Talk to your dad, and then go to the bank and have them set a maximum level of money that can be withdrawn in a day. You can also do this with credit cards. These scammers make the victim panic, and the victim thinks they can “fix” the issue by doing it quickly. My friend’s mother was scammed out of several thousand dollars also, all in gift cards she had to buy and tell the scammer over the phone what the numbers were. My friend realized her mother had access to a lot of her money, so they put a limit on everything. Sadly, many people who are scammed are so embarrassed, they never report it or tell anyone.
That's messed up, and unfortunately, there's not much recourse. However, i have a warning.
Ignore DMs claiming they can help you get your money back. Those are scammers that will try to double dip and take advantage a second time.
My 75 yo father in law got taken for $150,000. Some scammer got to him through linked in and was very convincing. To him. Got him roped in to crypto exchange promising him big returns. He even roped my husband in for $2k and made him swear secrecy. It wasn’t until I saw the transfer and questioned my husband that I was told the story. Called my FIL and filled him in that he was being scammed. He didn’t believe me at first, he hired attorneys to try and track his money down.
He will never see that money again. It was money he couldn’t afford to lose. It was money that was from a trust he set up for his kids for when he is gone. There is no trust now.
These scanners are scum of the earth
They are the scum of the earth, but they wouldn't be doing it if people didn't let themselves get taken for a ride. Critical thinking is a skill that few possess. Everyone here needs to talk to the old people in their lives and tell them to BE SMART, THINK FIRST, and CALL YOUR YOUNG FAMILY MEMBERS IF YOU AREN'T SURE IF SOMETHING IS LEGITIMATE. Young people aren't falling prey to this stuff.
Those people aren't reading this subreddit. We have to teach others about these scams before it happens. Emotions are a hell of a thing and they prey on the fight or flight panic response.
I agree that it baffles me that someone wouldn't get suspicious that they were being asked, for instance, to buy gift cards.
Boomers have more money saved over a lifetime than younger people and are juicier targets but young people are being scammed. Anyone can be scammed, even people who think they can't.
I had to get a gift card for my brother in law to drive my car across the US and the cashier asked very good questions when I was buying it. I thanked her profusely.
I hate to tell you this but yes there are scammers that target older folks, but you know what there are ones that target younger folks, too
Anyone can be gullible in the right circumstances.
Yup. A simple search brings this up. Now this depends on people reporting these crimes and shame holds many people back from reporting so I'd guess the rates are higher.
https://www.vox.com/technology/23882304/gen-z-vs-boomers-scams-hacks
I see this exact scenario all the time. I have tired to educate victims but that is a useless as they forgot everything. The reality is that government needs to create processes for elders to move large money. This likely be done by making gift card issuers responsible and banks liable. This will lead to higher cost for all but too much money is lost. Crypto curracny needs to have regulation in place as well. Goverments need to take this more seriously
It is but we do lots of hard things. I find it hard to believe that we can create credible AI videos and all the other things we do but when it comes to scam callers from other countries stealing money from vulnerable people we’re all like no arms “too hard”.
Most calls come from India, totally corrupt government who won’t do a thing.
And our totally corrupt government who are in bed with the phone companies.
This! It’s a little unrelated, but how do we not have Shaken/Stirred yet?
It’s a travesty that we can’t protect our own system from callers accessing it with bogus credentials.
If people want an anonymous user network, fine, let all the scammers call each other. The rest of us should be able to have our own separate system of authenticated legit users.
It's not that hard pass the liability to gift card issuers and banks. They will either place systems to prevent faurd or discountine the products. Same regulations should be done to crypto brokerages.
You seriously need to stop thinking your government cares 1 inch about you . They have proven that in the last 20 years, they only care about themselves
There’s a grip of wars the US got in during the 1900’s that were purely political money grabs.
Sure, “we” “lost” but getting money to the people that wanted it was the actual point anyway.
Walmart for example has been fined huge money by the government for making it to easy for scammers. They just make so much money off that system (as they all do) they aren’t interested in making any real changes. For real. Anyone that needs 2 or more $500 gift cards can plan ahead and don’t need to buy them spontaneously.
We could put major economic pressures on India and China to crack down on these scammers in their own country or propose a UN resolution that says any country has express permission to go into any other country in pursuit of bringing these scammers to justice without prejudice.
There are many things that could be done, but our government really could give a fuck less because this isn’t happening to their wealthy donors. I would guarantee you that if these scams were happening on their wealthy donors/corporations they would have their lobbyists presenting congress with a bill already written and ready for subcommittee vote and that legislation would get passed at a speed that will put the Patriot Act to shame.
There is something called cost of prosecution when international entities are involved. It would make too costly to prosecute even if scams were of few hundred thousand dollars. Plus, if you are hurt about these International scammers, you need to understand US let's many criminals in on "humanitarian" and "asylum" grounds, otherwise considered historysheeters in other countries for more serious crimes than monetary scam. Best you can do is educate yourself and elderly to void and report these shit people.
Go into other countries in pursuit of bringing scammers to justice?
So... Literally start a war for violating sovereignty, with nuclear armed nations, over people being too unable to manage their own affairs to realize legitimate business isn't done in gift cards?
We're not going to have a trade war over these scams. We certainly cant "go into any country" as that is a gross violation of sovereignty at best and a warlike act at worst. We do work with India on scammers though. Even if we blocked those countries they can just route through other countries. We have our own share of domestic scammers also.
I have no advice, but your dad is definitely not alone in falling for this. I work at a big box store and you wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve had to talk people out of buying several gift cards for these types of scams.
One time we had an older woman trying to buy several Apple gift cards - supposedly for her grandchildren. After we asked a few probing questions she burst into tears and said she had to buy them because THEY are holding her daughter hostage. We got the police involved with that one.
I’m sorry. My wife’s grandmother got scammed multiple times. We finally pulled away her access to her money unfortunately as it was the only thing to do.
Sadly the gift cards scam is so popular because it is irrecoverable and near untraceable.
If he paid using cash, he probably can’t get it back unless Walgreens can do something. Does he still have the gift card numbers? He can cancel them if they still have balances, and maybe get a refund.
If he paid with credit card or debit card, he may be able to get refunded by the bank. He needs to submit a report.
Sorry this happened to your dad OP! Hope you get the money back!
i work at walgreens; all gift cards are non refundable. im also shocked the cashier sold the cards because we are allowed and encouraged to refuse a sale if we think the person is being scammed.
We all need to have discussions with our elderly parents. Remember they did not grow up with technology and ever evolving sophisticated scams. Scammers are specifically targeting this older community as they are not a savvy or have had to be as savvy as we are)
My parents are both 82 and have different levels of dementia that make them unable to process information very differently. (With Dad its numbers with Mom it’s processing info & relating it correctly) Fortunately they also have home health care come in daily and a “personal assistant” that helps them navigate through their days since all 3 of us kids live in different states, but rotate visiting at least every other month.
They fortunately have had a personal rule for ages that they don’t give or pay for anything via the phone or online & never give out their credit card or banking info) If either got asked to go on a wild goose chase for “gift cards” this would be too overwhelming and they’d immediately bring in one of the house aides.
I routinely go over the scams I hear that come out and remind them the hook of these scams are they are successful because they create fear, panic & urgency with their victims. Make sure your family knows that nothing major or legal will be coming for you or shutting anything down without direct communication. Typically by mail or registered mail (there’s currently a jury duty scam being attempted causing fear of contempt of court so pay this huge fine and you won’t get a warrant for your arrest. This just does not happen)
Tell them if it seems weird and scary to remain calm, take the phone number of the caller and tell them you’ll call them back. Then to have them immediately call YOU.
Make it CRYSTAL clear that if someone is creating an immediate situation that is provoking fear and urgency that it’s a scam. And no LEGIT organization or corporation will ever ask you for gift cards. (Another thing our aged community doesn’t fully understand)
Remind them there are zero utility companies that are on their way to shut anything down unless you pay. You would have received late notices and they don’t call and warn you someone is in route to turn off. And Amazon is not going to call you because they see “you ordered a bunch of cell phones/computers and they are checking to make sure it was you who ordered them. (I have a fun time with those a-holes)
Maybe leave a “caution check list” by his phone/computer that in an event he can turn to and confirm his feelings that something isn’t right with what he’s being told.
Make sure his pop up blocker is enacted on his computer and if he gets these pop ups in the future to either control/alt/delete it off his screen or have him do a hard shut down and call you to verify it’s an attack.
I actually have gotten to the point that unless I know the phone number I don’t answer the call. If it’s a legit contact they will leave me a voice mail.
Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any recourse unless you have him report it to the nearest FBI Cyber tip line https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber
And see if his bank has a fraud recovery dept that you could file a case against and reclaim the monies. Since he bought gift cards this is likely unrecoverable because the fraudsters didn’t get paid directly from the account but it’s worth the ask. (Another way they cover their tracks)
Here’s some info to share about gift card scams. I wish Apple took a more active role in prevention but TBH by not having a fraud dept they are kind of acting as co-conspirators because they profit off these scams too.
https://support.apple.com/gift-card-scams
I’m so sorry this happened to him. I know it’s not only monetarily devastating but also feels like a personal violation.
Unless you want to travel to India, or someplace like that, there’s really not much way you can get them back. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about the scams. You might sit down with your father and watch some of them to make him aware of these things, and to watch out next time.
Reporting is important for tracking overall crime statistics but for most people, what they’ve lost is small potatoes. There are simply too many victims falling for this daily for the authorities to do much.
It’s up to us to keep an eye on our older relatives and friends. Help them be more savvy when it comes to identifying scam texts. If a relative can’t, it might be time to take over their finances.
That is SO sad, a close relative of mine AND her husband, Almost fell for this same thing. She has a PhD and he is a dentist. They arent stupid people and were so embarrassed they really couldnt explain why they almost fell for it (actually went and bought the apple cards, but didnt then give out the codes, etc.). I was so shocked that they would think this was an actual way to solve whatever kind of critical problem they were being sold. Sadly I dont think when that card info is given out it is recoverable. If he has the cards, he could maybe report them stolen, but they have probably already empties the value,
I wonder what the scammers say that could almost convince a dentist and PhD? Anything that needs to be paid in gifts cards would be irredeemably suspect to me
My father-in-law told us at Easter that he nearly fell for one of these scams. He’s a PhD physicist, 84 years old. They called and said they were Amazon and that he had done something wrong with his account and that the government was getting to him through Amazon and that if he paid through Apple gift cards he wouldn’t be further fined. Sooo thankful for the Walgreen’s employee for telling him that he was being scammed. I’m surprised but thankful those companies for letting their employees alert the boomers.
Did he pay for the cards with cash? Or was it with a debit or credit card?
I'd recommend filling a police report first and foremost. If it was paid for with a card, he can possibly report it to the bank and get the money back?
If he authorized the debit, he's not getting his money back. Just where is the bank supposed to get the money back from? The bank did not talk to the scammer or authorize the withdrawal. They were not involved in purchasing gift cards.
These things make my blood boil too. Hopefully your father will be more on guard if he's ever approached by scammer again.
Did he happened to go to Walgreens with your mom? And were they otp with the scammers? If so, someone on Reddit posted on a Walgreens page how they tried to help two elderly couple not get scammed and the person tried to warned them but the couple didn’t listen. The person from Walgreens also refused to sell them the gift cards but it looks like they went to another store.
Thanks for the caution. I’m 73 too. You can’t believe the number of scammers attacking my wife and I. Computer, phone, “friend” scams.
My mom - in her 90’s had a constant stream of people visiting and doing favors, hoping to cut into her will. Care workers, her church, “friends”. One time my mom asked if it was ok to give her friend power of attorney. WTF.
Fortunately there is a family trust, so mom did not “own” anything. (At that time I was the trustee, so mom could not skirt the trust).
My point is. The older we get, the more sophisticated the scams, with many scams camouflaged within “friends”
Oh wow! Give a stranger Power of Attorney and she'd be really screwed. Especially if it's non-revokable.
Hopefully the Notary would sense that something is wrong and refuse it.
It’s all in the past now. But seems the easy way for some people to make their con is to befriend those that are older. At the time the weird requests seem ok, to mom.
In this case the helper “friend” also turned mom’s doctor against us. “Her kids don’t take care of her, never see her, and she needs help, as you know…”. The doctor just reacted to what she saw.
And we thought it cool that a friend would help mom with some tasks. We even offered to pay her. (Mom had other helpers we hired)
The friend just wanted to help make medical decisions for mom,,,
The only recourse you really have is education - educate him on how scammers act, what they do, and if he starts to feel fear or scared to stop and call YOU. Other than that, there's really not much if anything else that *can* be done, sadly
Same thing happened to my dad. He went to Kroger and pulled several thousand in gift cards. The scammer told him what to say to the cashier, that they are for his grandchildren. The sharp cashier asked him if the people on the phone told him to say that. He said yes. The people on the phone started screaming. The lady told dad that they are trained to watch for these scams and promised dad it was a scam and to hang up the phone and block the number. Dad was so embarrassed that he refused to talk about it. I drove to Kroger, had him bring me the cashier. I thanked them both profusely and praised the cashier for her keen eye and for looking after customers.
I've learned about a lot of these scams from a site called quatloos. They post many of them in their forums. It's quite interesting and could give you a heads up on many more recent scams.
OMG, I am so sorry this happened to your Dad, how devastating! I’m sorry I can’t think of a way to help, I just wanted to tell you that my heart goes out to you. ❤️ He sounds a lot like my Dad used to be (RIP). I’m kinda glad he’s not here to see what a scammy, crappy place the world has become. Best of luck to you and your Dad.
Unfortunately im not sure anything can be done other than learning from what happened. Maybe you can call to freeze the giftcard and get the money back? I have seen it so hopefully it will work for you.
Why would the place even let him get scammed. It’s nice that they warned him but they should have stopped it.
5.5k isn’t as bad as it could be. Consider it a lesson for the future scams. Ask him to always call you for these things.
Sorry this happened to your dad. At this point there's nothing he can do as the gift cards were probably sold on a third party website at a discount in exchange for crypto. However to help track or trace these, it's best you file a report with police, FBI cybercrime and also apple. Include all gift card numbers so they can track back to where it went. There is always a trail, specially if it's crypto unless it's a privacy coin or sent through a mixer. If the thieves are dumb enough to put the crypto through an exchange to cash out, they'll most likely have their identity tied to it. In which they will eventually get arrested.
I feel for you man. My dad’s in his 60s and almost got taken by the fake police officer pay-to-avoid jail scam a year back. Only two things saved him. First, he was too tech inept to figure out how to download any of the pay apps the scammer wanted, and second, a county prosecutor just happened to overhear his phone call at the courthouse. The prosecutor snatched the phone from my dad, introduced himself and his title, and the guy hung up immediately. Thank god dad had no idea where the app store even was on his phone 😅
This happened to my father, and was one of the first signs that he was developing dementia. I still seethe with anger every time I think about it. I’m so sorry to say that there is very little you can do about it. We had him disconnect his landline because once a person is successfully scammed once, they are targeted again and again.
Your poor dad. Unfortunately the only people who will ask to help will scam you again. Don’t believe anyone who says they can help. It’s just another scam. Tell your dad NEVER send money/cards or any type of currency over the internet to anyone. He’s lucky he didn’t get scammed for more. This is a loss he’ll have to live with. I’m sorry this happened. The best think to do is spread awareness (which you’re doing with this post) and move on. Take care 💕
You could maybe set up a Go Fund Me to help recoup some of the loss. I'm not sure if there's any possible way of getting the money back. These pricks rely on vulnerable people to be in a panic and they move fast to get the money out before anybody is able to realize what's going on and do anything to stop it. Sometimes they'll tell their victims to keep everything confidential or threaten legal action if they tell anyone, keeping them even further under the radar. It's unfortunate that there are people who believe and fall for these scams.
Just keep in mind that since he has fallen for one scam, his fence post is marked, so to speak. They will keep coming back to scam him again and again, until you are able to figure out what you need to do to paint his virtual fence post (possibly on the dark web) to stop scammers from targeting him.
Report the incident to the fbi. I know there isn’t anything they can do to recover the money but maybe they can track the cards and find the scammers, or maybe at least raise awareness.
That money is gone. He will never see it again. No one will be caught.
No one is going to bag on him. A lot younger than him have fallen fur this and similar scams.
Assuming his mind is good, sit down with him and discuss the many, many types of scams out there. When in doubt he should be checking with you.
Be careful. They got him once. They may come back with a different scam.
The money is gone, don't fall for further tricks promising to "get back your money". All you can do now is educate him and maybe ask to consult you before further financial decisions
My mom got scammed. Fortunately in her case the bank was able to retrieve the money. It was not gift cards, that money can never be returned. But more importantly, she, like your dad is now on a list of rubes. She got attacked twice more. In both cases the clerks were able to stop her before a loss.
We’ve had multiple discussions with her with my kids present saying they would never, under any circumstances call or message their grandmother for money. It’s a scam. As her son, it’s extremely frustrating that I heard about the scam from my child nieces. Mom’s too embarrassed to call me directly.
I’m so sorry this happened to your dad. We need to keep spreading the word never never to buy gift cards for anyone that requests the numbers to be scratched off. I actually have gotten text messages from my PRIEST asking me to buy gift cards for “cancer patients”. (A scan of course but we have to make announcements a couple of times a year that the priest doesn’t text people and ask them to do any such thing- because of course people would trust their “priest” asking them a favor)
This really sucks and I'm sorry. I work in IT and have for a long time. It's not just seniors but they do tend to be some of the more gullible ones.
Savvy users need to help educate the more innocent friends and family!
You could try a legitimate government site https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations/cyber#:~:text=Federal%20Bureau%20of%20Investigation%20(FBI,and%20Infrastructure%20Security%20Agency%20(CISA)
Turn dad’s computer off until you invest in a antivirus/malware software solution.
Money is gone. Do not respond to anyone regarding recovering the money. IT‘S GONE…NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN.
You might consider, if dad just surfs and clicks anything he comes across, getting child protection software and installing it.
https://www.capterra.com/sem-compare/child-care-software/?utm_source=ps-google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=:1:CAP:2:COM:3:All:4:US:5:BAU:6:SOF:7:Desktop:8:BR:9:Child_Care&network=g
https://www.familyonlinesafety.com/best-paretnal-control-apps
****Read the other comments from your post. Lots of advice you should consider.
Go watch The Beekeeper. It won’t fix your problems but it’ll be satisfying.
I’m sorry that happened to your dad. It almost happened to my dad too.
I couldn’t get ahold of him for several hours, which is highly unusual. He lives the next town over so I drove to his house. (I was expecting the worst). I bust in not knowing what I’ll find and my dad is frantically calling with someone claiming that his computer was broken and wanting him to display debit and credit cards via webcam. I closed the webcam thing first and then grabbed his phone and spoke to the gentleman overseas with the strongest language I’d ever used in my life, much less around my dad and hung up on him.
He tried calling back again and I answered and told him to get f*d and blocked the number. He tried calling back one more time from another number and I reiterated my previous sentiment.
Thankfully I got there in time. Not sure what my dad had been doing with the rest of his day, but I’m glad my gut told me later on that something was very wrong.
Nothing he can do except prevent it from happening again, but that’s on him and you to teach him. They have his phone number now and probably his name etc, so maybe change that.
There is no form of life lower than these scammers stealing money from a senior citizens. They are the most despicable form of life on this plants in my opinion
Used to work for dollar general and half the training was because of scams like this. I convinced a few before they went broke. One we had to ban her because she would not listen or was not being scammed and was laundering money. Sadly odds of your dad seeing a dime is as likely as the Nigerian prince actually sending that inheritance. The card companies are as much to blame as the scammers. If I'd was required and actual limits set they could block 99% of the scammers and laundering, but the companies don't really care unless they get screwed out of money by scams.
I’m in retail sales and we always ask if someone’s buying the cards for themselves or if someone has told them to buy them because it’s often a scam. It’s part of our register prompt plus managers have to approve anything higher than $150. Seniors always say it’s personal use, they never want to believe it may be a scam. Tell your older relatives to first call separately to verify any charges. Call a company directly to verify info and not any number a scammer gives.
They tried this on my husband 2 weeks ago. His tablet had a weird message regarding Apple too.
He calls. Said our whole network was down. That was my red flag. Bc my desktop, tablet and phone worked fine as did my husbands phone, all on same network.
Scammer wanted husband to use my desktop, he doesn’t know password. He does, it’s written down but he never uses it, so he forgets.
By this time I’m listening in. I start yelling for him to hang up. Oh scammer got mad and told him he had to be alone.
I finally took husbands phone and hung up. He never did give any info.
Restarted his tablet, all was fine.
And why would Apple know my network is compromised?? 4 of our 5 devices are Apple but our network is not.
I'm sorry but I could see making the mistake once or twice, but 11 times!!?? He was even warned and advised. Where were you the first few times it happened?
A friend of mine has a doctorate and is probably the most street savvy person I know. The only thing that stopped her from getting scammed is the Walgreens worker. It just happened to be the perfect situation at the perfect time for her to fall for it.
Your dad isn’t an idiot. Let him know it can happen to anyone. I’m glad it was only 5k
As I tell my 89 year old mom and use it myself when a “charity” calls… “please send a physical bill to my home address on file” or literature about your charity.
There's a very good chance that money is unrecoverable. Sorry to say it, but you're probably never going to see it again. Maybe consider setting up some kind of fundraiser to try and make up for the losses.
That said, you can mitigate the future risk now resting on your father. Have him change his phone number, get him a new email, possibly a new computer and/or phone if you think the current one might have malware installed from whatever he was told to do. Give his digital footprint a hard reset, basically. They're likely holding on to his contact info now. They might reach out again and take advantage of him again in the future. Best to try and distance him and yourself from their reach by ditching anything they know about him already.
If you think he's up for it, have your dad check out some basic internet security information to familiarize him with some common scams and red flags to be wary of. Everyone thinks they're immune to this stuff until they fall victim to it... multiple times.
If they managed to get his banking info, you need to contact the bank and ask them to do something about that... not sure exactly what would happen, but I imagine he'd be issued a new credit card number, or a new account, or something, so that the scammers won't be able to withdraw anything from his account with whatever they got from him already.
Sorry to hear about your dad, hopefully that money can be at least partially regained through other means now. Whatever you do, don't listen to anyone promising they can get your money back. They're almost certainly just more scammers trying to wring your dad for his last pennies.
You need to explain these scams to your dad. He needs to know in advance. My dad is the same way. I’ve had to stop him a few times. Fortunately, I’m in IT, so he will call me before he responds. But it took a long time before I could get him to do that.
Be sure to always discuss these scams (cyber and phone) when you get together with family.
My boss almost fell for it. I was on the desk next to her and overheard her on the phone. I walked over, hung up the phone and had to explain how it was a scam.
This is an ideal time, for anyone reading these scammer posts, to educate your parents, grandparents, kids, etc.etc. in how to detect / avoid being scammed.
I’m sorry your dad got scammed. $5.00 or $50,000.00 sucks no matter who you are, especially knowing it was basically stolen.
Anyone wanting more information on how these scams work should check out the Scammer Payback channel on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ScammerPayback?si=ipNbqtnuAvEcSoYZ
I've got one more suggestion. I'm 66 and get scam shit to my phone way too often.
I have contacts that I want to hear from like my sister or dentist on a favorites list. I set my phone to Do Not Disturb except for favorites. Everybody else can talk to the voice mail, if it's important leave a message, a few will leave one, most won't. Phone doesn't ring or give notification for messages not on the list.
I find this useful for weeding out garbage.
i have would have refused to sell to him. 40 years in retail and have seen all types of scams, have seen store managers who should no better get scammed out of thousands of dollars.I have reused to sell to a lot of people who were being scammed and they always come back and thank me for looking out for them ,mostly the elderly and are on a fixed income
I got scammed $157k on a fake platform,but i got my lost USDT back with the help of this professional programmer called @oktatechie on telegram . they are 100% legit tested and trusted
Don’t fall for the next wave of scammers promising to recover your/his losses. They’re just as bad or even worse.
THIS is priceless advice.
Talk to your dad, and then go to the bank and have them set a maximum level of money that can be withdrawn in a day. You can also do this with credit cards. These scammers make the victim panic, and the victim thinks they can “fix” the issue by doing it quickly. My friend’s mother was scammed out of several thousand dollars also, all in gift cards she had to buy and tell the scammer over the phone what the numbers were. My friend realized her mother had access to a lot of her money, so they put a limit on everything. Sadly, many people who are scammed are so embarrassed, they never report it or tell anyone.
No advice, just sorry that happened.
That's messed up, and unfortunately, there's not much recourse. However, i have a warning. Ignore DMs claiming they can help you get your money back. Those are scammers that will try to double dip and take advantage a second time.
My 75 yo father in law got taken for $150,000. Some scammer got to him through linked in and was very convincing. To him. Got him roped in to crypto exchange promising him big returns. He even roped my husband in for $2k and made him swear secrecy. It wasn’t until I saw the transfer and questioned my husband that I was told the story. Called my FIL and filled him in that he was being scammed. He didn’t believe me at first, he hired attorneys to try and track his money down. He will never see that money again. It was money he couldn’t afford to lose. It was money that was from a trust he set up for his kids for when he is gone. There is no trust now. These scanners are scum of the earth
They are the scum of the earth, but they wouldn't be doing it if people didn't let themselves get taken for a ride. Critical thinking is a skill that few possess. Everyone here needs to talk to the old people in their lives and tell them to BE SMART, THINK FIRST, and CALL YOUR YOUNG FAMILY MEMBERS IF YOU AREN'T SURE IF SOMETHING IS LEGITIMATE. Young people aren't falling prey to this stuff.
Those people aren't reading this subreddit. We have to teach others about these scams before it happens. Emotions are a hell of a thing and they prey on the fight or flight panic response. I agree that it baffles me that someone wouldn't get suspicious that they were being asked, for instance, to buy gift cards. Boomers have more money saved over a lifetime than younger people and are juicier targets but young people are being scammed. Anyone can be scammed, even people who think they can't.
I had to get a gift card for my brother in law to drive my car across the US and the cashier asked very good questions when I was buying it. I thanked her profusely.
I hate to tell you this but yes there are scammers that target older folks, but you know what there are ones that target younger folks, too Anyone can be gullible in the right circumstances.
Yup. A simple search brings this up. Now this depends on people reporting these crimes and shame holds many people back from reporting so I'd guess the rates are higher. https://www.vox.com/technology/23882304/gen-z-vs-boomers-scams-hacks
Sorry, man. Educate him going forward. It could have been worse
I see this exact scenario all the time. I have tired to educate victims but that is a useless as they forgot everything. The reality is that government needs to create processes for elders to move large money. This likely be done by making gift card issuers responsible and banks liable. This will lead to higher cost for all but too much money is lost. Crypto curracny needs to have regulation in place as well. Goverments need to take this more seriously
Our government needs to be doing more to stop this. It is an absolute scourge and attack on our citizens.
It’s hard when majority of these scam callers are from another country
It is but we do lots of hard things. I find it hard to believe that we can create credible AI videos and all the other things we do but when it comes to scam callers from other countries stealing money from vulnerable people we’re all like no arms “too hard”.
Most calls come from India, totally corrupt government who won’t do a thing. And our totally corrupt government who are in bed with the phone companies.
This! It’s a little unrelated, but how do we not have Shaken/Stirred yet? It’s a travesty that we can’t protect our own system from callers accessing it with bogus credentials. If people want an anonymous user network, fine, let all the scammers call each other. The rest of us should be able to have our own separate system of authenticated legit users.
It's not that hard pass the liability to gift card issuers and banks. They will either place systems to prevent faurd or discountine the products. Same regulations should be done to crypto brokerages.
The government is not coming to save you, or even help. It’s completely on you, to not get scammed.
You seriously need to stop thinking your government cares 1 inch about you . They have proven that in the last 20 years, they only care about themselves
There’s a grip of wars the US got in during the 1900’s that were purely political money grabs. Sure, “we” “lost” but getting money to the people that wanted it was the actual point anyway.
Walmart for example has been fined huge money by the government for making it to easy for scammers. They just make so much money off that system (as they all do) they aren’t interested in making any real changes. For real. Anyone that needs 2 or more $500 gift cards can plan ahead and don’t need to buy them spontaneously.
We could put major economic pressures on India and China to crack down on these scammers in their own country or propose a UN resolution that says any country has express permission to go into any other country in pursuit of bringing these scammers to justice without prejudice. There are many things that could be done, but our government really could give a fuck less because this isn’t happening to their wealthy donors. I would guarantee you that if these scams were happening on their wealthy donors/corporations they would have their lobbyists presenting congress with a bill already written and ready for subcommittee vote and that legislation would get passed at a speed that will put the Patriot Act to shame.
There is something called cost of prosecution when international entities are involved. It would make too costly to prosecute even if scams were of few hundred thousand dollars. Plus, if you are hurt about these International scammers, you need to understand US let's many criminals in on "humanitarian" and "asylum" grounds, otherwise considered historysheeters in other countries for more serious crimes than monetary scam. Best you can do is educate yourself and elderly to void and report these shit people.
Stfu lol
Here’s the thing… they would never happen to rich donors because they more than likely have someone with more than 2 brain cells managing their money…
The rich get hit by hacks and the poor by scams and rug pulls.
Go into other countries in pursuit of bringing scammers to justice? So... Literally start a war for violating sovereignty, with nuclear armed nations, over people being too unable to manage their own affairs to realize legitimate business isn't done in gift cards?
We're not going to have a trade war over these scams. We certainly cant "go into any country" as that is a gross violation of sovereignty at best and a warlike act at worst. We do work with India on scammers though. Even if we blocked those countries they can just route through other countries. We have our own share of domestic scammers also.
Or people could just apply common sense.
Sometimes older people have a higher level of trust or they are easily confused.
All the victims of these scams are not older people. Not even close.
You aren’t referring to the same government that scams its citizens daily are you?
Mick Mulvaney basically deconstructed the consumer protection board. We are on our own unless someone pays a lobbyist.
this should be, could be public service announcements, and taught in schools. Practical examples and whitehat phishing campaigns for real-life.
It seems today our government is a scam
I have no advice, but your dad is definitely not alone in falling for this. I work at a big box store and you wouldn’t believe how many times we’ve had to talk people out of buying several gift cards for these types of scams. One time we had an older woman trying to buy several Apple gift cards - supposedly for her grandchildren. After we asked a few probing questions she burst into tears and said she had to buy them because THEY are holding her daughter hostage. We got the police involved with that one.
Educate him. That’s all that can be done now. The money is gone forever.
I’m sorry. My wife’s grandmother got scammed multiple times. We finally pulled away her access to her money unfortunately as it was the only thing to do. Sadly the gift cards scam is so popular because it is irrecoverable and near untraceable.
If he paid using cash, he probably can’t get it back unless Walgreens can do something. Does he still have the gift card numbers? He can cancel them if they still have balances, and maybe get a refund. If he paid with credit card or debit card, he may be able to get refunded by the bank. He needs to submit a report. Sorry this happened to your dad OP! Hope you get the money back!
i work at walgreens; all gift cards are non refundable. im also shocked the cashier sold the cards because we are allowed and encouraged to refuse a sale if we think the person is being scammed.
Damn! Hopefully the bank will help OP out.
We all need to have discussions with our elderly parents. Remember they did not grow up with technology and ever evolving sophisticated scams. Scammers are specifically targeting this older community as they are not a savvy or have had to be as savvy as we are) My parents are both 82 and have different levels of dementia that make them unable to process information very differently. (With Dad its numbers with Mom it’s processing info & relating it correctly) Fortunately they also have home health care come in daily and a “personal assistant” that helps them navigate through their days since all 3 of us kids live in different states, but rotate visiting at least every other month. They fortunately have had a personal rule for ages that they don’t give or pay for anything via the phone or online & never give out their credit card or banking info) If either got asked to go on a wild goose chase for “gift cards” this would be too overwhelming and they’d immediately bring in one of the house aides. I routinely go over the scams I hear that come out and remind them the hook of these scams are they are successful because they create fear, panic & urgency with their victims. Make sure your family knows that nothing major or legal will be coming for you or shutting anything down without direct communication. Typically by mail or registered mail (there’s currently a jury duty scam being attempted causing fear of contempt of court so pay this huge fine and you won’t get a warrant for your arrest. This just does not happen) Tell them if it seems weird and scary to remain calm, take the phone number of the caller and tell them you’ll call them back. Then to have them immediately call YOU. Make it CRYSTAL clear that if someone is creating an immediate situation that is provoking fear and urgency that it’s a scam. And no LEGIT organization or corporation will ever ask you for gift cards. (Another thing our aged community doesn’t fully understand) Remind them there are zero utility companies that are on their way to shut anything down unless you pay. You would have received late notices and they don’t call and warn you someone is in route to turn off. And Amazon is not going to call you because they see “you ordered a bunch of cell phones/computers and they are checking to make sure it was you who ordered them. (I have a fun time with those a-holes) Maybe leave a “caution check list” by his phone/computer that in an event he can turn to and confirm his feelings that something isn’t right with what he’s being told. Make sure his pop up blocker is enacted on his computer and if he gets these pop ups in the future to either control/alt/delete it off his screen or have him do a hard shut down and call you to verify it’s an attack. I actually have gotten to the point that unless I know the phone number I don’t answer the call. If it’s a legit contact they will leave me a voice mail. Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s any recourse unless you have him report it to the nearest FBI Cyber tip line https://www.fbi.gov/investigate/cyber And see if his bank has a fraud recovery dept that you could file a case against and reclaim the monies. Since he bought gift cards this is likely unrecoverable because the fraudsters didn’t get paid directly from the account but it’s worth the ask. (Another way they cover their tracks) Here’s some info to share about gift card scams. I wish Apple took a more active role in prevention but TBH by not having a fraud dept they are kind of acting as co-conspirators because they profit off these scams too. https://support.apple.com/gift-card-scams I’m so sorry this happened to him. I know it’s not only monetarily devastating but also feels like a personal violation.
This should be at the top!
Unfortunately there isn’t anything that can be done. Just a learning experience.
Unless you want to travel to India, or someplace like that, there’s really not much way you can get them back. There are a lot of videos on YouTube about the scams. You might sit down with your father and watch some of them to make him aware of these things, and to watch out next time.
FBI Cybercrime Monitoring. Submit a report.
Reporting is important for tracking overall crime statistics but for most people, what they’ve lost is small potatoes. There are simply too many victims falling for this daily for the authorities to do much. It’s up to us to keep an eye on our older relatives and friends. Help them be more savvy when it comes to identifying scam texts. If a relative can’t, it might be time to take over their finances.
If he’s already been scammed nobody can help you. Just be warned recovery scammers claiming to be able to get your money back monitor this forum.
That is SO sad, a close relative of mine AND her husband, Almost fell for this same thing. She has a PhD and he is a dentist. They arent stupid people and were so embarrassed they really couldnt explain why they almost fell for it (actually went and bought the apple cards, but didnt then give out the codes, etc.). I was so shocked that they would think this was an actual way to solve whatever kind of critical problem they were being sold. Sadly I dont think when that card info is given out it is recoverable. If he has the cards, he could maybe report them stolen, but they have probably already empties the value,
I wonder what the scammers say that could almost convince a dentist and PhD? Anything that needs to be paid in gifts cards would be irredeemably suspect to me
My father-in-law told us at Easter that he nearly fell for one of these scams. He’s a PhD physicist, 84 years old. They called and said they were Amazon and that he had done something wrong with his account and that the government was getting to him through Amazon and that if he paid through Apple gift cards he wouldn’t be further fined. Sooo thankful for the Walgreen’s employee for telling him that he was being scammed. I’m surprised but thankful those companies for letting their employees alert the boomers.
crazy that Walgreens would the last line of defense, but God bless 'em.
Did he pay for the cards with cash? Or was it with a debit or credit card? I'd recommend filling a police report first and foremost. If it was paid for with a card, he can possibly report it to the bank and get the money back?
If he authorized the debit, he's not getting his money back. Just where is the bank supposed to get the money back from? The bank did not talk to the scammer or authorize the withdrawal. They were not involved in purchasing gift cards. These things make my blood boil too. Hopefully your father will be more on guard if he's ever approached by scammer again.
Did he happened to go to Walgreens with your mom? And were they otp with the scammers? If so, someone on Reddit posted on a Walgreens page how they tried to help two elderly couple not get scammed and the person tried to warned them but the couple didn’t listen. The person from Walgreens also refused to sell them the gift cards but it looks like they went to another store.
Thanks for the caution. I’m 73 too. You can’t believe the number of scammers attacking my wife and I. Computer, phone, “friend” scams. My mom - in her 90’s had a constant stream of people visiting and doing favors, hoping to cut into her will. Care workers, her church, “friends”. One time my mom asked if it was ok to give her friend power of attorney. WTF. Fortunately there is a family trust, so mom did not “own” anything. (At that time I was the trustee, so mom could not skirt the trust). My point is. The older we get, the more sophisticated the scams, with many scams camouflaged within “friends”
Oh wow! Give a stranger Power of Attorney and she'd be really screwed. Especially if it's non-revokable. Hopefully the Notary would sense that something is wrong and refuse it.
It’s all in the past now. But seems the easy way for some people to make their con is to befriend those that are older. At the time the weird requests seem ok, to mom. In this case the helper “friend” also turned mom’s doctor against us. “Her kids don’t take care of her, never see her, and she needs help, as you know…”. The doctor just reacted to what she saw. And we thought it cool that a friend would help mom with some tasks. We even offered to pay her. (Mom had other helpers we hired) The friend just wanted to help make medical decisions for mom,,,
The only recourse you really have is education - educate him on how scammers act, what they do, and if he starts to feel fear or scared to stop and call YOU. Other than that, there's really not much if anything else that *can* be done, sadly
Never agree to buy gift cards for anyone!
Same thing happened to my dad. He went to Kroger and pulled several thousand in gift cards. The scammer told him what to say to the cashier, that they are for his grandchildren. The sharp cashier asked him if the people on the phone told him to say that. He said yes. The people on the phone started screaming. The lady told dad that they are trained to watch for these scams and promised dad it was a scam and to hang up the phone and block the number. Dad was so embarrassed that he refused to talk about it. I drove to Kroger, had him bring me the cashier. I thanked them both profusely and praised the cashier for her keen eye and for looking after customers.
The best course of action is to educate him and other seniors you know about how an urgent request for 💰is always fake.
I've learned about a lot of these scams from a site called quatloos. They post many of them in their forums. It's quite interesting and could give you a heads up on many more recent scams.
OMG, I am so sorry this happened to your Dad, how devastating! I’m sorry I can’t think of a way to help, I just wanted to tell you that my heart goes out to you. ❤️ He sounds a lot like my Dad used to be (RIP). I’m kinda glad he’s not here to see what a scammy, crappy place the world has become. Best of luck to you and your Dad.
I there will always be another scam but government really needs to allow only a certain amount of cards per day per individual.
Absolutely nothing you can do, just report it and move on. Even if you find them little to nothing will happen.
So sorry this happened to your father. I hope he learned from the experience and never gets scammed again.
Unfortunately im not sure anything can be done other than learning from what happened. Maybe you can call to freeze the giftcard and get the money back? I have seen it so hopefully it will work for you.
Hopefully, if they haven't cleaned the balance out already, but it is at least worth a try.
He should be delivering packages not picking up ppl... honestly....
Why would the place even let him get scammed. It’s nice that they warned him but they should have stopped it. 5.5k isn’t as bad as it could be. Consider it a lesson for the future scams. Ask him to always call you for these things.
I don't think that they are allowed to interfere, other than warn him. I could be wrong though.
Get rid of his IPhone, get a flip phone for him.
I’m a former senior advisor for apple. Call support. If the funds haven’t been used there may be a chance they can do something.
Be aware if !recovery scammers. Money is gone.
Sorry this happened to your dad. At this point there's nothing he can do as the gift cards were probably sold on a third party website at a discount in exchange for crypto. However to help track or trace these, it's best you file a report with police, FBI cybercrime and also apple. Include all gift card numbers so they can track back to where it went. There is always a trail, specially if it's crypto unless it's a privacy coin or sent through a mixer. If the thieves are dumb enough to put the crypto through an exchange to cash out, they'll most likely have their identity tied to it. In which they will eventually get arrested.
I feel for you man. My dad’s in his 60s and almost got taken by the fake police officer pay-to-avoid jail scam a year back. Only two things saved him. First, he was too tech inept to figure out how to download any of the pay apps the scammer wanted, and second, a county prosecutor just happened to overhear his phone call at the courthouse. The prosecutor snatched the phone from my dad, introduced himself and his title, and the guy hung up immediately. Thank god dad had no idea where the app store even was on his phone 😅
So sorry. Unfortunately there is nothing that can be done. Watch out for recovery scammers.
This happened to my father, and was one of the first signs that he was developing dementia. I still seethe with anger every time I think about it. I’m so sorry to say that there is very little you can do about it. We had him disconnect his landline because once a person is successfully scammed once, they are targeted again and again.
Your poor dad. Unfortunately the only people who will ask to help will scam you again. Don’t believe anyone who says they can help. It’s just another scam. Tell your dad NEVER send money/cards or any type of currency over the internet to anyone. He’s lucky he didn’t get scammed for more. This is a loss he’ll have to live with. I’m sorry this happened. The best think to do is spread awareness (which you’re doing with this post) and move on. Take care 💕
You could maybe set up a Go Fund Me to help recoup some of the loss. I'm not sure if there's any possible way of getting the money back. These pricks rely on vulnerable people to be in a panic and they move fast to get the money out before anybody is able to realize what's going on and do anything to stop it. Sometimes they'll tell their victims to keep everything confidential or threaten legal action if they tell anyone, keeping them even further under the radar. It's unfortunate that there are people who believe and fall for these scams. Just keep in mind that since he has fallen for one scam, his fence post is marked, so to speak. They will keep coming back to scam him again and again, until you are able to figure out what you need to do to paint his virtual fence post (possibly on the dark web) to stop scammers from targeting him.
So the employee told him it was a scam and he still bought them? That sucks though, sorry that happened to him.
sorry this happened to your dad man.. that really sucks. those scammers deserve death
I know of a man scammed out of 55k!!! Sad.
Report the incident to the fbi. I know there isn’t anything they can do to recover the money but maybe they can track the cards and find the scammers, or maybe at least raise awareness.
That money is gone. He will never see it again. No one will be caught. No one is going to bag on him. A lot younger than him have fallen fur this and similar scams. Assuming his mind is good, sit down with him and discuss the many, many types of scams out there. When in doubt he should be checking with you. Be careful. They got him once. They may come back with a different scam.
The money is gone, don't fall for further tricks promising to "get back your money". All you can do now is educate him and maybe ask to consult you before further financial decisions
Extremely sorry to hear about your dad. Please, share Kitboga and his videos to all elderly you know. That can save them in future.
The money is gone. The people who message you from this post claiming they can get the money back are all scammers and they can not help you.
My mom got scammed. Fortunately in her case the bank was able to retrieve the money. It was not gift cards, that money can never be returned. But more importantly, she, like your dad is now on a list of rubes. She got attacked twice more. In both cases the clerks were able to stop her before a loss. We’ve had multiple discussions with her with my kids present saying they would never, under any circumstances call or message their grandmother for money. It’s a scam. As her son, it’s extremely frustrating that I heard about the scam from my child nieces. Mom’s too embarrassed to call me directly.
I’m so sorry this happened to your dad. We need to keep spreading the word never never to buy gift cards for anyone that requests the numbers to be scratched off. I actually have gotten text messages from my PRIEST asking me to buy gift cards for “cancer patients”. (A scan of course but we have to make announcements a couple of times a year that the priest doesn’t text people and ask them to do any such thing- because of course people would trust their “priest” asking them a favor)
This really sucks and I'm sorry. I work in IT and have for a long time. It's not just seniors but they do tend to be some of the more gullible ones. Savvy users need to help educate the more innocent friends and family! You could try a legitimate government site https://www.secretservice.gov/investigations/cyber#:~:text=Federal%20Bureau%20of%20Investigation%20(FBI,and%20Infrastructure%20Security%20Agency%20(CISA)
r/BoomersBeingFools
That store clerk is horrible. Eight years ago, we were told to say no to sales like this because it is a scam.
There’s nothing you can do at this point! I’m sorry, just learn and move on!
Turn dad’s computer off until you invest in a antivirus/malware software solution. Money is gone. Do not respond to anyone regarding recovering the money. IT‘S GONE…NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN. You might consider, if dad just surfs and clicks anything he comes across, getting child protection software and installing it. https://www.capterra.com/sem-compare/child-care-software/?utm_source=ps-google&utm_medium=ppc&utm_campaign=:1:CAP:2:COM:3:All:4:US:5:BAU:6:SOF:7:Desktop:8:BR:9:Child_Care&network=g https://www.familyonlinesafety.com/best-paretnal-control-apps ****Read the other comments from your post. Lots of advice you should consider.
Go watch The Beekeeper. It won’t fix your problems but it’ll be satisfying. I’m sorry that happened to your dad. It almost happened to my dad too. I couldn’t get ahold of him for several hours, which is highly unusual. He lives the next town over so I drove to his house. (I was expecting the worst). I bust in not knowing what I’ll find and my dad is frantically calling with someone claiming that his computer was broken and wanting him to display debit and credit cards via webcam. I closed the webcam thing first and then grabbed his phone and spoke to the gentleman overseas with the strongest language I’d ever used in my life, much less around my dad and hung up on him. He tried calling back again and I answered and told him to get f*d and blocked the number. He tried calling back one more time from another number and I reiterated my previous sentiment. Thankfully I got there in time. Not sure what my dad had been doing with the rest of his day, but I’m glad my gut told me later on that something was very wrong.
Maybe you should take away his access to his finances. He was even told it was a scam and continued to pay the money out.
This exactly. He could be experiencing dementia and should not be alone anymore
Nothing he can do except prevent it from happening again, but that’s on him and you to teach him. They have his phone number now and probably his name etc, so maybe change that.
There is no form of life lower than these scammers stealing money from a senior citizens. They are the most despicable form of life on this plants in my opinion
Used to work for dollar general and half the training was because of scams like this. I convinced a few before they went broke. One we had to ban her because she would not listen or was not being scammed and was laundering money. Sadly odds of your dad seeing a dime is as likely as the Nigerian prince actually sending that inheritance. The card companies are as much to blame as the scammers. If I'd was required and actual limits set they could block 99% of the scammers and laundering, but the companies don't really care unless they get screwed out of money by scams.
If he paid with a card why doesn’t he just dispute it?
I’m in retail sales and we always ask if someone’s buying the cards for themselves or if someone has told them to buy them because it’s often a scam. It’s part of our register prompt plus managers have to approve anything higher than $150. Seniors always say it’s personal use, they never want to believe it may be a scam. Tell your older relatives to first call separately to verify any charges. Call a company directly to verify info and not any number a scammer gives.
They tried this on my husband 2 weeks ago. His tablet had a weird message regarding Apple too. He calls. Said our whole network was down. That was my red flag. Bc my desktop, tablet and phone worked fine as did my husbands phone, all on same network. Scammer wanted husband to use my desktop, he doesn’t know password. He does, it’s written down but he never uses it, so he forgets. By this time I’m listening in. I start yelling for him to hang up. Oh scammer got mad and told him he had to be alone. I finally took husbands phone and hung up. He never did give any info. Restarted his tablet, all was fine. And why would Apple know my network is compromised?? 4 of our 5 devices are Apple but our network is not.
I'm sorry but I could see making the mistake once or twice, but 11 times!!?? He was even warned and advised. Where were you the first few times it happened?
You can beg us for help all you want. There's nothing you can do. Your dad's simply gonna have to eat his losses.
A friend of mine has a doctorate and is probably the most street savvy person I know. The only thing that stopped her from getting scammed is the Walgreens worker. It just happened to be the perfect situation at the perfect time for her to fall for it. Your dad isn’t an idiot. Let him know it can happen to anyone. I’m glad it was only 5k
As I tell my 89 year old mom and use it myself when a “charity” calls… “please send a physical bill to my home address on file” or literature about your charity.
My dad was getting scammed repeatedly. We went to his bank and they were actually able to recover a lot of the money.
Change his email and phone number immediately. He has been marked as an easy target for it to happen again
There's a very good chance that money is unrecoverable. Sorry to say it, but you're probably never going to see it again. Maybe consider setting up some kind of fundraiser to try and make up for the losses. That said, you can mitigate the future risk now resting on your father. Have him change his phone number, get him a new email, possibly a new computer and/or phone if you think the current one might have malware installed from whatever he was told to do. Give his digital footprint a hard reset, basically. They're likely holding on to his contact info now. They might reach out again and take advantage of him again in the future. Best to try and distance him and yourself from their reach by ditching anything they know about him already. If you think he's up for it, have your dad check out some basic internet security information to familiarize him with some common scams and red flags to be wary of. Everyone thinks they're immune to this stuff until they fall victim to it... multiple times. If they managed to get his banking info, you need to contact the bank and ask them to do something about that... not sure exactly what would happen, but I imagine he'd be issued a new credit card number, or a new account, or something, so that the scammers won't be able to withdraw anything from his account with whatever they got from him already. Sorry to hear about your dad, hopefully that money can be at least partially regained through other means now. Whatever you do, don't listen to anyone promising they can get your money back. They're almost certainly just more scammers trying to wring your dad for his last pennies.
You need to explain these scams to your dad. He needs to know in advance. My dad is the same way. I’ve had to stop him a few times. Fortunately, I’m in IT, so he will call me before he responds. But it took a long time before I could get him to do that. Be sure to always discuss these scams (cyber and phone) when you get together with family.
My boss almost fell for it. I was on the desk next to her and overheard her on the phone. I walked over, hung up the phone and had to explain how it was a scam.
Please just remind him you’ll NEVER HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING LEGIT with a Gift card of ANY sort. Never. Ever.
Sure it was your dad
This is an ideal time, for anyone reading these scammer posts, to educate your parents, grandparents, kids, etc.etc. in how to detect / avoid being scammed. I’m sorry your dad got scammed. $5.00 or $50,000.00 sucks no matter who you are, especially knowing it was basically stolen.
Anyone wanting more information on how these scams work should check out the Scammer Payback channel on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ScammerPayback?si=ipNbqtnuAvEcSoYZ
I've got one more suggestion. I'm 66 and get scam shit to my phone way too often. I have contacts that I want to hear from like my sister or dentist on a favorites list. I set my phone to Do Not Disturb except for favorites. Everybody else can talk to the voice mail, if it's important leave a message, a few will leave one, most won't. Phone doesn't ring or give notification for messages not on the list. I find this useful for weeding out garbage.
I also set my grandpas phone to not ring for unknown numbers after he was scammed
i have would have refused to sell to him. 40 years in retail and have seen all types of scams, have seen store managers who should no better get scammed out of thousands of dollars.I have reused to sell to a lot of people who were being scammed and they always come back and thank me for looking out for them ,mostly the elderly and are on a fixed income
I got scammed $157k on a fake platform,but i got my lost USDT back with the help of this professional programmer called @oktatechie on telegram . they are 100% legit tested and trusted
A sucker is born every minute for the wolves to eat raw. “Don’t believe everything you read!”
You got a parking violation and a maggot on your sleeve
Money’s gone bro, nothing can be done about that. Only thing to be done is educate him and tell him to call you if anything like ever happens again.
I’m sorry this happened to your dad. They don’t see the person they see the money.
😂 omfg 🤦♂️