Stolen more than $180,000 from Missouri seniors
Read more: Local, Scam, Attorney General, Chris Koster, Grandparent, Drunk Driving, Canada, Crime
HANNIBAL, MO. -- A new scam has stolen more than $180,000 from Missouri senior citizens.
We've got all the details for Your Safe Family Report.
Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster was in Hannibal Thursday, March 11th to outline what is being called "Grandparent Rip-off."
Scammers will call senior citizens and pose as one of their grandchildren.
The caller will say he or she has been in some sort of accident or is in jail and needs money wired to get them out.
One victim wired more than $20,000 after getting a call from who she thought was her grandson saying he had been arrested for drunk driving in Canada.
Koster says with all the scams that people are reporting these days, you can never be too safe with your money.
"We don't do these presentations to have people shutter their windows or close their doors or feel afraid, but we do do these presentations to raise awareness so that folks stay alert. And in an increasingly impersonal society, to make sure that the old one on one contact, where you know the person that you're dealing with remains foremost in folks minds," said Koster.
"The biggest piece of advice that we give to folks is that if you don't initiate the contact, then the answer is no. If it comes through direct mail solicitation or over the telephone and you don't know the other person on the other end, don't feel confident, then the answer should be no," said Koster.
Here's an example Koster gave today that you should keep in mind.
He says if you receive a piece of mail or a phone call telling your bank needs something from you and gives you a 1-800 number, don't use that number.
Koster says look up your banks phone number in the phone book, ask for someone you know and ask them if they need something from you.
