NY Officials Taking Proactive Approach To Combat 'Granny Scams'
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Each year, senior citizens lose millions of dollars in "granny scams," in which con artists masquerade as loved ones in need of money while traveling.
In response, prosecutors in New York have launched a campaign where grandkids are being enlisted as virtual fraud fighters, CBS2's Mary Calvi reported.
Art Hurme, a retired government worker, received a frantic phone call from someone he thought he knew.
WEB EXTRA: Grandparent Scheme Brochure
"It didn't sound quite right, but I have these hearing aids and I don't hear so good," he said.
"I said, 'Who is this?' And she said, 'Don't you know?' And so I said my daughter's name, Kirsten."
The woman, posing as Hurme's daughter, claimed to have been arrested for drunken driving in Los Angeles, more than 2,000 miles away.
"I said, 'You don't drink,'" Hurme said. "And she said, 'Well, we went out for a party.' OK. That seemed conceivable."
Despite his initial doubts about her, the woman on the phone sounded desperate.
"They wanted $3,000 to drop the reckless charges," Hurme said. "I said, 'Well, that sounds like bribery,' and he said, 'Do you want your daughter out of jail tonight or not?'"
Hurme followed the instructions and purchased $3,000 worth of gift cards and relayed the account information over the phone.
Officials warn that scammers often strike during the holidays and sometimes target seniors who know their grandchildren are traveling.
To combat "granny scams," New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is asking colleges and universities to distribute brochures to students warning of the schemes and is offering to have his statewide elder abuse coordinator speak directly to students.
The goal is to have grandparents and their grandchildren prepared before the scammers hit.
"Part of this is trying to get them to take down some of the information they leave hanging out in social media," Schneiderman said. "But the other is something as simple as having a password, saying, 'Look, if I'm ever in trouble, Grandma, Grandpa, I will use the following word or phrase. If you don't hear it, it's not me.'"
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