When Joyce and Charles Slater of Middleburgh heard that her grandson was in legal trouble in Canada, they did not hesitate to help.
In June, the caller, a deputy from Canada, said Ms. Slater’s grandson was out with some friends in Canada and drugs were found in their car. Though her grandson did not take any of the drugs, he was in jail and needed $5,000 to be bailed out.
Her “grandson” got on the phone and told her he was okay but not to call his parents.
The deputy told her where to send a money order and it turned out to be in an address of a bail bondsman in London.
That should have been the first sign of trouble, Ms. Slater said.
It turned out that there was no arrest, it was not her grandson and the Slaters were out $5,000.
After going to two places for a money order and sending it out, Ms. Slater said she did not hear anything back.
She called her grandson, who was in college and he said it was not him.
Ms. Slater called the deputy back and he said they would have to send back the money. A short time later, the number was disconnected.
“Needless to say, it was a scam,” Ms. Slater said.
To add insult to injury, last week the Slaters got another call from Canada and it was someone saying that her other grandson was on a job interview and was in a minor car accident with a rental car and needed $2,800.
Again, her “grandson” got on the phone and said not to tell his parents.
“That was my first signal” of another scam, Ms. Slater said.
She called the number back and said after thinking about it, her grandson was 24 and would have to pay the bill. The person she called “became irate” and called her names but the Slaters did not lose any money.
“I caught this one,” she said.
Ms. Slater said she was baffled because the callers had so much information and those portraying her grandsons sounded so much like them.
“They made it sound so real,” she said.
The Slaters contacted the State Police after the first incident but the money is gone, Ms. Slater said.
“There was no way to trace it.”
Ms. Slater gave three tips to those who get similar calls.
She said the first tip off is that the grandchildren will say, “Don’t call my parents,” and they want to tell them the news.
The second is, call the deputy or police back and say that you cannot or will not pay. Then, call the local police department.
Schoharie County Sheriff’s Tony Desmond said there are so many scams out there, it is hard to keep track of them and there are new ones every week.
Most seem to come from Canada, Africa (especially Nigeria) and Holland though the office recently got a call from a woman in Tennessee who was asked to send money to an address in Sharon Springs.
He suggested not to send any money and to contact the relative in question.
“If it sounds unrealistic, don’t fall for it,” he said.
Unfortunately, many people fall victim and it is very difficult to investigate and to prosecute these cases, Sheriff Desmond said.