Grandparent scam continues on Key

The grandparent telephone scam continues on Longboat Key.

Longboat Harbour resident Gail Sinick was the latest target of the scam.

About 11 a.m. Tuesday, Sinick answered the phone and believed her nephew, Ethan, was on the other end and that he jokingly called her “grandma” because he was expecting his twins to be born any day.

“Is this Ethan?” Sinick asked.

“Yes,” the scammer replied.

“How are the babies?” Sinick asked.

“They are fine,” said the scammer.

Not until the scammer said he was in trouble and needed money wired to him did Sinick realize it was a scam.

“My nephew is doing very well financially, so I knew it was a scam,” said Sinick, who hung up on the scammer.

The Longboat Key Police Department advised Sinick to file a police report and report the incident to the National Consumer League’s fraud hotline at 1-800-876-7060.

“These people are good and know how to continue on a conversation with you by talking as little as possible,” Sinick said. “People need to be aware this is going on.”

Other potential derivatives of the scam include grandchildren calling from jail, explaining they are too embarrassed to call their parents and hoping that grandma or grandpa can help them out.

Then, if money is wired, typically to Canada, through a wire-transfer service, it generally can’t be recovered.

Another popular scam that has picked up speed on Longboat Key is the bank-account scheme, in which people get calls from fake bank representatives who ask them to verify their bank account numbers. Bank and credit card representatives won’t ask you for account information over the phone.

“There has definitely been an uptick in activity because of the state of the economy,” said Longboat Key Police Capt. Kris Roberts. “Everyone is looking for a way to make some money.”

Report it
If you are the victim or attempted victim of a monetary scam, the Longboat Key Police Department recommends filing a police report with the town and also reporting it to the National Consumer League’s fraud hotline at 1-800-876-7060.

To avoid being a victim of phone solicitations, hang up:
• If you don't know the person to whom you are talking.
• If an unknown caller asks you for your Social Security number, credit-card numbers, bank account numbers or date of birth.
• If you receive a call asking you to provide personal information to win a prize.
• If you are called and asked to verify information about your credit cards. If the caller claims to be a bank representative, hang up and call your bank directly using a valid number from a telephone book or the bank's Web site. Remember, banks will never call you and ask for personal information over the phone.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected].