Continual calls late at night. Hang up as soon as I answer.

its called the GRANDPARENTS SCAM


Con Artists Pretend to be Grandchildren in Trouble




A special report by the syndicated TV news program "Inside Edition" finds con artists are scamming seniors out of hundreds and even thousands of dollars by posing as their grandchildren.

Holly Haase, a Multnomah County, Oregon Sheriff's Deputy, explains how the scam artist works, once the con artist has an elderly victim on the phone. "By calling and saying, 'Hello Grandma, this is your favorite grandson,' they give him the information that he needs."

Con: Hi, Grandpa.
Victim: Hi.
Con: Do you know who this is?
Victim: Randy?
Con: Yeah.

"Even in this line of work, for over ten years, you don't think that somebody is capable of doing this to your grandma," Haase says.

Orville and Dorothy Shanafelt, of Portland, Oregon, were both nearing 90 when they fell victim to a phone scam. The con, posing as their grandson, called them, claiming he'd been in a car accident and needed money wired to him immediately.

The Shanafelt's wired $550 to the con artist, explaining they thought he was in trouble. They say they didn't call to verify the story with other family members because the con artist specifically told them he didn't want other relatives to know what had happened.

"It sure sounded like him on the phone ... I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles it was him," Orville Shanafelt says.

Stephen Lee Brown, the con artist arrested in the Shanafelt fraud case, victimized dozens of seniors and found his victims by scanning the phone book for old-fashioned sounding names.

"The victims [names] were Delores, Dorothy, Ruth, Alberta?," Deputy Haase tells Inside Edition.

One of Brown's victims, an 86-year-old grandmother, even had to use a walker in order to get to her bank and withdraw money for him.

What was most shocking, the Shanafelt's say, was where the calls originated. Brown had made all of his calls while serving time at a Portland County Jail, where all inmate phone calls are recorded. He is now serving a 17-year sentence for elder fraud.

However, Inside Edition discovered the positive outcome in Brown's case is an exception when it comes to catching these con artists.

The con man who convinced Edward and Irene Kellerman of Fairlawn, Ohio, that he was their beloved grandson Brian is still on the run. They wired him $3,000.

"It was the perfect set up and these people knew exactly what they were doing," says Edward Kellerman.

The detective on the Kellerman case, Dave Zampelli, was able to track the con to Canada where he retrieved the wire transfer records and a fake id with Brian Kellerman's name on it.

"They're very organized. They know what they're doing. They're cons. They're smooth talkers and daily they 're persuading victims to wire them money," Zampelli said.

The Kellermans, who like many of the other victims are retired and live on social security and small dividends, say they were hurt financially and emotionally by this scam.

"You feel stupid that you were taken by a scam, that is foremost. Secondly, you are embarrassed," Mrs. Kellerman said.



Read more: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/11 ... l#ixzz0vBMZF9dk

Caller stated he was my grandson / he knew my name and my address / when I started asking him personal questions that only my grandson would know / when I did this he got mad and asked why I was asking so many damn questions then started saying very vulgar things. He also tried to tell me he was outside of my home watching me. This is sick and needs to stop!!!!!

I had a call from this number saying they were the fraud department of my bank, that my account had been turned over to them as there were suspicious charges being made to my account. They wanted to know if I had authorized a large check. I told them no but they wanted me to give them my bank account number. I told them if they had my file they already knew that. They said but I have to be sure I'm talking to the right party.  --I hung up

con este numero se ocultan muchas empresas ,la mayoria ke entra es pa realizar puros fraudes,yo resive una yamada de este numero truncado ,por un caso legal segun ellos ,al desirles de su locasion ,para ir con mi abogado ,para tratar el caso ,se corto la yamada ,
por eso dijo ke se ocultan en este numero para no ser localisados,asi eyos pueden realisar su fraude con toda libertad,
desaparescan este numero !!

This is a trunk number used for long distance, can be incoming long distance from anywhere

Wanted to design a web page for my business. Then giggled when I said I satisfied with my own design.

THIS 208-944-3250 IS A COMPANY CALLED GLOBAL MART AND THEY WANTED TO DO ALL OF MY PERCRIPTIONS. I TOLD THEM I WAS NOT INTERESTED AND THEY STILL CALL ME.

I looked @ the caller ID and only because it was area code 208, I answered it, on the second ring.  They hung up.  I tried calling them back 2 times to try to find out who they were and what they wanted, and to tell them to never call me again, and all it did was ring about 15-20 times and finally hung up.  Both times.  I am so tired of these people.  What good is the DO NOT CALL LIST????????????????????????

Getting continuous phone calls about lowering credit card debt.  Do not want these calls, and have contacted the AG's office and have given the number to them.  Along with my complaint.
These calls are recorded calls.

if you know who is using this number sentme an e-mail kelly.cool96@yahoo.com
thank you