Dear Luzerne County residents (and anyone else we can reach with this letter):
Whether you are tech-savvy or tech-frustrated, our information is becoming increasingly available online for better or worse. While in some ways, these advancements may make life more convenient — goods purchased online and delivered to our homes, access to our accounts, and the ease of contacting friends and loved ones — this convenience comes at a cost.
I write with some trepidation as, doubtlessly, some readers may in fact have a grandchild who is presently incarcerated. Nonetheless, this letter refers to a dramatic increase in scam calls which is successfully, although fraudulently, convincing grandparents to send money believing a loved one is in legal trouble and in need of financial assistance.
THE SCAM: You receive a call (usually via cell phone) with the caller saying something along the lines of: Grandma/Grandpa, I’m in jail, they have my phone so l’m calling from my lawyer’s phone/officer’s phone, etc., here, talk to him.”
In most cases, the initial exchange causes the target to say his or her grandchild’s name, which the target does not even realize or remember doing. Once you have used the name, the scammer utilizes that name to make the scam more believable (e.g., “Jimmy got in a little bit of trouble”). Additionally, the target is usually told the grandchild does not want the parents to know. This element seems to be key to the scam as parents would immediately want to check on their child. A simple call to the child’s cell phone would unravel the scam, but since you were led to believe the grandchild’s phone has been taken, it is never called.
Firstly, if someone told your child to keep a secret from you as a parent, that statement alone would be a red flag that something is very wrong. In fact, you have very likely taught your own children not to keep such secrets from you. That same flag should be raised when you are being asked to keep something from your children as parents.
Secondly, definitely do some investigating on your own. Ask under what full name your grandchild is booked, the jail, ask to call the person right back, and finally, call your grandchild and his/her parents.
On multiple occasions, members of our office, and I personally, have been contacted asking for help finding in what jail the grandchild was housed. Due to the frequency of this scam’s use, we recognized it immediately and alerted the would-be victim of the scam prior to money being sent. Unfortunately, many of the reports that come to police and our office are after money is transmitted. It goes into an account, removed overseas, and is lost forever to say nothing of the emotional toll on the grandparent in a state of worry about their grandchild.
Some of the victims of this scam have been people we consider to be very street smart and acclimated to the legal system through their work.
A last bit of advice for anyone receiving calls to send money: legitimate organizations provide very legitimate options to make payment. The criminal justice system in Luzerne County never requires you to provide account numbers by phone, and official organizations never require you to purchase gift cards and give the numbers by phone, email or otherwise.
The tech world is a scary place for those of us who are not of the highest technological aptitude and scammers thrive on our unfamiliarity. They act as predators on our willingness to help and protect our families. We all need to be extra vigilant in guarding against scams, protecting our information and assets, and investigating cyber thieves from their online pick-pocketing. Please be skeptical of anyone asking for money and please do not be hesitant to ask for advice from the tech wizards in your family or your local police who are knowledgeable about ongoing scams.
We hope this information is somewhat helpful in keeping our residents from being scammed, and further hope that you can avoid needing a bailout from a financial cybercrime.
Samuel M. Sanguedolce
Luzerne County District Attorney