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Release Date: March 12, 2018
Media Contact:
Jerad Albracht, Senior Communications Specialist, 608-224-5007 or
Bill Cosh, Communications Director, 608-224-5020
MADISON – Spring break may
be a time for students and families to get away and relax, but it is also a
time for relatives to be on guard. Given the number of people on the go, spring
break presents a unique opportunity for scammers to pitch family emergency
scams (better known as “grandparent scams”) to loved ones back home.
In a family emergency scam,
a scammer calls potential victims impersonating a desperate relative (typically
a grandchild) in need of money due to a (phony) emergency. The Wisconsin
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) asks spring
break travelers to talk with their relatives about their travel itineraries and
to develop a family plan for dealing with the threat of fake emergency phone
calls.
“Consumers are reporting
that the scammers have already started making grandparent scam calls in
Wisconsin,” said Michelle Reinen, Director of the Bureau of Consumer
Protection. “A common theme among those who report failed grandparent scam
attempts is that they disregarded the crook’s demand for secrecy and
immediately made a follow-up call to the grandchild in question or that child’s
parent.”
Another way to combat these
callers is to develop a family plan. This simple and important tool can help
relatives detect the legitimacy of an emergency phone call. A family plan
should consist of:
A travel itinerary that includes contact information for accommodations or transportation services,
A plan for regular, quick check-ins,
A code word or phrase that would be expected in any true emergency call, and
Open family communication to verify the safety of the student.
If you receive a potentially
fraudulent emergency phone call, DATCP offers these tips:
Resist the pressure to act immediately.
Do not wire money to strangers or provide your bank or credit card account numbers.
Do not give out any personal information or confirm anything that is told to you.
If you cannot reach a family member and are unsure of what to do, call the Bureau of Consumer Protection (800-422-7128) or your local police on their non-emergency line.
Remember that
this scam is not exclusively dependent upon the grandparent/grandchild
relationship – scammers could also claim to be a different relative (a niece or
nephew, for example) or a family friend.
For additional information,
visit the Consumer Protection Bureau at http://datcp.wi.gov, send an e-mail to
datcphotline@wisconsin.gov or call the Consumer Protection Hotline at
1-800-422-7128.
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at www.facebook.com/wiconsumer or Twitter: @wiconsumer.
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