A coworker just shared a couple of scary stories about how targeted scams have become.
In one scam attempt, he received a phone call in his daughter's voice asking for help paying for a tow truck. He thought that didn't sound right, so he hung up and called her and she answered her phone nonchalantly with no idea about what was going on. But someone had found her voice somewhere, knew her relationship with him, and targeted the scam with precise details.
In another scam attempt, he was contacted by someone in the soccer league he coaches for asking for help getting gift cards for some legitimate-sounding purpose. In that case, it took a few rounds of communication before he realized that something wasn't right. But again, someone had the data on him and his role/relationship to the soccer league, and customized that scam to a degree that he didn't think anything of it at first.
It's scary out there. I think we're all at risk, but I worry most about my older relatives living on their own.
sadly my voice is readily found online so my own parents might be a target of this
My dad has given thousands of dollars to scammers and I don’t think people understand how bizarre some of these scams are. Not necessarily as sophisticated as this, but very personalized.
He now believes he is dating several celebrities who will take care of him if he can help them with elaborate tasks which happen to involve buying electronics and gift cards. He’s essentially been groomed over years to trust a variety of people that are likely just a single person. And all of them feed into his delusions.
My dad has given thousands of dollars to scammers and I don’t think people understand how bizarre some of these scams are. Not necessarily as sophisticated as this, but very personalized.
like what? does he respond to phonecalls/emails demanding money or what?
He now believes he is dating several celebrities who will take care of him if he can help them with elaborate tasks which happen to involve buying electronics and gift cards. He’s essentially been groomed over years to trust a variety of people that are likely just a single person. And all of them feed into his delusions.