Ring(tone). Ring(tone).

“Hello?”

“Is this Mrs. Smith?”

“Yes, it is.”


“I’m calling from (fill in a country) to inform you that your grandson has been arrested.”

Thus begins the nightmare—but this one isn’t about the humiliation of having a grandchild in trouble. It’s about the humiliation of falling for a scam while trying to get your grandchild out of trouble. And the real trouble is that you’re about to be parted from the $3,000 or more that the caller says is needed to get your grandchild out of jail.

Kenneth Durkin, director of American Citizen Services and Crisis Management, Bureau of Consular Affairs at the State Department, outlined how this scam worked in an interview Thursday. He was in L.A. to speak to attendees of the Life@50+ National Event & Expo at the L.A. Convention Center.

Anyone can be duped, Durkin said, but “we see an increase in older Americans being targeted for scams.”


The caller may not know whether you have grandchildren, although some media reports say the con artists may mine Facebook for information on your offspring’s offspring. But, Durkin said, just by the law of averages, if the trickster calls 100 people, several are apt to have grandkids, perhaps of traveling age.

The call may come from, say, Canada, which will have an area code you may not immediately recognize. Sometimes, the caller will put on a young person just briefly enough to make you believe it is your grandchild, and, Durkin said, the youngster often pleads with you not to tell “Mom and Dad.” So you wire the money, often to another country, and the designated agent picks up the dough and everyone goes home happy.

Except you.

Scam artists often have just enough information or savvy to play on your anxieties, but before rushing to anyone’s rescue, you’re wise to slow down and get in touch with the State Department.


Durkin emphasized the importance of travelers registering with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at www.travel.state.gov. By enrolling you can leave detailed information on how you may be reached in case of an emergency, especially if the emergency is that your grandmother or grandfather thinks you are in jail. (Privacy concerns also are addressed, Durkin said, and you can opt in or out of telling certain people where you are.)

It’s also prudent to check in with family members while you’re away, Durkin said. Sometimes overseas offices will receive calls from worried parents who haven’t heard from their loved one. “Ninety-nine percent of the time,” Durkin said, “they’re fine.”