Not a day goes by where we don’t hear of another scam going.

This one has been around in various forms for several years, but it's the target of the scam that makes my blood boil.

It's called the Grandparent Scam, and it works like this according to FirstCapital Bank of Texas:

To commit this crime, fraudsters call claiming to be a family member in serious trouble and in need of money immediately. The scammer might say he’s stranded or has been mugged, and call in the middle of the night to add to the urgency and confusion. Once the money is wired, the victim later finds out that it wasn’t their grandchild they were helping, it was a criminal.

But it can be more than just money, as we found out from The Consumerist:

After providing relevant information, the caller then asks the recipient to purchase gift cards. After buying the gift cards, the targets are instructed to call the number back and read off the gift cards’ numbers and security codes.

Cash or cards, a scam is a scam.

So what do you do in these situations?

Talk to your elderly family and friends and tell them to confirm who it is that is calling. Hang up if it sounds fishy. Ask questions. Why wouldn’t you?

Don’t tell anyone anything, ever, over the phone.

Don’t let emotions rule your decision.

Thanks to our good friends at FirstCapital Bank of Texas for some added insight to this problem.

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