Grandfather loses $159,000 in fake arrest scam
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon man identified only by his initials lost nearly $160,000 when a caller posing as a State Department official told him his granddaughter was arrested in Mexico and needed money for her defense.
The Eugene Register-Guard reports a federal grand jury indicted three men on wire fraud and mail fraud charges. The accused men have not yet been arrested or appeared in court.
On Feb. 13, prosecutors allege the man answered a call from a person he believed worked for the U.S. State Department who told him his granddaughter was being held responsible for an accident in which a Mexican girl was killed.
The man sent money three times to a New York hotel before realizing he was being scammed.
Old people are so stupid!
 @nerdbyrd Some people are such nerds!  Oh wait, I meant ... nerds are such a$$e$.  Oh wait, I meant byrds write such dumb stuff!
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Old people. Â Stupid. Â Young people. Â Jerks. Â Oh yeah. Â It's always helpful and worthwhile to try to use one adjective to describe ... anyone.
The US is the most gullible country in the world; and most trusting. Drive around some cities and see garage doors open all night, packages sitting on porches, unlocked doors and open windows, motorcycles and bicycles sitting out front without locks. I mean, we literally invite the criminal to come and help themselves! DUH! People in Las Vegas, NV learned a long time ago to lock down the hatches and everything. All grocery stores stopped displaying goods outside, and all stores stopped having items outside. Why? Because anything and everything not tied down was being and still is being stole by the "illegal element".   Now they prey on the elderly because that generation is the last of the those taught to be giving, sharing, and always helping others. We can't live in that type of world anymore because punishment nowadays is not stiff enough to deter crime. Only a mandatory death penalty will stem the tide of crime.
 @None Oh, right.  It's "the illegal element".  Give me a break!  We whites ... man, we are nothing but trusting and giving.  As an apartment manager, I just have to put this out there.  (1) Stop daydreaming and mouthing off without doing the least bit of research.  The death penalty has NOT ever slowed down crime.  (2) "They" come from every walk of life, and every color and age, and most of the criminals in the US were born to US citizens.  (3) The names Voltaire and Ta are not normally associated with Mexico, let alone "illegals". (4) The one thing that has obviously made a difference in the US, in stemming crime, is to have better education
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...which this grandfather obviously needs to get. Â I have very little sympathy for his loss ... but am glad that it led to three arrests. Â That is actually unusual. Â But I can not even imagine my giving money to someone for a beloved grandchild that I know so little about, that I don't even bother to know when she is supposedly traveling outside our country. Â I am amazed that so many people know so little about the whereabouts of their children and grandchildren, don't care enough about them to even pick up the phone and ask, "Hey, are you okay?" and yet are quick to assume the worst of them ... all while throwing their money into saving their evidently worthless hides.
They need to catch this low-life scammmer, recover the money and then break every bone in his body-one at a time.
 @Lost River They already arrested three people involved in it (something that is not often done!)  My opinion is that the gentleman needs a keeper.  Obviously he doesn't even keep in touch with the news in the world around him .. nor his own children.  It may be time for his family to watch over him better.  I'm 67.  If I ever did something like this, it would definitely mean that I was no longer capable of making big decisions, and someone should step in.
I got a call a year ago but they said grandchild when I asked which one they hung up on me.......This scam has been around so long not sure why people are still falling for it. Â Sad
If any of my kids or grandkids ended up in a foreign country and needed money they would call me in person. We have a code word and I would ask them some questions only we would know.
 @RalphCramden What I don't get is that these grandparents don't even bother to call the parents or try to call the kids involved, to ask simple questions.  If THEY aren't aware that their kid is not okay, surely they know someone who does.  It is sad to think there are so many people keep such distance between them and their family members that they don't know what country they're wandering through!
 @SilverGuardian  @RalphCramden I think some grandparents do not keep up with all the goings on and news, some barely know enough to turn a computer on even so they are just easily taken in by the scams as they are not aware of these things. While phone calls out of state are not really cheap either depending, maybe even no phone .. not all us grandparents have good enough retirements for luxury (phone, computer, tv,cable etc) things or even kids having these items.. When your a long way's away.. communications may be few and far between
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My husband is pretty strict and would never go for the "please don't call mom" ploy anyway. And he knows enough to not give any info out either. I've kept him up to date.  We don't take a paper and don't have cable/dish.
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We do know where are kids & grandkids are though..  Our number one rule has alway's been if you get into trouble, get yourself out!Â
It works pretty well too! Our kids are workers though, got to give em credit for that! They like their money and most of the grand kids do also.
 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu  @SilverGuardianÂ
I like that rule. My kids and grandkids know it very well.
 @RalphCramden THERE you go.  That is EXACTLY what I always wonder.  If you care enough to spend tens of thousands to bail out a kid, what then?  Money is the easy answer?  You don't have to actually check in with them occasionally, or chat with their parents?  I always assume there must be some real guilt factor going on, if grandparents jump to the conclusion that their kid has done something to get them in trouble with the law and their very first reaction is to bail them out.
 @SilverGuardianÂ
My grandkids are on their own. My kids have spoiled them rotten and they complained one year because they didn't think we gave them enough birthday presents. Now we send them a happy birthday card.
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They don't come to visit very often, probably because we don't spoil them. When they do they have to work. I am bound and determined to teach them some work ethic and skills in spite of their parents. They do feel good about helping me build a shed or reroof the house so maybe there is hope.
 @RalphCramden A good idea with the code word. But we know where all of our grandkids are period. And would make a point of calling the parents regardless. Something we should be doing anyway , especially getting this type of call. I've already warned my husband about this..Â
 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'RllaillieuÂ
My daddy used to say that for every dollar I made, there are thousands who want to get that dollar away from me. Some try to get it legally and some illegally.
 @RalphCramden LOL! I usually get cash also. Most goes to supply's first then what ever's left over I can buy stuff.
 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'RllaillieuÂ
Every little bit counts.
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When I teach I offer a 10% discount for cash. Hard to track cash. I never put it in the bank and just use it for extra things that I want.
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I figure that if many in 0bama's cabinet avoid paying taxes then it's okay for me. After all they set the standard...8-} Â With them the bar is set so low that getting under the bar would be very difficult.
 @RalphCramden  We just have his retirement for the most part. We took the savings, paid the tax's and paid off the bills etc. So don't have much and nothing for them to tax,lol! I do work for myself for a bit of extra, tying fly's, selling crochet doll cloths but never enough to give them any profit,lol! Â
 @SilverGuardian  @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'RllaillieuÂ
I can do without all of that (roads, police, fire, marines, street sweepers, emergency personnel). The US has taxed me to death, continues to tax me to death, regulates my life at every step of the way and then drives the economy into a ditch and borrows trillions we can never pay back.
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Company after company is moving out of the US to tax and business friendly countries. Even Jeep, who 0bama lauded as an American company is looking at moving to China where they can make the same vehicle for about 25% of what it costs to make here.
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The US will fail and our kids and grandkids will suffer because of it. Their lives will be a mere shadow of what it is now.
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We are headed into another recession that started a few months ago. It is possible that this will be the one that tips us over the edge. I intend to make sure that I have enough to survive on if my government retirement, that is owed to me, dries up. And that is a very real possibility. State after state is in huge financial difficulty and many are scrambling to make ends meet and most are not successful.
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My vacation home is in the middle of nowhere. If I can get cell service and call 911 it will take an hour for anyone to get to me. I don't need roads cause I make my own. Don't need energy cause I produce my own (thank you tax payers for all the tax subsidies). Don't need water cause I pump my own. I make my own diesel from the left overs from my garden and shoot game for meat.
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Nope, don't need government and therefore don't feel the need to pay for their foolishness.
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Next week I am off to the bush to help some folks that have nothing. They fish off the river and grow their own vegetables and fruit. Other than that they have nothing and they seem to be fine. No medical, no electricity, no running water, no sewer, no cell service, no roads, no EMS, no marines, and best of all no government telling them what they can do and can't do.
 @RalphCramden  @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'Rllaillieu We don't pay taxes on money that we paid taxes on.  We pay taxes on the new income (dividends, interest) that accrued because of those savings.  How nice to keep your money outside the US.  After all, what has your country ever done to make your life better?  Oh ... other than provide you with roads, policemen, firemen, Marines, street sweepers, emergency personnel ...
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hmm ... that's the short-list.
 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'RllaillieuÂ
I am paying taxes on savings that I paid taxes on. Thankfully most of my transactions are out of the US and I can avoid a lot of taxes that way.
 @RalphCramden Aint that the truth! Even when you retire they want it.. The biggest scammers around!
 @Khre'Riov Ael i-Mhiessan t'RllaillieuÂ
The worst is government. They are constantly trying to get my money.
 @RalphCramden And I heartily agree with him! Very good analogy that one!Â
gotta quit slapping these criminals on the hand and just remove the damn things.
Come ON!!!!!!Â
Why do so many people insist on making it easy for the predators?Â
@I812Â Â Why do people like you always try to make a crime the victims fault?
 @wondering That comment could be directed at me, wondering.  I blame the victim, because it is a simple thing to NOT be one.  A PHONE CALL to the child or his/her parents, for instance.  And each time I read something like this, I assume there must be something really skewed in the relationships in that family.  Why would a grandparent do something like this? Â
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If one of my grandchildren were in jail for something, it would be very sad for me to hear of, but they would not get a free pass by having me bail them out.
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That isn't to say that ultimately, I wouldn't give them a hand up. Â But there'd be some serious discussion going on between us, before I paid something for them, and they'd be doing some serious payback (which we'd have arranged in advance). Â So no .. I don't "ONLY" blame the victim. Â But I think that being a victim was probably a wake-up call they needed, since they apparently think money is going to buy them some appreciation from their granddaughter. Â Hopefully, this guy's family will figure that out.
@wondering That's a bit of a leap. In these type of crimes one cannot be a victim unless they allow themselves to be one. The age old adage of "a fool and his money are soon parted" is appropriate. In this case I am sorry the elderly man got scammed but a few phone calls to relatives or to the local police would have prevented the theft. None of this excuses the lowlife predators' behavior but they can't ply their trade unless people allow them to.Â
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It is not the " victims" fault but the "victim" gets an assist.
Not all people are so wise to the ways of the world. Usually the elderly still have trust in their fellow man or woman. Not all people know about the scammers that are under every rock. Just glad they caught the scammers, now they need to allow them to attempt to break the sound barrier...but without a parachute
@Just Lookin Exactly my parents come from an era when no one even locked their doors to their homes or their cars.
@SilverGuardian @Just My 85 year old mother is in that pocket that we speak of.She really digs her heels in whenever I try to teach her anything at all to do with my lap top or my IPAD.I can see her doing anything for her grandchildren and could easily be scammed.Thats why we have gone over quite a few times a code word.
 @noneofyourbizzness  @Just I didn't ever lock my doors, until I was in my 40's or 50's.  It wasn't because I trusted people.  It was because I didn't actually have anything that I would miss if it were stolen, and because we knew all of our neighbors.  It was neighborhoods ... and how many kids walked through our doors on an hourly basis ... that made the difference on whether we locked them.
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Keeping in touch with people, though ... that has only recently been so easily and cheaply done. Â I have to wonder if any of these people ever read a newspaper. Â In the "era" that you're speaking of, the newspaper was pretty much thoroughly read in almost every family I knew. Â Today, information is so much easier to share ... and yet we have these pockets of people who seem to be totally willing to assume the worst of a grandchild, while not bothering to call that child (or their parent) to find out what's up, and whether they are even traveling outside of the country.
noneofyourbizness,
Our parents were the same way. One day when we wanted to lock the house we could not, there was not a key to the doors. Had to get one. Back in the not so bad days.
This is why everyone needs to have this "talk"with our elders.I have with my 85 years old mother.A good idea is to establish a code word if anyone has a emergency when they need money.
@noneofyourbizzness  Unfortunately, some of our elders are not dealing with a full deck of cards. While they are still competent enough to live alone, they aren't always capable of making the best decisions or remembering all family discussions
 @wondering I'm 67.  Frankly, if I am that incompetent, I am hopeful that my kids will have long since taken control of my bank accounts.
That is a very good idea! We had a family member who was called by a scammer. However they asked too many questions of the scammer and did not send any money. They then reported it to another family member who educated them on the scams. A code word would help immensely.
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