At Fork Union Military Academy we have a wide cross-section of the world's population represented in our student body, so as events happen across our society, good or bad, whether it is an outbreak of a new strain of flu virus, a new dance craze, or, in this case, a new kind of scam being perpetrated by con artists, we are likely to become aware of it fairly quickly through incidents affecting the families of some of our students. We have recently been made aware of a scam that criminals are using to prey upon grandparents and take advantage of their love and concern for their grandchildren. We wanted to warn our families and friends to be on the lookout for this type of scam because just within our own student body we have received reports of at least three families that have fallen victim to this fraud in recent days.
"Grandma! I'm in trouble..."
Imagine for a moment that you are a grandparent and you get a phone call in the middle of the night. The voice on the other end says, "Grandma! I'm in trouble and I need your help. But please don't tell my parents because they'll only get upset and overreact, and besides, they don't have the money to help me right now." As you fumble for the light switch and try to find your eyeglasses, your "grandchild" says, "I'm going to put the police officer on the phone and he can tell you what you need to do. Thank you so much for helping me, I love you!"
Was that really your grandson on the phone? It sounded kind of like his voice, but your hearing is not all that great when you've just been awakened in the middle of the night. It's all happening so fast. Before you can even ask any questions, an authoritative voice comes on the phone and tells you that your grandson has gotten in a bit of trouble. There's been an accident and he has been arrested. You need to send $4,400 to pay his bond or he'll have to be put in jail. This is his one phone call and you have to send the money right away via a wire transfer, a bank routing number, or perhaps by a prepaid money card. The very persuasive person on the other end of the phone line will be quite helpful in talking you through the process to send the money right away, and quite insistent that your grandson needs your help without delay.
The Grandparent Scam
It's called "The Grandparent Scam" and it has been around for a few years now. The FBI says that their Internet Crime Complaint Center has been receiving a growing number of reports of such scams since 2008. The stories told by these scam artists may vary and the scenarios differ from case to case. According to the FBI, sometimes the criminal pretends to be a doctor at a hospital, or perhaps a lawyer. In some cases, as in the example we first described, an accomplice impersonates the grandchild and then hands the phone to a second con artist who plays the role of some person in authority. Sometimes the contact is made by email rather than by phone. But the common factor is that the con artist is preying upon the grandparent's desire to help and protect their grandchild and to help get them out of the trouble they are supposed to be in by sending money.
The FBI reports that these scammers and con artists are getting more and more sophisticated. Using the internet and social media sites, these criminals can gather a wealth of personal information about their intended victims, which makes their impersonations even more believable. For example, as the FBI describes it, the real grandchild may post on Facebook or Twitter that he is a freelance photographer who often travels to Mexico. When calling the grandparents, the scammer impersonating the grandson may claim to be calling from Mexico and say that his camera and passport has been stolen and he needs money wired immediately.
No Connection Found to Fork Union Military Academy
There is nothing in the three reports we've received from within our student body that leads us to believe that the cases are related in any way or that families were targeted because of their connection to Fork Union. The grandmother of one of our cadets received a call recently from someone claiming to be a police officer, telling her that her grandson had become ill at school and another individual was transporting him to the doctor when they were stopped by police and a quantity of drugs were found in the car. It is important to note that in this particular case, the caller did not identify the school at which the grandchild had supposedly become ill and there was no mention of Fork Union Military Academy at all during the call.
We do not believe that this scam is in any way tied to our location here in Fork Union either. In fact, in one of the cases, law enforcement authorities have determined that the payment made was picked up by the con artist in a certain state on the west coast (we don't want to identify the location more specifically as the investigation is ongoing)
The fact that three families within our own student body have fallen victim to this type of scam is simply an indication of how widespread and common this scam is becoming. And the fact that nearly $10,000 was lost to the scammers by the families in these cases is an indication of just how effective these con artists can be in persuading individuals to act quickly.
Steps We Are Taking
- Even though we believe these three cases to be unrelated and simply a coincidence due to our large number of students and the growing number of such scams being committed, we are still taking steps to increase our state of vigilance on campus. At Fork Union Military Academy, we do not maintain any comprehensive databases or phone directories of grandparents of our cadets, but RADM Burhoe, the school's president, has requested that our IT department review the security of our parent and alumni databases to insure that they are protected to the extent possible from any data breaches that might jeopardize the security of the family information we do have.
- RADM Burhoe also directed that we publish and distribute this warning to our student families and alumni so that you are made aware of this growing scam and can take action within your own households to protect yourselves.
What Can You Do?
- Talk with your family members about this scam and make sure that elderly members of the family are educated about the techniques used by con artists.
- Resist the pressure to act quickly.
- Encourage grandparents who receive a call for help like this to contact the parents of the grandchild or another family member to determine if the call is legitimate.
- Never wire money based on a request made over the phone or in an e-mail. Wiring money is like giving cash. Once you send it, you can't get it back.
- Check out the online resources available from AARP. Go to http://wwww.aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork to learn more about scams and to sign up for fraud alerts.
- Download the "Grandparent Scam Tips" document available from the Consumer Federation of America at http://www.consumerfed.org/pdfs/Grandparent-Scam-Tips.pdf
- If you receive a call that your son or grandson at Fork Union Military Academy is in trouble, contact the school at 434-842-3212 and speak to a staff or faculty member. If it is after normal business hours, call the Guard Desk at 434-842-4232. The Guard Desk is staffed until 10:00 PM and after that time, voicemail messages can be left for the Night TAC Officer if he is away from the desk making rounds of the barracks building. You can also contact the Infirmary at 434-842-4310.