How well do you know the voices of your friends and family? Guy Williams, President of Gulf Coast Bank and Trust, issued a warning about a new fraud that takes advantage of other people's voices.
A scam sweeping the country has thieves going to the social media profiles of seniors, Williams said, grabbing the names of their grandchildren, finding them on social, duping their voice and making fake calls.
"Grandma! Grandma! I need help," the fake callers say in the grandchild's voice. "Send me bail money." The crooks are making the voices very, very real and it's terrifying.
Variations of the theme have fake calls going out that claim a grandchild needs money for a medical bill in the midst of an emergency or to get home from a vacation.
"Grandparents are falling for this," Williams said.
The newest dastardly version of this scheme has the faker calling someone and saying an Amazon package in their name was opened and found to have marijuana inside. The caller says they have to send money, usually in the form of a gift card, or they'll be charged with a crime.
It may sound bizarre, Williams said, but it works.
The way to stay safe is to know that no legitimate business takes payment in the form of gift cards and to realize that police and banks and any other other trusted place will not demand immediate payment over the phone or online. Banks will never ask for your password or social security number via an email or text. The IRS is not canceling anyone's social security number unless someone sends them money.
"Never, ever click on those links," Williams said. "You can disable wire transfers in the settings of your bank... Just disable that. If you ever need to wire money, just go to the bank in person and take care of it."
Crooks are always thinking about new ways to entrap people so it requires vigilance on the part of consumer to stay safe, Williams said.
"Take a breath," WWL's Newell Normand advised. "It's scary the way they play on people's fears and the like."