I was staying at my aunt's house last week. We've moved her to assisted living recently. Her landline phone would ring every couple of hours, I answered a few not knowing if it was stuff we needed to know about. Every single time it was a scam of some sort. I just turned all the ringers off to give myself peace of mind.

They call my mom's house like that too. She just screams at them "DO NOT CALL HERE STOP CALLING ME" at the top of her lungs which is a real delight every hour or so. If they could stop calling for my stress level / trauma responses that would be neat of them too.

[удалено]

100% this. The call screening feature on my Pixel 6 Pro is one of my favorite things about it.

I just went from a pixel to a galaxy. So. Much. Fucking. Spam. I never realized how much it was filtering out, I'm losing my fucking mind here with at least 3 or 4 calls a day.

Damn, I'm not alone. Just posted a super similar comment. This is the primary reason I've stuck with Pixel. Run airmessage on my mac for imessage and I'm good.

I have about 70 voicemails on my phone from unknown numbers that are about 5-10 seconds long. Thankfully I've never even heard these ring because Google filters them. I have had fun in the past messing with these clowns though. Pretend to get my wallet for my credit card and leave them on hold for a while, then come back to the pc and Google credit card generator online and give them a valid visa number that fulfills the formula cards use, but isn't activated ans wait for them to put the number in and make up reasons why it's not working. It's fun to see how long it takes for them to get pissed off.

It was literally the deciding feature for me when I had to replace my 3 XL. If it wasn't for the call screening feature, I probably would have jumped ship to an iPhone.

Kind of a side topic, but the "hold for me" feature of Pixels is equally amazing. I love no longer sitting on the phone listening to hold music and messages on repeat, just let the Assistant hold for you and then connect you to them when it's a real person. So great.

That new feature where it shows you the wait times before you even hit dial is pretty amazing, too. Google does a terrible job of advertising these super convenient features.

Yeah, Google is pretty terrible at advertising in general I think. Which is ironic since they own the world's largest marketplace for online advertising. Their "Chromecast with Google TV" devices are so much better than Roku etc., but no one knows it. And people still by Alexa devices far more than Google Home devices even though the Google ones are generally considered to be better.

I work in a secure facility and somehow our number was on the call list for the Medicare Benefits scam folks. We had to answer every call in case it was high priority customer or the manager from our downstairs office calling. 8/10 times it was a scammer. My coworkers would lead them on with absolutely ridiculous stories, or tell them they are on a recorded line with the US FBI( or insert any other Alphabet agency) nothing ever stopped them.

I’ll raise that frustration with this….in a former life I worked in 911. Somehow our 10-digit trunk # into the PSAP got out, and we had a brief period of scam & solicitation calls coming in to us. Luckily the telecom vendors managed to figure out & block further disruptions, but jebus!

Some elderly dude with a landline kept getting spam calls from a spoof of my number. So he’d call me a few times a week to scream at me to stop calling him.

This made me laugh this is some shit my mom would do. I'm always like "Ma, just don't answer it." and she will say something like "WELL THEY NEED TO KNOW NOT TO CALL HERE".

Sounds like you might be my long lost sister cause I have the same mom.

Air horn

[удалено]

My grandma got the same phone call about ten years ago and call was also intercepted by my dad before she could consider giving any money.

My grandmother got hit with this about a decade ago, except it was my brother calling from Mexico and needed a western union wire transfer. Luckily she made a mistake and sent the money in my brother's name instead of his "lawyer's" and I found out about it/got it cancelled before there was a chance for the mistake be corrected.

Grandparent Scam. It's a variation of The Spanish Prisoner con, which is hundreds of years old.

I think the reason it’s making a resurgence is the available “AI” technologies. Scammers can use a short sample of the targets voice to create full dialogues, Mimicking the sound, cadence, and verbiage of the mark (the more audio they train the bot on, the better it can do these things). Scams are a huge threat and getting better every day. The technology is rapidly evolving but the big issue is the way scams enter into society. From the Nigerian prince, to the misspelled emails, we always think we would never fall for something like this. We set ourselves up as overconfident. As the scams get better, we fall victim and everyone else thinks, “that would never happen to me. I’m smrt.” Then the scams get better and get those with their guard down. It’s always easier to prey on the easy ones, but we all fall in that category in one sense or another. This is going to be a Massive problem in the next decade as the technologies get to the point where we are all easily manipulated. This is how it happens. the robots take over. And it’s all scam bots… not really, but please take it seriously. Most people can’t bounce back from $5000, let alone 22k.

10? Try hundreds of years. Telephones just make it easier for them to fund marks.

Everyone needs to have a password type thing with their Elderly family members, so they know it’s really you. And tell them about these scams and to not give money to people. Op, I’m sorry this happened to your family

My grandfather almost got scammed with this same scam. He claims that the person said my name, but the rest of us think they must have said "it's your grandson" and granddad supplied the name in response. Anyway, the claim was that I was in jail in Mexico, and I hadn't told my dad that I was going, so I couldn't call him. I needed several thousand dollars to get out, and I needed granddad to wire it to me. Side note: I'm definitely not the kind of person to just up and go to another country without my family knowing where I'm going. Also, my dad's dad would have been literally the last person I'd have asked for money. But he was ready to go pull out the money and wire it. He even called my dad to ask if he knew anything about it, and dad told him not to. But he was still going to do it, until my dad called me and told me to call granddad and tell him I wasn't in Mexico. Funny story, my mom's mom got the scam calls too. But when they called her "Grandma", she told them "I know you're a scammer because my grandkids don't call me that".

It isn't just this scam. It should be "do not give ANY money to anyone who calls up and asks". It is a scam.

Don’t. Answer. Phone.

you are missing out on your cars extended warranty

I told them I had a 1968 Plymouth Fury. They hung up on me.....go figure

I get the Medicare scam on my work phone twice every morning. If I answer (only when I’m expecting a call from someone else whose number I don’t know), I’ve begun trying to see how deep I can get. Typically, it’s very clear spoken English asking a few preliminary questions. I assume fully automated, not live. If it doesn’t like your answers, it ends the call. If you pass the first few questions you’re dropped into a queue and suddenly speaking with someone who doesn’t speak English very well nor very clearly. At most I’ve only made it three questions deep with the live scammer before they hang up on me. Completely false answers: How old are you? 65. Do you have xyz coverage/insurance? No. What is your name? You called me! You don’t know who you called? \>click< Next time, I’ll provide a false name and see what the next questions are.

Tell them your name Is Isaac Dixon Cox and ask them to repeat it. That usually works.

I’m not expecting a call, ignore it. I’m not expecting anyone at my door, ignore it.

And make sure the person at your door is legit before opening it.

Get a modern phone with a screening service

yea getting called randomly is bad. But the nice Nigerian Prince that needs $5000 to escape jail in Nigeria emails are legit. He totally swore I would get $20K once he gets to the states

I would never send money, but my girlfriend I've never met in SE Asia needs 10k worth of xbox gift cards, that's legit right?

Honestly banks need to have protocols in place to ask elderly people about their actions after a certain age. Simple questions like "are you withdrawing this money because someone has called, emailed, mailed you to request it? if so, you may be a vicitim of a scam" etc....I can't believe so many elderly people fall for this shit its unreal. Also, fuck scammers. I sell TONS of shit on craigslist, facebook marketplace, offerup, etc....I make it a habit to waste these motherfuckers time. I have so much text that I just copy and paste so its not a huge time investment for me

Walmart now has signs at the cash registers, and if you’re buying more than one gift card (or a high denomination one) they will ask if someone told you to buy it. People - while they have Starbucks in Mexico, a Mexican jail will not ask you to send a Starbucks gift card as bail payment.

Sitting in Mexican jail now expecting my Starbucks. Thanks a lot Debbie downer.

I'm in a prison deep in Singapore and the only way out is $100,000 in robux!!!

So five cents

I remember reading a story on reddit where an elderly woman was buying multiple gift cards at Best Buy worth $2000 each. They asked her the questions and determined she was being scammed, but she didn't care. She was going to buy the gift cards anyway. They begged and pleaded with her and she told them she was going to buy the gift cards no matter what. They eventually told her that they wouldn't sell them to her, and she said she was going to go to another Best Buy to get them.

I think this was a more extended exam where she loved the person who was scamming her. Lonely people get taken advantage of. People like that make me hope against hope there is justice in the afterlife.

The bank I work for does have protocols in place. Unfortunately a lot of times the customer isn’t honest about why they are withdrawing the cash and will say they are purchasing a vehicle or things like that.

Often the scammers will have explicit instructions to not be honest about why they need the money, and will suggest lies like "say it's to buy a car" instead. "If you tell the bank the truth, the government gets involved, and they won't give you your money until the government approves and I'll have to stay in jail even longer. Just say you're buying a car or something ..."

You are absolutely correct. And they will follow these instructions to do whatever they can to protect their family they think is being harmed.

Yeah, this. Was gonna say some are adopting this or have them but people will still insist they need the money for bail or to buy a new puppy etc.

My husband is a financial advisor and banker and he sees this endlessly. He will tell the people to not do it or ask them to wait and they don't listen. The stories he tells me are absolutely heartbreaking. Working 60 years and getting scammed out of your entire retirement, losing your home because of this shit, etc.

The banks have protocols in place, but they can’t deny people their $ especially when they lie about the use. People need to educate their elderly family. I have talked to my mom & grandma about this topic a lot to help them understand.

They actually do. At least I’ve been informed at chase they do but they can’t do anything but recommend and warn… if the customer still wants something done, ie the elderly person being scammed persists then that’s it. Can’t really blame the banks on this one.I’ve been told by friends in banking that they see elderly people come in a few times a month with Nigerian prince scams. Despite warning most of them continue.

Sounds like a job for ChatGPT

They DO have protocols in place. My girlfriend works in compliance and her entire job is convincing people not to withdraw the money, wire money to their girlfriend or boyfriend that they’ve never met, or training her coworkers to do the same. Sometimes they’ll just fall through the cracks.

my bank already does. doesn’t yours?

I don't know. I don't ever try to withdraw stupid amounts of cash.

they have signs all over the counter about it.

My dad gets this call every few months now, either about me or my son. He generally berates "me" or "my son" about what a "bad seed" they are, and how he warned them that this would happen, and so he won't be helping and some time in prison would be good for me, it might make we "wake up". "I" tend to cuss him out at this time. He derives great pleasure from this, so I'm glad that these people can help entertain my father in a way that I never could. But yeah, fuck these guys. Not everybody is as skeptical as my dad.

"You're an embarrassment! How did you get caught so easily!? Did you learn nothing from all the summer League of Shadows camps I sent you to? Camp Counselor Ghul always said you were a disappointment! You bring dishonor to this family!"

he might enjoy [this](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vJEwo_gwO9M).

Folks, write down a secret word everywhere at your parents. Fridge, TV, paste it everywhere. Have instructions by their phones. Put. It. Everywhere. “If I ask you for money or someone else does and they don’t know this secret word, don’t give anything. Contact Aunt or Uncle or whoever to confirm or call my cell.”

Yes! My family and I have a secret phrase to confirm identity as well. We adopted this after one of my dad’s clients had scammers call and fake a kidnapping of his daughter and demanded 100k to get her back. She was never in any danger but the pressure they use to keep you on the phone and in a panic will get people to pay up. They used this tactic to confirm she was safe and kept the “kidnappers” on the phone long enough to get law enforcement to respond.

>Yes! My family and I have a secret phrase to confirm identity as well. Good idea....what is it? ;-)

1... 2... 3... 4... 5.

Our secret phrase is, password.

That’s my daughters name! Well, her name is Password123.

This is a really great idea.

And also a secret “I am in big fucking trouble, play along” phrase.

This. Everyone in our family has a nickname that only family members call them and it serves a similar purpose as a secret word.

444-4444

tf u doing u need a safe word?

Do you not have elderly parents or relatives?

yeah, but it’s not like taken or narcos goes on with them ffs

This isn't for legit situations, this is for scammers. Do you not realize how convincing scammers are these days? It feels like this entire thread has gone over your head.

no. i just dont have that stupid relatives, that i have to leave “notes all over the place

A secret word that's posted everywhere (anywhere, really) is not much of a secret. Agreeing to respond to "1234" as a verbal pin that nobody writes down is MUCH more secure. That is, if you are a super spy or maybe to protect your Hippo-Rights, if you are a republican.

The phone scammers aren't going inside your home before they call you.

No, you are right, you should just tape your password above your monitor. Passwords are for the honors system.

Could you at least try to be relevant to the conversation?

Unreal. Hate to see this.

My grandmother got hit for $15k but it was an Amazon order scam of some sort. Something like they accidentally deposited 15k into her account and needed it back and sent doctored web pages and stuff. Pretty awful.

They tried to get my friend with a similar scam. Friend was selling a piano and they tried to overpay him (by thousands) and get the change back before the check bounced or something along those lines... Scammers are some of the trashiest characters

There are scam centers in india crammed with workers dialing people day in and day out. They even sleep there while the kingpins make millions of dollars of stolen loot. But people are fighting back: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZbEQsKLRZQ

That’s a Craigslist scam, been around for about as long as Craigslist has been around. I’ve actually received paper checks for thousands more than the item I was selling. It’s a phony check—I deposit it and do *a thing* with *some* of the extra money and by the time I find out the check was phony, I’m already out ALL the money…and probably the item I was selling too. Luckily I’m smart enough to not fall for obvious scams like this. I only fall for complex scams—like 1hr martinizing and second coats of paint.

good grief. the 3 most popular scams must account for 99% of scam activity. I've seen so many posted here, but they're all variations on a few basic cons.

I'm a bit confused by your comment...is jesus one of the 3 most popular scams, or are you referring to 3 other popular scams? :-)

I replaced jesus with "good grief".

jesus...it was just a joke.

I work in a bank and it's startling how common this is. I wonder if his bank inquired what so much cash was for, they dropped the ball if they didn't. Elderly are the most targeted demographic for these scams!

Even if they did, they’d have to convince the elderly person not to continue.

Yes that's true, but it still should be reported. Transaction Review Memo.

How will that help?

It won't if the client insisted, but this stuff gets reported internally. Authorities will get involved to investigate if there's a pattern of this happening.

Bank tellers are trained to ask questions regarding large cash withdrawals. There is also additional paperwork required for an amount that large. Either the bank was not doing thier job, or your father was coached on what to say at the bank. Either way, I'm very sorry OP.

[удалено]

Banks can’t stop someone they can only attempt to convince them not to continue further. You’d be surprised how stubborn some older people are when they’re convinced they’re on the right track already.

Wait so did someone come by and pick it up??

Wow, I’m soo sorry. Everyone needs to talk to their parents or older friends in there life asap.

==removed in protest of Reddit API changes==

This is sad. 22K is a lot of money and in cash???

Grandpa in-law believed the was getting letter from Janet yellen, fake horrible letterhead included - he’s given away a million thinking he invested in some company. Now he’s trying to give his last 30k awa to some African village so a “college student” can come live with them smh

That’s crazy I just watched the Simpsons episode about that last night

The scam itself is elderly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_confidence_tricks#Persuasion_tricks It's been around for decades, at least.

Very sorry for your family. I received an email from Vanguard informing me that I shouldn't fall for scams just like this (since I'm retired and living on investments I guess they figure I'm a prime target). Sending good karma to your Dad and you.

$22K in **cash**?! Jesus, Mary and Joseph that amount of money would legit change my entire life! I'm SOOO sorry to hear this, man...fuck! Lemme ask, as someone that has **never** had to withdraw that much money at one time, would the bank be a little curious as to why an elderly man needed to withdraw that much money in cash? I seriously don't know...wouldn't that flag the teller and the Bank Manager come out and have a word with him? I would think/ hope so...but if that were the case and the Dad told them he needed it to get his son out of jail well...I just don't honestly know.

Where I work anything over 10k would be flagged and involve extra paperwork

That's what I was figuring. Didn't know the cut-off amount for extra discovery. Hey OP, can you let me know how he was able to walk out of the bank with that much money without any hassle? I'm seriously interested in this.

I have so many questions. It would be pretty hilarious if OP created this sob story to try and scam r/Austin.

LOL, I hope not! I'm gonna err on the side of that OP is telling the truth, they are just leaving out some information people want to know. **But** if I see a GoFundMe for his Dad? Uhhh...

Just trying to warn others because it sucks. My dad is a loving idiot, what can I say.

Gotcha, brutha. Again, sorry for your Pops.

The scammer probably told them a story to tell the people at the bank. This is why it’s so hard to catch bc banks can’t deny people their own money. Especially when they lie about the use - and they often lie. They do try to stop it but they can’t control peoples money.

The scammers also know that nobody wants to admit they are bailing someone out of jail. They also tell them what to tell the bank so there is no delay.

A lot of bank branches don't even keep enough cash on hand to do that size of withdrawal without advance notice so the bank can order more cash from their armored car service.

my dad wouldn’t even give me $10 for gas

Who came and picked up the money?! Description of the person, door bell camera footage, **anything** to help figure out who it may be?

This, I got my parents a ring door bell and outdoor nest cameras, the cameras are linked to my phone so I get notified when someone's comes by their place. It gives me peace of mind everytime. Also did you dad not try calling you to verify?

This happened to my grandma years ago. They said they were a lawyer and her grandson was in jail and he needed cash to get me out luckily she called my dad and he he told her not to go through with it .

I'm shocked the bank allowed him to take out that much money. This exact scenario happened like a decade ago to my grandmother and when she went to the bank they were like nooo way cuz this is apparently quite common.

So sorry about this. I was with my father when he got a similar call a couple of years ago and overheard the conversation. These assholes are very convincing and practiced. If I hadn't have been there I am certain he would have been taken. And just like your experience, the scammer actually did sound like my nephew. And they are absolutely relentless about going after the elderly. Before a call they will scrape info off of social media and ancestor.com-type sites that really makes the calls seem authentic. I know your dad is mortified about the expereince but he shouldn't be -- they do this all day and the evil bastards have their con down good. Then, when I turned 65 and got on Medicare *I* started getting them. The only way I found to avoid them is to not answer the phone for anyone that is not in my contact list. Set your default ringtone to silent and all your contact's ringtone to something audible. And ditch your landline (if you can) for mobile. And if you think your are too smart to ever fall for this, you are wrong. You may be safe for now but *everyone* who lives long enough suffers some cognitive decline. They will be coming for you one day.

Did you have a family member recently pass away? My grandmother was almost scammed by someone that got her name and mine from a obituary.

How was he allowed to withdraw $22k cash without ANY wait period or questions from the bank? Without calling anyone else? You both need to speak to someone at his bank about preventing this kind of scam from happening to him again. Many elderly people get hit multiple times by scams.

Anyone who would fall for this scam honestly needs to have their money managed by someone else who they trust. Sadly they shouldn't have direct access to their money, or at least not more than can be lost without major pain.

I’m so sorry this happened. Thank you for the reminder for us to talk to elderly relatives about phone scams. Hopefully your story saves someone else.

Crazy. Banks usually don’t give out 22k in cash same day. I asked for 15k once and needed 1 day for the brinks to come.

I totally believe you and am so sorry this happened to y'all, but can you shed a bit more light on how this scam went down? I'm trying to figure out how to tell my family what to look out for because saying "Just ignore any calls from me claiming to be in jail" isn't going to work with my family. Like, how did the "courier" know where to go to pickup the cash? I am guessing they called your dad to "confirm his address"? And did they know your name somehow, or did they just call up and say "Hey dad, I'm in jail. Help!" and he took it from there? I'm not trying to shame at all; just trying to identify any weak points in the scam that I can give to my family as a way to test.

I have the same questions. My grandfather is the guy that gets called to bail family out of jail, so it would help to know how to recognize it as a scam.

Do you have a spouse, partner, roommate, or close friend that your family can check in with if they get one of these calls? This is a very sophisticated scam. My elderly in-laws nearly fell victim to it recently. Someone called them claiming that their son (my husband) was in trouble and needed money. Thankfully they called me right away and I was able to tell them that he was standing right next to me and fine.

My spouse's elderly coworker fell prey to this very scam a couple of weeks ago. She is in her 70s and can't afford to retire, and probably just bought herself another year or two of working. I feel so bad for her.

There was a KXAN article about this a while back. [LINK](https://www.kxan.com/news/local/he-said-hed-kill-her-txst-family-sounds-alarm-after-students-grandparents-targeted-in-ransom-scam/)

If any of my family members got this call, they’d probably say, “Sucks to be you. Enjoy your stay in jail.” And that’s if they actually believe the call is genuine.

Sorry to hear. I had a friend who was hit with the same scam regarding her grandson who was "sick, stranded overseas, and had their wallet and passport stolen". Fortunately, she was able to get hold of the mom and confirm it was a scam before she wired the money.

> I post this here because when they called 911 they indicated they had a call about this same scam last week, and the fact that it’s cash makes it pretty local problem. It's well known and wide spread. You're one of the lucky 10,000 today.

My grandma used to have fun joking with these scammers on the phone. Even as she got really old she still had her whits about her. Still though warn your relatives!

My grandfather enjoyed messing with a scammer pretending to be his grandson a few years ago. Scammer couldn’t have known my grandpa doesn’t have grandsons, of course.

The crying is key. My husband had a similar call a few years ago and he also thought he was our son. Then, the “attorney“ got on the phone. Actually sucked us both into the scam for a while. They preyed on our emotions which is despicable. Wanted $10,000 (might have been $9,000). Luckily we sensed that something wasn’t right and I got on another line to call the police to confirm if he was arrested. He wasn’t. Ended the call with a big f you.

No doubt your dad still feels terrible. Go give him a hug and tell him how wonderful it is to have a father who would do something like that, despite the cirumstances.

This happened to my dad yesterday as well. He asked the scammer questions that only I could answer though and realized it was a scammer.

Today at the shell station on Lamar, the sweet owner/cashier noticed an elderly man on the phone while at the store's ATM withdrawing a bunch of cash. He was worried because the phone called seemed sketchy and the man didn't seem to fully understand what was going on. He followed the man outside and talked him through the scams and stopped the scam in its tracks! Literally an angel for that.... so sad to see this stuff happening.

Happened to my 82 year old dad. Someone claiming to be a grandchild but they called him by the wrong name and he balked at the last minute.

My grandma got this call, and called me to confirm. Swore it sounded exactly like me. I wonder if they're just going off of a shakey phone call quality and poor memory of the elderly.

Same thing happened to my grandpa probably 6 years ago pretending to my younger cousin.

Ugh I am so sorry this happened to you ad your dad :( I told my mom last year to just run everything by me, email, phone calls, mail, etc. Now she tells scammers on phones or anyone she's unsure about to call me directly. I'm constantly throwing out crap scam email/mails and filtering her calls and telling people to fuck off, it's rather sad...and it has increased since my dad passed last year, which is pathetic. Hope you got your money back, or your dad's money!

This same scam was pulled on my friend's elderly neighbor. She lost $20k over it, thinking her grandson was in danger.

This also happened to a friend of mine- she's in her early 40s and her daughter is 16. She didn't end up giving them money, but she said that it sounded **so convincing**.

this is a very old one. my 78 year old grand dad got a call about me. luckily he didn't fall for it. no idea how they got my name and his number and connected those dots, but it happens all the time

Not trying to harp on ya but this is common. A decade ago I got a call from my grandpa about the same thing only they were claiming I was in jail in Mexico.

That breaks my heart! I'm so sorry your dad was taken advantage of like that!

So a corrier came and got the cash? Any ring cameras or cctv? That's a ballsy move, picking up straight cash I can't see this as being real

Sadly this is Not a new scam by any means nor is it a “local” problem either. This scam has been around for like 10 years at least and has been all over the place tbh. [website from nevada talking about the same scam](https://www.lacsn.org/who-we-are/legal-aid-in-the-news/scam-alert-beware-of-callers-seeking-bail-for-relatives-officials-say)

This happened to my grandmother-in-law who lives near Houston. It's a pretty common scam nationwide, and yeah it targets the olds. These people are extremely evil.

Same scam happened to my great aunt years and years ago, so this is not a new scam. She got a call from her “granddaughter” saying she was in jail and needed bail, just like you were talking about. I can’t remember if she ended up paying it or not. My grandma ended up telling me about this, and ever since then we came up with a little “code” in the way I answer the phone, just so she knows it’s me.

This happened to my husband’s grandma. She got a call saying her grandson, they even knew his name, was in jail because he got into car wreck and the lady he hit was pregnant and he needed money to get bailed out. The person trying to scan his grandma even said not to tell his dad and impersonating my husband to his grandma. It was creepy. My husband’s grandmother called his dad and which his dad his sister and his sister called me and funny because my husband answered my phone and was shocked because they thought something had happened to him but he had been home all along. It was so crazy.

Same thing happened a few years ago to my friends elderly mother but they said her grandson was in jail. It cost her 10k, so many people and also organizations (and a certain political party) prey on the elderly.

The party that the elderly love to vote in too. Preying on children or the elderly should come with harsher punishments.

It wouldn't be reddit if we couldn't make a phone scam about party politics.

Since you mention it, the entire state of Utah is run by scammers and MLMs and they seem to have ample representation among a specific political party.

This js a VERY common scam in Japan.

This would never happen to my folks. Were I in jail I wouldnt even call them for help. My sister once called crying to them because her POS fiancee was in jail. They laughed at her. Then she called me and I was like, "The fuck you want me to do?" He was abusive, controlling and noone liked him.

Sounds fake everyone knows that you go through a bonds person.

They can use AI to mimick your voice perfectly.

They need prior recordings of the person's voice to do that.

Yes this is true.

[удалено]

Shut the fuck up

Uh oh, did I hurt your Reddit feelings?

Dude, just cuz you think certain things in your head you DON'T have to post it all the time. This is one of those times.

Who cares it’s the internet, get over it

> (braker/Kramer) That took me too long to get while I was wondering what in tarnation those pronouns were.

The jail would send a courier? Cash?

Almost happened to my in-laws last week. The only difference was they were supposed to meet the agent outside the city jail.

Bold move. Hopefully that 'agent' got caught.

This happened to my grandmother, im so sorry.

Same happened to my great grandma a few years back with someone pretending to be me. Saddest thing is that some of her kids now hate me thinking that I was the one who scammed her. smh

My grandma got a call that someone that she knows was in jail in Houston and needed money for bail. She thought it was my brother, who lives in California. I guess the person on the phone also told my grandma to not call my mom about it. Anyway, my grandma hung up and called my brother to see if he was in jail. Thankfully she didn’t give the guy any money. So scary because my grandma believed the guy enough to call my brother.

Saw this on a TED talk. always a scam.

"I don't answer questions" tends to immediately undermine a lot of their tactics.

Thanks for sharing, this is awful. It’s crazy that so many people don’t believe in hell or any kind of afterlife judgement. So sorry for your family

Omg. I’m so sorry this happened to you and your dad ! I just read about this happening to someone else here in Austin on Nextdoor. A woman’s mother have $15,000 or something. So awful.

My grandmother used to get a few of these calls. She would always ask if I had heard from my brother, because she would ask if it was him and they would say yes. Now grandma was of sound mind but she didn’t recognize the voice. She always told him he was smart and he would figure out how to get himself out of trouble. They never got one over on her. Now my grandpa…that’s a different story. He was confused how anyone could pretend to be Steve Jobs and tell him his credit card information expired.

I tried to move off my Google Pixel 4 a few years ago and that brief move just showed me how many scam calls it was filtering for me. The ones it wasn't filtering, I could easily screen with google assistant. They do a terrible job marketing this super useful feature. Went back to pixel and never looked back. just my personal anecdote.

This happened to my grandmother. It was only 2k but still. We need to make a code word with our loved ones. If they don't say the code word we know it's not them.

Happened to me a few years ago. Same scenario. Just happened to align with my son’s location and activities for the day. I bought it, hook, line, and sinker. Just as I’m about to give my credit card info to the scammer I get a call from my son (17 yo at the time). Me: Frank what’s going on, are you ok? Son: sure I’m ok. What day of the week was I born? Me: (wondering why the police need this level of detail) I’m not really sure. How important is it that you have this info? Son: oh it’s not important, I’m just taking a buzz feed survey. Me: (long pause) IN JAIL?!? Son: What?! Me: aren’t you in jail? Son: no I’m at home. I’m waiting for my friends to go downtown. Me: oh no, they called the wrong parents! I was so emotionally vested that it didn’t immediately dawn on me that I was being scammed. I actually tried to call the “jail” back to inform them that they were calling the wrong parents. And I’m the one that had always alerted my parents to potential scams. They just happened to catch me with enough coincidental info that I emotionally fell for it.

This happened to my grandmother about 4 years ago. Fortunately she checked in with other family first.

But….if it’s cash…..where did he take it????

It’s not necessarily local just cuz it’s cash. Organized crime has a lot of ways of hiring unsuspecting money mules who think they’re picking up payment for something else, so they have plausible deniability if the mule gets caught. Then that gets handed off to someone else, likely also some unsuspecting gig worker, who’s tasked with laundering it somehow under some supposedly legal premise. Then it gets put into an account that the organization has access to, all while the people running the scam are halfway across the country or the globe. Cash is just harder to trace and refund than electronic payments are.

geez, I am so sorry. My dad got scammed out of about $3k with an online thing that hijacks your browser. Scammer scumbags.