Call the Hospital and Send Money, or Just Send Money
"Attorney General Madrid cautioned, "This scam plays on the fears and emotions of the victim by using the name of a loved one. As one victim said in her report, when you have a loved one in trouble, you will do whatever is asked of you as quickly as possible so you can help them. You don't think about the possibility that you could be the victim of a scam. This is one of the most egregious scams I have seen." Two victims of this scam, a grandmother from Albuquerque and another from Los Alamos, lost $5,000 and $4,000, respectively. They both report receiving calls from a person who claimed to be their grandsons. In each case, the caller told his "grandmother" that he and some friends had been arrested for drinking and driving in Canada and were in need of money to post bail and for a plane ticket home. Both victims reported that the scammer called them, pleading to have money wired to a Canadian address. The victims did as they were told and wired money to the addresses they were given. Later, the victims' suspicions were raised and called their real grandsons, only to discover that neither grandson had made a trip to Canada nor were arrested. By the time the victims realized what had happened, they called the money transfer services only to be told the money had already been claimed in Canada."In another version, the
"mother received a call from a person claiming to be a dispatcher from the Arizona Highway Patrol who said her name was Kathy Richardson. "Kathy" asked the mother if she had a son by the name of Andy. "Kathy" said there had been a bad accident and that Andy was unconscious, had lost a lot of blood and needed to be airlifted to "Tucson Memorial Hospital." "Kathy" also put a "Lieutenant Johnson" on the phone, who confirmed the accident. "Lt. Johnson" informed the mother that an 18-wheel truck had sideswiped Andy's car and that the driver of the truck was drunk. "Kathy" told the mother that Andy's emergency contact information was found in his wallet and that he had insurance. "Kathy" then said insurance could not pay for the airlift, since it was a Saturday and the insurance company's office was closed. She informed the mother she would have to immediately wire $950 via Western Union to pay for the airlift. Kathy said the insurance company would reimburse the $950, plus the cost of the wire transfer on Monday. Kathy told the mother she was to wire the money to a 2737 Gilmore Road in Westland, Michigan, because this was the quickest way to pay for the airlift. An Internet search of 2737 Gilmore Road in Westland, Michigan by the Attorney General's Office returned no results. The mother reported that "Kathy" kept repeating how much blood Andy had lost and how time-critical it was for the mother to wire the money. "Kathy" even gave the mother the address of the nearest Western Union outlet in Los Lunas."What principles are at work here? What can due diligence do?
Technorati Tags: business opportunity scam, grandmother, fraud, egregious, mexico attorney, business opportunities, frauds, los alamos, scams, albuquerque, franchise, emotions, fears, madrid, plays
Technorati Tags: business opportunity scam, grandmother, fraud, egregious, mexico attorney, business opportunities, frauds, los alamos, scams, albuquerque, franchise, emotions, fears, madrid, plays
There is really one principle working, the regret principle operating in a condition of extreme uncertainty. Family members would suffer extreme regret if they didn't wire the money and the scammer's story turned out to be true. Now, it would be difficult for distraught relative to keep their head clear in these sort of matters. But just as the boiler room telemarketer will disconnect the call after 3-5 minutes if the pitch has not been taken, so will this short con be defeated by simply asking for more details and taking your time to get the details straight. After 20 minutes of patient questioning, the fog will disappear and reason will ascert itself dispelling the fantastic illusion that scammer seeks to weave.
Technorati Tags: business opportunity scam, grandmother, fraud, egregious, mexico attorney, business opportunities, frauds, los alamos, scams, albuquerque, franchise, emotions, fears, madrid, plays
Technorati Tags: business opportunity scam, grandmother, fraud, egregious, mexico attorney, business opportunities, frauds, los alamos, scams, albuquerque, franchise, emotions, fears, madrid, plays
