Illinois Man Taken For $20K By Scammer Pretending To Be His Child
It's starting to look like the state of Illinois could be developing a new nickname: The Scam State.
We've seen so many stories lately about Illinois residents being taken advantage of by scam artists that it's hard to keep them separate. In just in the last few weeks we've seen:
- Reports of "Tariff Scams" that are tricking people into sending money for a product, only to be told they owe tariff money before they'll receive their delivery--which they never do.
- An Evanston, Illinois man scammed out of $62,000 by a con artist posing as actor Kevin Costner.
- A retired Illinois nun was taken for over $400,000 by a phony Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes prize.
- A Palos Park woman had over $50,000 in checks stolen in a check-washing scam.
- And, there's the ever-popular "Car Wrap" scams that show up when the weather gets warmer.
Those are all bad enough, but the "Imposter Scam" recently used against a New Lennox, Illinois man is a particularly nasty scam that will leave some serious mental scars in the aftermath.
To Understand What Happened To This Victim, You Have To Know What The Imposter Scam Is, Along With Its Many Varieties
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), an Imposter Scam can be defined this way:
An imposter scam is when a scammer lies and pretends to be someone they’re not to trick you into giving them money, access to your financial accounts, or your personal information. Scammers often pretend to be from a business you know or from a government agency — or both. They try to gain your trust and get you to believe they are who they claim to be.
Under the umbrella of the Imposter Scam, you get some of these:
- Delivery services: Scammers send you fake notifications about package deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service or FedEx.
- Employment recruiters: Scammers pretend to be a recruiter offering you a job.
- Family emergencies: Scammers try to trick you into thinking a loved one is in trouble and pressure you to send them money.
- Geek Squad: Geek Squad impersonators send you a bogus invoice that says you’re going to be charged hundreds of dollars to renew your membership if you don’t call to cancel within 24 hours.
- Government impersonators: Scammers pretend to be from government agencies like the FTC or the Social Security Administration, or say they’re calling about your Medicare benefits.
It's the third one down the list above that was used to scam the New Lennox victim.
Your Phone Rings, And It's Your Child On The Other End Begging You For Help In An Emergency--What Do You Do?
Nearly anyone who is a parent would do almost anything to save their child in an emergency, and that's what scammers are hoping for when they call you.
For the New Lennox victim, it went down like this, according to a report at Patch.com:
A man told police he had received a call from someone purporting to be his adult child, according to police reports. The caller was in tears, and had reportedly been involved in an accident, the man told police. The caller said they were in jail, and another person then on the call claimed to be the caller's attorney. That person told the man to transfer money using a Coinbase machine at Jewel-Osco on Nelson Road in New Lenox.
The man had transferred $20,000 in cryptocurrencies, when his child called and said they had not been in an accident, nor were they in jail.
By using voice-changing software, the scammers made the call sound exactly like the victim's adult child.
It's sometimes called the Grandparents Scam, and here's how it works and what you can do to avoid being taken:
LOOK: Do you know these 50 famous acronyms?
Gallery Credit: Rachel Cavanaugh
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