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Scam victim sends $18,000 to Canada

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By HILARY KINDSCHUH / Lincoln Journal Star

Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 - 05:30:47 pm CDT

An 87-year-old Lincoln woman lost nearly $18,000 this week when a man pretending to be her grandson called and asked her to wire money to Canada.

The man first called the woman on Monday, identifying himself as her grandson, said Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood. He told the woman he had been in an accident in Vancouver and asked her to send him money without telling anyone.

The woman didn’t recognize the man’s voice, but told police she thought the phone had bad reception since the call was from Canada, Flood said. The man told her he would call her when he returned to Omaha, where her grandson lives.

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The man told the woman how to send money via MoneyGram, and she sent him about $5,000 on Monday, Flood said.

The man called two more times on Tuesday, requesting more money, Flood said. The woman sent him about $6,000 after the first Tuesday call and about $7,000 after the second call.

The man called a fourth time on Wednesday, asking for $8,000, but the woman’s bank refused to let her send the money, saying something didn’t seem quite right, Flood said.

The woman called a member of her family, who called police, Flood said. She learned her grandson was still in Omaha and had never called her to ask for money.

The man who had called the woman knew her grandson’s full name and where he lived, Flood said.

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com.


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MLM wrote on August 28, 2008 11:03 am:
" That's sick and scary. How anyone could do that to another person is beyond me. This goes way beyond the normal money scams. "

 Awful wrote on August 28, 2008 11:18 am:
" I wish I had 18k, I would give it to this lady. "

 Hmmm... wrote on August 28, 2008 11:18 am:
" Nobody's fault but her own... "

 Nina wrote on August 28, 2008 11:36 am:
" This scam and numerous variations happen all too often. We've experienced the turmoil associated with such attempts, by helping to care for a family member who was unable to use good judgment - prime prey for such criminals. If one does nothing, this is what can happen. If one takes steps to remove the power to spend from the elderly family member, he/she feels betrayed and threatens to cut said people from inheritance. It's a no-win situation - debating personal freedom vs. protection. So my advice folks, is, think this over so deeply enough now that it's imbedded in your memory, so you don't add such a problem to yourself and your family when/if you start failing. That's what I've done, and I hope and pray for intervention should I ever need it. "

 me wrote on August 28, 2008 11:36 am:
" I received a letter with a Canadian postmark telling me I had won $700,000 from a drawing. I just needed to pay $3500 processing fee to get the money.
yea, I'm glad I just shredded the letter "

 Ok wrote on August 28, 2008 11:39 am:
" I feel sorry for her for getting duped, but why would she seriosuly not contact his parents or some other family member? I know he asked for privacy, but still, she could have asked them if they knew how his trip was going and much of this could have been avoided.

I wish my grandma had $18,000 to send me. "

 JJ wrote on August 28, 2008 11:48 am:
" how horrible.My heart goes out to this woman. I hope they can somehow track this person down and give him what he deserves! "

 compassion wrote on August 28, 2008 12:28 pm:
" I don't want to read another comment blaming the victim here. She's EIGHTY SEVEN, for the love of Pete! It amazes me the amount of absolutely perfect human beings all around me somewhere, yet I have yet to meet you...... "

 Lydia wrote on August 28, 2008 12:35 pm:
" First of all to "hmmm..." It may very well be her fault. However, we all make mistakes in life, and this was her "grandson", stop being so negative, if you can't say something nice, ..... We all and I mean ALL have been duped by someone,some way, some how!

And to Nina, I understand your statements, however I guess myself thinking if I was 87 and fully capable of handling my own financial affairs, I would be ticked if someone tried to remove my rights just because they felt I wouldn't spend the money right, or how they wanted. It's my money and I will use it how I want to.

Even if that means sending it to my grandson because he needed help, and didn't want others to know. My thoughts.... "

 Ziolent wrote on August 28, 2008 12:56 pm:
" And this is exactly why we need to invade Canada. I say we start by building up our troops and taking back Minnesota. "

 CONNIE wrote on August 28, 2008 1:07 pm:
" HOW SAD! It is so sad when you stop and think that people do these things to other people. We the people of the USA need to stand up and take action against people like this. If it is not stopped, they wil continue to take other people's money and property. I for one will take action against the crooks of the world.

Oh, by the way, they say crime is down from last year. Where is that at? Not here. "

 This isnt the first wrote on August 28, 2008 1:18 pm:
" This isn't the first I've heard of this EXACT same scam. A friend at work said his wife's grandma wired money to Canada for her "grandsom". Not $18k, but even $1 is too much to send these jerks. Then last night another friend told me his dad called him asking if he was ok because his grandma called asking if he was in a car accident and why did she need to wire money for it. It's SAD. Everyone needs to talk to and warn they parents, grandparents, any of the elderly because they seem to be the target. I hope these creeps get caught! AND I agree, it's NOT her fault. Those saying it is need to get a grip and get off their high horse because you're pretty dang low to rip on an 87 year old woman. "

 overwhelmed wrote on August 28, 2008 1:21 pm:
" I agree with compassion. This was (so she thought) her grandson and he needed help. First thought, help him. At 87, and even at a younger age, it is hard to believe that people would do something like that, so it doesn't even enter your head. I do hope that everything is recovered. "

 Tim wrote on August 28, 2008 1:35 pm:
" We live in a society full of victims. Does she deserve blame? NO. But does some of the fault fall on her? Yes. She should be thankful the bank took the place of her family and showed some responsibilty with her money.I don't know who the bank was but the person who caught it and stopped it deserves kudos. "

 Brock Landers wrote on August 28, 2008 1:39 pm:
" Seriously, isn't the first thing that most people do when told "don't tell anyone" go and tell someone? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck and swims like a duck then it pretty much has to be a duck... even if it is a silent duck. "

 Lawsuit. wrote on August 28, 2008 1:48 pm:
" She needs to persue litigation against MoneyGram...they obviously did not check the scam artists ID to verify...she could be refunded completely. "

 heartsick wrote on August 28, 2008 2:37 pm:
" This story is about my Grandma - and it is very sad. For those of you writing negative comments - you're not even worth a response from me. This story is out there to prevent it from happening to someone else. As a family we are saddened that we didn't do enough to prevent our Grandma from making this mistake. But these scam artist prey on these people's emotions and get them to do things they wouldn't normally do. Thank you to all the people giving positive feedback. We appreciate your thoughts and concern. This is a devestating situation and we are determined to catch the people who did it! "

 Eric wrote on August 28, 2008 3:00 pm:
" The age of the victim has nothing to do with it. These scams happen to all ages every day. However the blame must be placed squarely on the victim here since she sent the money without question. I dont send anyone a dime until I know who I am talking too. Pretty simple. "

 RBG wrote on August 28, 2008 3:46 pm:
" This is very sad. Heartsick - good luck to your family helping Grandma get her money back. It is not your fault. The people that have no sympathy for an 87 year old women are heartless. I can't believe some people. "

 Hmm wrote on August 28, 2008 4:40 pm:
" I currently work at a bank and have for the past 4 years. I am surprised that they did not question her more the first time she was sending money...much less the 2nd time.

It is so hard to see this happen to so many people day in and day out. "

 sad wrote on August 28, 2008 5:19 pm:
" I've placed calls to Money Gram about the identity fraud of the person picking up the money. I also asked Walmart to at least inform the people at the counter of the "grandparent scam." Even though they are located next to a large retirement area, they said it wasn't possible to inform the staff of every scam. The same employee issued the last two money grams within 2 hours, both purchased in cash. Is this a wealthy women? No. Just very frugal & incredibly caring of her family. "

 JIM wrote on August 28, 2008 5:28 pm:
" no adult grand kid of mine better call wanting money for anything. its all part of being a responsible person. "

 Yup wrote on August 28, 2008 11:41 pm:
" I hope this lady finds comfort in the fact that her grandson is OK. She did nothing wrong, and I would guess that many other younger people would do the same if they thought their loved one needed help. Actually, I wonder why the bank didn't become suspicious earlier, but possibly she saw different tellers and the withdrawals didn't show soon enough. I hope they catch the bums. "

 JB wrote on August 29, 2008 9:52 am:
" Sorry to hear. I would be lucky to get twenty bucks from my Grandma. "

 Dont blame the bank wrote on August 29, 2008 10:29 am:
" The bank did question her, both the first and the second time. They pushed on the second and she said, "I know what I'm doing." By the third time they refused. "

 cindy wrote on September 3, 2008 10:26 am:
" This also happened to my mother-in-law about a year ago, however she didn't have the money to send to her supposed "Grandson" who got in trouble over spring break, so she did call my husband, his father, crying hysterically because she truly believed that her grandson was in trouble and she couldn't help him. This is a very sad situation, people preying on the elderly with such scams. PLEASE do not blame the victims. "

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