Beware of the 'Grandparent Scheme'

AUSTIN (KXAN) - When they heard the desperate voice on the phone, Bill and Sue Ella Foster of Austin knew they had to help -- no matter the cost.

" Pawpa, I've got to get out of jail!" the frantic caller said.

Even though it was a bad connection, it sounded like their college-age grandson, Kelton. He told them he had decided to take a trip to Mexico. And while there, he was arrested on some trumped-up charge and locked in jail. His money and his cell phone had been confiscated.

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Worst of all, Kelton needed $2,900 wired across the border immediately to be set free. The Fosters sent the money as quickly as they could. But then came another call requesting another $2,900.

And again they complied.

Then nothing.

No "thank you." Not even a call saying Kelton was safe at home.

It turns out that the Fosters were taken in by what authorities call the "Grandparent Scheme." It's played out when a perpetrator assumes the identity of a loved one of the intended victims. Authorities say the con artist probably studies the loved one's social media pages to find out details that only a family member of close friend would know.

That's how whoever was impersonating Kelton knew to call Bill Foster "Pawpa" and Sue Ella "Mawmaw."

The ruse about the cell phone being confiscated keeps the victim from making a follow-up call that might expose the scam.

These little elements add a layer of plausibility that might be absent from such shop-worn cons as the Nigerian prince who'll share his millions if you supply an upfront $1,000. Or the emails sent from hacked accounts to everyone in an address book saying the person had been mugged overseas and needs fast cash to buy a plane ticket home.

According to numerous reports, the scheme has been around in some fashion for about three years and at least 19 states have reported variations on it. In one case, one person was taken for more than $19,000 before realizing it was the work of a swindler.

Authorities also said the scheme is an object lesson in making sure privacy settings on accounts like Facebook are activated, and that no information that could come back to bite you is publicly accessible.

"Before you do anything," warned Erin Rodriguez of the Better Business Bureau's office in Austin, "call family members, your grandson directly and verify what you're being told before you wire money to anybody."

Finally, the Fosters decided to check up on Kelton directly.They called the cell phone that supposedly was confiscated.

"I said, ' Kelton, have you been to Mexico?'" Bill Foster recalled. "He said, 'No, Pawpa. I've been here all the time.' And I went, ' Oooh!"

The Fosters contacted both the FBI and the Texas Attorney General's Office, but were given little hope that the money they wired to Mexico would ever be recovered. They learned an expensive lesson. And even if it subjects them to a little embarrassment, they want to share it.

"People might think we're kind of naive or dumb," said Sue Ella Foster. "But all we were thinking of was helping our grandson. The reason we're willing to tell our story is so others won't make the same mistake."