptoms probably started about the same time.
We figured something wasn’t right in much the same way–missing bills, spending way too much time online, and hundreds of memo lines that say “thank you” on the credit card statement.”
A Final Warning
Finally, many users in the thread warned, “Please be aware that you might be getting DMs from people who say they can get this money back. They can’t. They are scammers, too (!recovery scammers)!”
This article was brought to you by this thread. Please watch out for your older loved ones.
