Scam Watch
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Closest match
Grandparent scam
Likely scam
Very likely yes. Scammers fake names, texts and cloned voices, and may send someone to pick up cash. Hang up and call your relative on a number you know, or use a family code word.
Other possible matches
AI voice clone and deepfake scam
Could be a scam
Yes. Scammers can copy voices, faces and famous people to rush you. Check by calling back on a known number and never send money or codes because of a call.
What the sources say
"Your grandson is being held in jail. He needs bail money right away."
“We’ve seen the grandparent scam quite a bit here, and this is where you get called and you’re told your grandson is in jail in Mexico and they need X number of dollars to get him out of jail,” Whittaker said.
It's your grandson. He says he's in deep trouble — he wrecked the car and landed in jail. But you can help by sending money.
The resident received a call from someone pretending to be his son-in-law, claiming he had been arrested after a car accident and needed bail money.
You get a call or text message from someone who says they’re with the local jail or sheriff’s office, telling you to send money to bond a family member out of jail.
A late-night caller says a grandchild has been arrested and needs money immediately. The voice sounds distressed. The instructions are urgent: send the money now, and don’t tell anyone.
Criminals telephonically contact their victims and pose as a grandchild, or another family member, in distress who has been arrested and needs bail money.
Vivenzio explained that the “grandparent scam” is commonly used by scammers calling and pretending to be that individual’s grandchild, saying they’ve been in an accident, it was their fault, and that they’re in jail and need bail money – sometimes upwards of tens of thousands of dollars.
Criminal actors target elderly U.S. citizens in a grandparent fraud scheme in which they arrange for couriers to pick up bail money in person at the victim's residence.
In this "Grandparent Fraud" scheme, senior San Diego residents are being contacted by scammers posing as family members who have been arrested and need bail money.