By Jobyna Nickum

“Grandma? I’m in trouble.”

Are there any words that a grandparent would hate to hear more? This is the opening notes of one of the newest, and cruelest, scams out there. Called the Grandparent Scam, we will discuss this more in a bit.

One thing that has not changed in my 18 years with the Enumclaw Senior Activity Center is the amazing talent of unethical people who prey on older adults with scams. When I think I have heard it all, something different pops up and I am newly amazed. In recent months, more and more seniors have come into the office to report mailers, phone calls and concerns regarding scams.

Whether the economy is booming or in a downturn, scammers think it is a great time to get their money the easy way to take it from unsuspecting older adults.

So what are the most used scams out there these days? According to the FBI Web site (www.fbi.gov), here are the most common fraud schemes.

• Jury duty scam: The FBI is warning the public about an ongoing scheme involving jury service. Please be aware that individuals identifying themselves as U.S. court employees have been contacting citizens by phone and advising them that they have been selected for jury duty. These individuals ask citizens to verify names and Social Security numbers and then ask for credit card numbers. If the request is refused, citizens are then threatened with fines.

Another type of “jury scam” occurs when someone receives a call from someone identifying themself as an officer of the court. The caller says you failed to report for jury duty and that a warrant is out for your arrest. You say you never received a notice. To clear it up, the caller says he’ll need information for “verification purposes” – your birth date, Social Security number, maybe even a credit card number. This is when you should hang up the phone. Jury scams have been around for years, but for some reason have made reappearance in recent months. As a rule, court officers never ask for confidential information over the phone; they generally correspond with prospective jurors via mail. According to the Web site, “The scam’s bold simplicity may be what makes it so effective. Facing the unexpected threat of arrest, victims are caught off guard and may be quick to part with some information to defuse the situation.”

• Nigerian letter or “419” fraud: Those of us who spend a lot of time on the computer have seen this one more than once. Someone sends you an e-mail or letter and claims to be a Nigerian government official who is unable to get “millions of dollars out of the country” and needs someone’s help. I have to admit that I didn’t think anyone actually responded to these scams – but it was listed at the top of the list on the FBI Web site.

“While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually,” according to the FBI site. “Some victims have been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned against their will, in addition to losing large sums of money. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label ‘419 fraud.’” If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service, your local FBI office or the US Postal Inspection Service. If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the Secret Service as soon as possible.

• Grandparents scam: This to me is the lowest of the low, in terms of scams. Targeted strictly at older adults, young adults call seniors across the United States and start the conversation with “Grandma? (or Grandpa?) I’m in trouble.” It could be the love in a grandparent’s heart, or poor hearing so they don’t really recognize the voice, but the next line in this “play” is the senior saying the grandchild’s name: “ Brian? Shari?” Now the scam artist has their first “in.”

“Yes, it’s Brian. I am up here in Canada and I got into some trouble. I need bail money.” Or money to tow their car, or money for some other reason. The request is usually to have the grandparent go to Western Union or MoneyGram and have money wired to Canada. We know of two seniors at this senior center who have been contacted to wire money to their “grandchildren.” One couple actually got money out of a savings account and a Walmart employee refused to type out the wire transfer upon hearing the story. The employee told the senior, “I think you are being scammed and you need to call your grandson first before I will type this money order for you.” Turns out it was a fraud.

Another senior was contacted on the phone and she asked her “grandson” why he was calling her “grandma.” That’s not what he usually called her. When the young man became very nasty and remarked that he was “upset and didn’t have time for games because he was under arrest in Canada,” she knew her grandson would never speak to her that way and hung up the phone. When the person called back she told them she was going to the police. If you do receive a “grandparent call,” be sure to report it to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office and you can also report in online to the Canadian Consumer Fraud line: Phonebusters.

• Telemarketing fraud: The never-ending phone calls, usually right at dinner time. The product or service they might be selling you could be anything, but the pattern of the phone call does not change very much.

“You should act immediately, the offer won’t last long!” Or, “You’ve won something free but you must pay for the postage and shipping!” Or, “You can’t afford to miss this opportunity!”

• Mail offers: Oh my goodness! There are some seniors who receive three to five mailers a day telling them they have won anywhere from $50,000 to $300,000. These mailers come with official looking checks with lots of yellow highlighted words and bold, black print – and it all says “You have won.” “This check can be cashed.” The problem is the small print, which will usually say something along the lines of “once you have cashed this check, you have now signed up for…,” or “to cash this check we will need your Social Security number,” or “You won’t get the full $50,000 up front, but you might get $50.” But with cashing that check you have obligated yourself for something – guaranteed. And usually it is a lot of trouble. As we all know, there is nothing in this life for free!

We call one senior center participant Mr. Lucky, because he brings in at least five written letters every week. He might have won a Mercedes car, maybe half a million dollars. We all can’t wait to see what Mr. Lucky won that day. If it is only $30,000, we say he is living poor that day, for a measly 30 grand. But the best one he has received to date was the very long letter, at least six pages, stating that the organization had been tracking him down for years. He was one of a very special group “destined” to be wealthy and famous because of his “incredible intellect and other gifts.” This psychic could tell him how to tap into “untold wealth” that was just waiting for him and all he needed to do was – get ready readers, because this is really, really wild – “Take a coin, rub it on his chest, place it under his pillow on the night of the next full moon” and go to sleep with his wishes on his mind.” Really. Of course, for the kindness of this woman to bring this great mysterious gift to him, he only needed to send a check (not cash, but a check) for $38. We had a good laugh over this one! But the sad news is, there are those who will send the check in and who will place the coin under their pillow – and it is just one more case of fraud targeted at seniors.

• Medicare fraud: Senior citizens are frequent targets of Medicare schemes, especially by medical equipment manufacturers who offer seniors free medical products in exchange for their Medicare numbers. Never sign blank insurance forms.

While the world is mostly made up of kind, compassionate, ethical people, there will always be those who are out for the “easy” buck. Those who have no morals, no conscience. Those who will seek out the most trusting, who were raised to be considerate. And it is up to us to watch out for ourselves and each other.

During the horror and sadness of the Lakewood police shootings, there were scam artists allegedly collecting funds for the family, when in fact they weren’t a part of the official memorial fund and made off with some of the funds. There are no words for those people. It is my belief that there will be a special place in the afterlife for people like that.

Sometimes, the con artists are not strangers calling on the phone or sending things through the mail. Unfortunately, family members can “scam” their own aging relatives, taking advantage of them financially in later years by selling property, emptying bank accounts, etc., when an elderly relative becomes too frail and is dependent on a loved one for help. According to the Attorney General’s Office here in Washington, our state’s Adult Protective Services program received more than 13,000 reports of abuse, abandonment, neglect and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults in 2006. Learn to recognize the signs of financial abuse: unauthorized ATM withdrawals, missing checks or forged signatures on checks or documents, loans against equity in property of life insurance policies, unpaid bills, new “best friends” or the sudden appearance of previously uninvolved relatives. Anyone suspecting the abuse of a vulnerable adult is urged to call the state’s toll-free phone number, 1-866-ENDHARM.

While we are talking about scams and frauds, it is important that I bring up the upcoming census. Every 10 years the United States conducts a census. This is a legitimate survey that helps our government and elected officials know about the makeup of the country to best serve our citizens. First, I need to make sure folks are not so frightened of scams and identify theft that they don’t give the information needed to complete the real U.S. census. But I want to make sure we don’t fall for the scam artist that will try to capitalize on the census – somehow, some way. According to the U.S. Census Web site, the Census Bureau does not conduct the 2010 census via e-mail or the Internet. You may receive an e-mail from the Census Bureau regarding your participation in a survey, however, the Census Bureau does not request detailed personal information through e-mail and will never send an e-mail requesting PIN codes, passwords, Social Security numbers or credit cards, banks or other financial accounts. If you receive an e-mail or find a Web site you suspect is falsely representing the Census Bureau, do not reply or click on any links within the e-mail. Do not open any attachments. Forward any e-mail or Web site URL to the Census Bureau at itso.fraud.reporting@census.gov.