MACON, Ga. — There are many emergency scams, and one of them is called the "grandparent scam." The scammer preys on the willingness of an unsuspecting, worried individual to help friends and family in need.
Within a span of a few months, Carole Chitty received several calls from people claiming to be her grandson.
"It's really scary that your number is out there for people to get ahold of," Chitty said.
She continued to explain, "It comes up a local number, so you don't never know. It could be somebody you know, so I answered, and this fella says, "Hi, Grandma." Well, number one, I'm not called 'Grandma.'"
Chitty says her grandchildren call her "Nana," and that detail helped tip her off to the scam. She says she's heard about this scam before.
"I mean I get all those [that] want you to donate to this and donate to that, but this is the only one I got and actually talked to somebody that I feel could actually be dangerous," she said, but she knows other people aren't so lucky.
Chitty says she can see how easily someone might be tricked into thinking it's real.
"Not everybody talks to their grandchildren. I don't talk to my grandsons. One called to wish my husband 'Happy Birthday' several years ago, and I didn't even recognize his voice," she said.
So just how does this scam work?
Kelvin Collins of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia says if scammers successfully trick the person they called, they will then transfer the call to a person posing as an "official" who tries to legitimize the scam.
Then, they typically ask for a wire transfer or gift cards. Collins says these kinds of scams could result in someone losing thousands of dollars.
The first step to protecting yourself or your family members, according to Collins is to, "Know that these things are out there and know how you'll handle that call when it comes because, typically, it's not a matter of 'if' you get the call, it's 'when' you get the call."
Collins says if you see a phone number you are not familiar with, let it go to voicemail.
He says resist the urge to act immediately and make a plan now for how you would handle it, like asking questions that only your family member is going to know.