Emergency scams play on the emotions of parents, grandparents or other family members in an attempt to rob them of money.
Emergency scams usually target parents, grandparents or other family members. Someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a child or grandchild in trouble or the friend of a family member who is in trouble and urges the victim to wire money immediately to help with an emergency. The emergency may involve getting out of jail, paying a hospital bill, or returning from a foreign country. Emergency scams play on the emotions of family members in an attempt to rob them of money. Though the caller usually pretends to be a child or grandchild, they might also pretend to be an old neighbor or family friend.
The caller typically requests that the money be sent through a money transfer company. The caller will often claim to be embarrassed by what has happened and will ask the victim to keep the assistance secret from other family members. Many victims fail to verify the story with other family members or friends until it is too late and the money has been sent.
