Dear Billy T and Somerville/Medford News Weekly Speakup Line,
An older friend told me a story today. I asked her if I could write her story as a public service announcement. She agreed so here it is.
Public service announcement and warning for all.
Dear Billy:
My grandson and I talk regularly. We have private nicknames for each other and jokes in conversation we have had since he was a baby.
A few days ago, I received a call from a random phone number out of Quincy, Massachusetts. They claimed to be and sounded exactly like my grandson, using our names and private greeting sequences.
My grandson said that he was sick and on the way to the doctor. He explained to me that he was the cause of an accident and was with the police. He said a lawyer would explain it to me. He begged me not to tell his parents.
He handed the phone over. The guy on the other end explained that they could make this go away. Because my grandson was young, he claimed they did not want to create a record for him.
The ‘lawyer’ told me an elaborate story of my grandson, driving & hitting a bicyclist. He said if I gave him $8,000-$9,000, they could stop the police from making a record.
It was exactly my grandson’s voice and some of the noises he makes that are not just his speaking. But then I heard a sound machine change someone else’s voice into my grandson‘s voice mid sentence.
The lawyer wanted to come pick up the money at my house. I told the lawyer that I wanted to call his parents. Then I told him i wanted to talk to the police. Then my grandson called (for real) and was OK. I realized the person I was speaking to was a scammer.
The scammer had me on the phone for over an hour, giving me an elaborate story. The alleged lawyer said my grandson was driving (he does not have a license nor own a car) when he ran over a bicycler.
When I called the phone company to check who owned the number, they thought it was strange that more than 400 people‘s names were listed as owners of the number – also a car rental place.
When I went to the bank, my banker said they have had many seniors that have had the same problem. They told me they have been seeing this a lot. I was lucky that my grandson had no car and no drivers license.
The people behind the scam have the ability to access private conversations, collect voice prints of your loved ones, special names and exchanges you have with each other, and use computers to mimic them. Scammers are using these software programs to mimic loved ones and scam the loving people.
Seniors and trusting people are most at risk for these scams. Some tips to avoid being scammed:
-Always ask too many questions if you wonder that one of these is happening. -Don’t be afraid to do a little homework of your own.
-Delay so you can converse with loved ones and confirm.
-Confirm things with your loved ones. -Converse with your bank, so they’re aware of these things as well.
-Take notes, names, write down numbers. Note if they mispronounce anything.
I am sharing this story to hope we can prevent harm to anyone and everyone who reads this and shares it with their loved ones.
Here’s a link to similar happening recently to Magyn Kelly: