Living in a retirement community can put you at the mercy of scammers who prey on seniors. You have to be cautious.

 

When the phone rings, you should be sure you know who’s on the other end of the line before divulging personal information. This could be the case in . . .

 

 

Hello, Grandpa

 

     It had been a long day. I’d made the decision to go through the files of the important papers—taxes, insurance, and others—my wife, Jenny, and I had collected during our forty-five years of marriage. Since I was the keeper of the files and ran the shredder we recently purchased, it became my responsibility to make the major decisions on what stayed and what got chewed to bits. This activity left me bushed.

     I made my way to the bedroom to get ready for bed. As I removed the bedspread, the phone rang. I reached over and grabbed it off the nightstand and said, “Hello.”

     “Hi, Grandpa,” a male voice chanted.

     I have three grandsons between the ages of fourteen and twenty-one. They all sound alike to me, their hearing impaired grandfather. “Who is this?” I asked.

     “It’s Marcus, Grandpa.”

     Now, Marcus, the twenty-one year old, has never called me. He’s away at college and doesn’t seem to know his grandmother and I exist. The other boys aren’t much better. “Well, Marcus, it’s nice to hear from you. What’s up?”

     “Grandpa, I need your help.”

     “With what?” The line became silent. Being a bit suspicious, as this appeared to be one of those scam calls, I said, “Are you still there, Marcus? If you don’t answer me, I’m going to hang up. I’ve had a long day and I’m very tired.”

     “I’m still here, Grandpa. I don’t know how to say this, but . . .”

     “Marcus, just tell me what’s on your mind. I’m you grandfather and I love you.”

     “I love you, too, Grandpa. But . . .”

     “But what, Marcus?”

     “I don’t know how to tell you.”

     “Just spit it out already.”

     “I did something I shouldn’t have done and I need you to send me . . .”

     “You’re not my grandson. This is just one of those crazy scams targeting old people. If you call again I’m going to call the police. I’m hanging up, now!”

     “Grandpa, please. It’s not what you think. I . . .”

     Before he could utter another word, I hit off and tossed the phone onto the bed. I’d had it. I may be old, but I’m not dumb. I began to shake. The call unnerved me.

     I tried to pull myself together. I held my head in my hands. Then I heard Jenny calling to me.

     “Larry, what’s going on? Are you all right?”

     “I don’t know. I think so.”

     “You think so?”

     “Yeah. Did you hear the phone ring?”

     “Yes. Who was it?”

     “I thought it was one of our grandsons. But then he asked me to send money. At least, I think he did.”

     “Did he or didn’t he ask?”

     “I don’t know. He started to, but . . .”

     “But what?”

     “Oh, just forget it. I was almost conned, but I hung up before anything happened. I’m going to wash up and go to bed. Tomorrow’s got to be a better day. Good night, Jenny.”

     “Good night, Larry.”

     I had a restless night. The phone call kept bugging me. When I awoke for the fifth time, the sun shinned through the partially open blinds. I turned toward Jenny, but she wasn’t there. I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, threw on some clothes, and headed to the kitchen.

     “Good morning, sleepy head,” Jenny said, with a broad grin on her face.

“Are you in a better place today?”

     “I’m not sure. I’ve only been up a half hour, so I’m not jumping to any conclusions yet. But it is a new day, and it has got to be better than yesterday.”

     After breakfast, I went into my home office and plopped down in front of the computer. I perused the Dock at the bottom of the screen and noticed I had one text message. Since I don’t text, I don’t pay attention to this, but this morning it jumped out at me.

     With my curiosity piqued, I clicked on the icon. When it opened, I was blown away. I saw the words, “Grandpa, why did you hang up on me? I need your help. Call me at . . .”

     But there was no number. Now what do I do, I thought.

     Things got more complicated later in the day. I was reclining on the living room couch trying to clear my head when the phone rang. I hesitated for a moment and then reached for it and said, “Hello.”

     “Hi, Dad. How are you doing?”

     “I’m as good as can be expected under the circumstances.”

     “What circumstances?” Tracy asked, somewhat concerned. “Are you and Mom all right?”

     “Well, Mom is. But me, I’m not sure.”

     “Dad, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

     “Marcus called me last night. He wanted me to send him something, but he didn’t say what. Thinking it was a scam call, I hung up on him. The whole episode left me confused and uneasy. Then this morning I got a text from him asking me to call, but there was no phone number.”

     “Has Marcus called you before?”

     “No. Never.”

     “So just ignore it, Dad. I hear this kind of thing is happening a lot, especially with seniors.”

     “Then you don’t think it was Marcus?”

     “No. I don’t believe he even has your phone number. But I can ask him if you want.”

     “Since you don’t think it was him, let’s just let sleeping dogs lie. How are you doing?”

     “Good. Really good. Could you put Mom on? I have a question to ask her.”

     “Sure. Hey Jenny,” I yelled down the hall. “Pick up the phone. Tracey wants to talk to you.” I saw “Conference” light up on my phone. “Bye, Tracy.”

     “Bye, Dad.”

     I put the phone down and breathed a sigh of relief. I avoided a scam and everything was fine with the world.

     That evening Jenny and I relaxed on the couch, watched a movie, and played Yahtzee. The game was enjoyable, even though I lost—big time. When we finished, Jenny looked at me and said, “I’m going to take a bath. The phone is on the end table.”

     I got up off the couch and went into the kitchen to get a couple of shortbread cookies to snack on. As I walked back into the living room, the phone rang. I grabbed it and said, “Hello.”

     “It’s me, Marcus, Grandpa. Please don’t hang up.”

     Oh, my God! It’s happening again. What did I do to deserve this? “I told you I’d call the cops if you called again and I meant it. So hang up!”

     “But I need your help, Grandpa.”

     “How did you get my number?”

     “I took your number and a couple of others from Mom’s phone before I left for college this year, so I’d have them if I needed them.”

     “What’s your mother’s name?”

     “Oh, come on. You know it.”

     “But do you? Just say it.”

     “Tracy.”

     I was at a loss for words. How can I make sure he wasn’t a scammer who did his research? And then it hit me. I sputtered, “Marcus, what did I give you for your twenty-first birthday and what did I say in the card? You have 20 seconds before I hang up.”

     “That’s easy, Grandpa. You gave me two hundred dollars and told me I was a treasure who had a bright future ahead of me and I should use half of the money to make someone else happy.”

     I gasped, “It is you, Marcus. My precious grandson, how can I help you?”

     “You need to forgive me for what I did?”

     “What did you do that was so bad?”

     “I went to the casino near the college and gambled with the money.”

     “So you lost my gift and can’t pay it forward, as I requested. Do you want me to send you more money?”

     “No, I still have the two hundred dollars and I know who I’m giving half of it to.”

     “Then what’s the problem?”

     “I won $3,000.”

     “That’s great!”

     “I thought you’d be upset.”

     “Why? You won. Now, if you had lost, that would be something else. But I still don’t understand what you want from me.”

     “Mom made it very clear that when I turned twenty-one I shouldn’t set foot in the casino. She can’t find out that I did.”

     “Okay. But what do you need me to send you?”

     “A note promising you will not divulge my secret.”

     He left me dumbfounded and speechless.

     “Hello, Grandpa,” he yelled. “Are you still there?”

    

 

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