Sunday 18 February 2018

Robert Jain: What Are Grandparent Scams?

By Jason McDonald


Ideally, as you become older, you're able to build enough of a savings account so that you can retire comfortably. During your life, you may start a family as well, meaning that you'll have numerous individuals to be responsible for. It's this feeling of empathy that makes many people the victim of grandparent scams. For those that would like to learn more about these, here is some information provided by Robert Jain.

If you don't know what a grandparent scam is - and reputable names such as Bob Jain can expand on this - it's when a grandparent receives a phone call from someone claiming to be a grandson or granddaughter. This individual will tell them that they need money due to a sudden emergency. The grandparent will then wire or send the money over in some other way. This is a common form of fraud and the fact that it targets unsuspecting people makes it all the more worrisome.

Now that you know what grandparent fraud entails, in the general sense, it's important to know how you can keep yourself from becoming a victim. First and foremost, contact the person claiming to be the grandchild directly. You can help yourself further by consulting another family member to see if their story matches up. By doing so, you will be able to protect yourself from a situation that could impact you financially.

It's also worth noting that, with this form of fraud, the request way of giving money is a wire transfer. This might seem strange, especially given the advent of digital means such as PayPal and Venmo. Unless it's in particular situations, it's unlikely that wire transfers will be common. What this means is that if the person the other line demands this method, and nothing else, think twice before you agree to send them anything.

Even though the majority of grandparent scams occur over the phone, a fair amount can be experienced online. What this means is that protection on the Internet is necessary. Most computers have firewalls already set up, but you should take things a few steps further by installing antivirus software that operates online and off of the Internet. Most antivirus tools have free versions, and they aren't difficult to track down either, so protection is fairly easy to come by.




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