Help Grandma Erma
Donation protected
Well...Grandma Erma's heart is BIG, too big. Her heart is so big, she gave her entire life savings, draining her bank account, to help her Great Grandson (Me), after I was supposedly in a car wreck with friends and needed money to pay for medical bills, lawyers, impound fees, taxes, and all other kinds of made up bills in order to keep Grandma sending more money.
The thing is, I was out in the Gulf of Mexico all summer on a research vessel. Grandma fell prey to a really good impersonator that was able to gather just enough information, and sound just enough like me, to con her into thinking it really was me. This con artist called her every other day, talked about all kinds of things, really getting to know Grandma Erma. She doesn't get many calls or visits because I am the only family she has in Texas, and most of her other relatives have passed. She has no living children, but does have a grandaughter (my aunt), and grandson (my father). The imposter told her to keep these transactions a secret. Why she was able to do such a good job keeping it a secret, I am not sure.
I must be so important to Grandma Erma, that she was willing to give everything for me, without question.
Ok, so how did this happen? Her bank allowed her to make four wire transactions totalling $245,000 USD. She made these wire transfers in less then two weeks time. She sent the wires to Lima, Peru, to a different person each time, and with an ever more complex name. Her bank insisted they tried to prevent Grandma from making these transfers, but Grandma said they were for family purposes. The Consumer Financial Protective Bureau told me that a bank has the authority to prevent a wire transfer if they believe it to be fradulent in nature.
You think this is bad, it only gets worse. I was making calls to Grandma whenever we got into a port, I probably called her around 5-6 times in the three months I was at sea. Never once did she mention anything about this. She just carried on normal conversation, VERY coherent, precise in memory, great, normal conversations. When I got home, I called her again, this time, she was excited about getting approved for a home equity loan on her house which is paid off full. Grandma told me she wanted 100K, but the bank would only give her $55,000 USD. She had planned to send me the balance of her home equity loan...to help with my accident and lawyer fees. She also sent thousands of dollars in iTunes gift cards to my "lawyer" in Whilton Manors, Florida.
So, the same bank which allowed Grandma to transfer her entire life savings in less than two weeks, began processing a loan on her home, approved just days before I called her. I drove up to see her, took her to the bank, canceled the loan, and filed a report with the Sheriff (Police do not service her neighborhood). I immediately began doing research.
These types of scams are real, they are a big deal, and have been going on since who knows how long. Our grandparents love us, they have big hearts, and because they have lived so long...actually have some sort of savings. What do you do when this happens? Well, to us, it seems like "Not Much". We have contacted every agency we could, and have not received a response. I haven't even heard from the Sherrif! I made posts about it to friends on social media, but got crickets mostly. I asked for advice and for references to a lawyer who might be able to help. It's so weird that this sort of thing doesn't pull at the heart strings of those that hear about it.
This is what we have done so far:
1. Contacted Law Enforcement and Filed a Report.
2. Contacted the bank to get whatever records I could. (They were NOT helpful)
3. Contacted the FTC, filed a complaint online.
4. FTC put me in contact with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). I am waiting on the complaint form in the mail.
5. The CFPB put me in touch with Senate Special Committee on Aging, at [phone redacted] who had a lot of useful info and can even help report to these agencies I listed. They are working on a bill to help prevent wire fraud theft from banks in the future..I'm not sure what it entails though.
6. On a whim, I contacted the FBI via online tip through there website. https://tips.fbi.gov/
7. The Senate Committee told me to Contact the Dept. of Homeland Security, ICE division via online web form. https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form#wcm-survey-target-id
8. The Committee rep also advised me to speak with a lawyer because a bank has the ability to deny wire transfers if they believe they may be associated with fraudulent activities, like the CFPB stated earlier.
What do we want from this?
Obviously we would like to travel through time and prevent this from ever happening...but that's not gonna happen. Donations are great, Grandma has end of year home taxes which should be around $3,000, needs new tires, she has been talking about moving into a retirement home...all sorts of stuff. But honestly, we would like to find and hire a good lawyer, possibly one willing to stand up to Big Banks, and file suit if there is a case.
So, if you donate to Grandma Erma that is great, THANK YOU SO MUCH, but you can also help in other ways. If you know a good lawyer in The Woodlands, or in Texas, or one willing to work with someone in The Woodlands, Texas, please let us know, that would also be great, THANK YOU!
Most of all, if you are reading this, please call your grandparents, call your mother and father if they are elderly, visit your neighbor, call your friends, call everyone you know, and at least raise awareness about this issue. Stop sending wire transfers, stop sending gift cards through the mail.
There are very evil people out there willing to prey on those with big hearts. Please, don't let someone you know fall prey too.
The thing is, I was out in the Gulf of Mexico all summer on a research vessel. Grandma fell prey to a really good impersonator that was able to gather just enough information, and sound just enough like me, to con her into thinking it really was me. This con artist called her every other day, talked about all kinds of things, really getting to know Grandma Erma. She doesn't get many calls or visits because I am the only family she has in Texas, and most of her other relatives have passed. She has no living children, but does have a grandaughter (my aunt), and grandson (my father). The imposter told her to keep these transactions a secret. Why she was able to do such a good job keeping it a secret, I am not sure.
I must be so important to Grandma Erma, that she was willing to give everything for me, without question.
Ok, so how did this happen? Her bank allowed her to make four wire transactions totalling $245,000 USD. She made these wire transfers in less then two weeks time. She sent the wires to Lima, Peru, to a different person each time, and with an ever more complex name. Her bank insisted they tried to prevent Grandma from making these transfers, but Grandma said they were for family purposes. The Consumer Financial Protective Bureau told me that a bank has the authority to prevent a wire transfer if they believe it to be fradulent in nature.
You think this is bad, it only gets worse. I was making calls to Grandma whenever we got into a port, I probably called her around 5-6 times in the three months I was at sea. Never once did she mention anything about this. She just carried on normal conversation, VERY coherent, precise in memory, great, normal conversations. When I got home, I called her again, this time, she was excited about getting approved for a home equity loan on her house which is paid off full. Grandma told me she wanted 100K, but the bank would only give her $55,000 USD. She had planned to send me the balance of her home equity loan...to help with my accident and lawyer fees. She also sent thousands of dollars in iTunes gift cards to my "lawyer" in Whilton Manors, Florida.
So, the same bank which allowed Grandma to transfer her entire life savings in less than two weeks, began processing a loan on her home, approved just days before I called her. I drove up to see her, took her to the bank, canceled the loan, and filed a report with the Sheriff (Police do not service her neighborhood). I immediately began doing research.
These types of scams are real, they are a big deal, and have been going on since who knows how long. Our grandparents love us, they have big hearts, and because they have lived so long...actually have some sort of savings. What do you do when this happens? Well, to us, it seems like "Not Much". We have contacted every agency we could, and have not received a response. I haven't even heard from the Sherrif! I made posts about it to friends on social media, but got crickets mostly. I asked for advice and for references to a lawyer who might be able to help. It's so weird that this sort of thing doesn't pull at the heart strings of those that hear about it.
This is what we have done so far:
1. Contacted Law Enforcement and Filed a Report.
2. Contacted the bank to get whatever records I could. (They were NOT helpful)
3. Contacted the FTC, filed a complaint online.
4. FTC put me in contact with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). I am waiting on the complaint form in the mail.
5. The CFPB put me in touch with Senate Special Committee on Aging, at [phone redacted] who had a lot of useful info and can even help report to these agencies I listed. They are working on a bill to help prevent wire fraud theft from banks in the future..I'm not sure what it entails though.
6. On a whim, I contacted the FBI via online tip through there website. https://tips.fbi.gov/
7. The Senate Committee told me to Contact the Dept. of Homeland Security, ICE division via online web form. https://www.ice.gov/webform/hsi-tip-form#wcm-survey-target-id
8. The Committee rep also advised me to speak with a lawyer because a bank has the ability to deny wire transfers if they believe they may be associated with fraudulent activities, like the CFPB stated earlier.
What do we want from this?
Obviously we would like to travel through time and prevent this from ever happening...but that's not gonna happen. Donations are great, Grandma has end of year home taxes which should be around $3,000, needs new tires, she has been talking about moving into a retirement home...all sorts of stuff. But honestly, we would like to find and hire a good lawyer, possibly one willing to stand up to Big Banks, and file suit if there is a case.
So, if you donate to Grandma Erma that is great, THANK YOU SO MUCH, but you can also help in other ways. If you know a good lawyer in The Woodlands, or in Texas, or one willing to work with someone in The Woodlands, Texas, please let us know, that would also be great, THANK YOU!
Most of all, if you are reading this, please call your grandparents, call your mother and father if they are elderly, visit your neighbor, call your friends, call everyone you know, and at least raise awareness about this issue. Stop sending wire transfers, stop sending gift cards through the mail.
There are very evil people out there willing to prey on those with big hearts. Please, don't let someone you know fall prey too.
Organizer
Erma P.
Organizer
Conroe, TX
