Most grandparents are willing to do anything to help out their grandchildren, a sentiment which scammers have begun to relentlessly prey on. An 80-year-old man from Memphis, Tennessee found himself victim to what The Better Business Bureau is calling “the grandfather scam,” a fraudulent ploy which almost cost him $10,000. Now, the grandfather is looking to make sure no one else gets lured into this depraved crime.
Glen Gerth’s concern for his family overpowered any sense of suspicion when he received a call from a number starting with 011. The man on the phone pretended to be his grandson, stating that he was in deep trouble and needed help. “He said my face is messed up, my nose is broke,” Gerth told WREG. “He said that’s why he sounded different, and he said he was in jail for a DUI.”
The man on the phone continued to deceive Gerth into believing that his grandson was in dire straits. He explained that he crashed his car into someone from out of town. Shortly after, Gerth received another phone call from someone claiming to be an attorney. The second caller told him that the incident could be settled quietly for $9,750 and instructed Gerth to make the transfer via Wells Fargo.
The supposed attorney was adamant that Gerth remains quiet about the transaction, a red flag that was overlooked out of worriment for his grandson. “I wanted to help my grandson,” Gerth told WREG. “We’re pretty tight.” Luckily, the bank teller helping make the transaction happen was much more skeptical.
Glen Gerth fell right into the scammer’s trap and was ready to transfer the requested settlement money via Wells Fargo. However, the employee helping Gerth became immediately suspicious about the large amount of money he was attempting to transfer. “She was asking me all these questions,” Gerth recalled. “Did I know the person that I was depositing to, and were they going to reimburse me for this.”
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The Wells Fargo bank teller managed to get Gerth to reconsider the transfer and he decided to wait 24 hours. It was in that 24 hours that Gerth discovered that his grandson was completely fine and never made the initial call. “I just almost lost it,” Gerth said. “You know what I’m saying? That would have been a big loss for me.”
Gerth was undeniably relieved that he didn’t go through with the transfer, but also that his grandson was okay. However, he desperately wants to share his experience to create awareness so that no one else makes the mistake he almost did. According to the President of the Better Business Bureau, Randy Hutchinson, this isn’t an isolated incident, and there have been cases where victims have paid tens of thousands of dollars.
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