Scam record · 214 reader reports
The grandparent scam
Also called: grandchild in trouble scam, emergency scam, family emergency scam, AI voice clone scam
The grandparent scam is a phone call in which someone pretends to be a grandchild (or a lawyer or officer calling about one) who is in jail, in a hospital or in an accident and needs money immediately, sent by gift card, cash courier or wire, and kept secret from the rest of the family.
What to do right now
- Hang up. Do not say the grandchild's name; let the caller fail to produce it.
- Call the grandchild directly on the number you already have, or call their parent. Nine times out of ten they are fine and at work.
- If someone claims to be an officer or lawyer, ask for the agency and case number, hang up, and call the agency on its published number.
- Agree a family word now, before the next call. Any emergency call has to say it.
Get the next one before it gets you
Every weekday: the scam going around, decoded, and the fix.
Free. Weekday mornings. Includes free access to In Case and Serum, the Latchkey tools. Unsubscribe in one click.
How it works
The call comes in the evening or early morning, when people are tired and off guard. The caller is crying or speaking quickly. “Grandma, it’s me. I’m in trouble.” Most people fill in the name themselves (“Michael? Is that you?”) and the scammer now has it.
The story is always an emergency with a deadline: a car accident, an arrest, a hospital in another city or country. The grandchild cannot talk long; a “lawyer,” “officer” or “bail bondsman” takes over and explains exactly how to pay. Gift cards from a drugstore, read over the phone. Cash in an envelope handed to a courier who comes to the door. A wire to an account.
The secrecy is the tell. “Please don’t tell Mom, she’ll be so upset.” A real emergency involves the whole family; a scam depends on isolating the one person who will pay.
AI voice cloning has made the call more convincing, not more legitimate. A clip from a graduation video is enough to make the voice match. The defense does not change: hang up and call the real person on the number you already have.
If you already paid or gave information
- If you paid with gift cards, call the card issuer immediately (number on the back) and report the cards as used in fraud; keep the cards and receipts.
- If you handed cash to a courier, call the police now; couriers are sometimes caught on the return.
- If you wired money, call your bank and ask for a recall.
- Report to reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov, and tell the family; the scammers will call the relatives next.
Where to report it
- FTC: reportfraud.ftc.gov
- FBI IC3: ic3.gov
- Report it to Latchkey Daily so we can warn other readers
Questions people ask
- What is the grandparent scam?
- The grandparent scam is a phone call in which someone pretends to be a grandchild (or a lawyer or officer calling about one) who is in jail, in a hospital or in an accident and needs money immediately, sent by gift card, cash courier or wire, and kept secret from the rest of the family.
- What should I do if I got the grandparent scam?
- Hang up. Do not say the grandchild's name; let the caller fail to produce it. Call the grandchild directly on the number you already have, or call their parent. Nine times out of ten they are fine and at work. If someone claims to be an officer or lawyer, ask for the agency and case number, hang up, and call the agency on its published number. Agree a family word now, before the next call. Any emergency call has to say it.
- What if I already paid or gave information?
- If you paid with gift cards, call the card issuer immediately (number on the back) and report the cards as used in fraud; keep the cards and receipts. If you handed cash to a courier, call the police now; couriers are sometimes caught on the return. If you wired money, call your bank and ask for a recall. Report to reportfraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov, and tell the family; the scammers will call the relatives next.
- Can scammers really clone a grandchild's voice?
- Yes. A few seconds of audio from a social media video is enough to produce a convincing clone. Treat a familiar voice as no proof at all; the callback on a known number is the proof.
- Why do they ask for gift cards?
- Gift card numbers can be read over the phone and drained in minutes, and the money is almost impossible to trace or reverse. Any request for gift cards, from anyone, for any reason, is a scam.
Related
Related scam
The recovery scamThe recovery scam targets people who were already scammed, with a call or message from a "lawyer," "recovery agency" or "government investigator" offering to get the lost money back for an upfront fee, which is itself the scam.
Related scam
The bank fraud department scamThe bank fraud department scam is a call or text that appears to come from your bank's fraud team, warning of a suspicious charge and then walking you through "securing" your money by reading them a code, moving funds to a "safe account," or sending yourself a Zelle payment that actually goes to the scammer.
Lockdown guide
Lock down your iPhoneYour phone is your bank, your email, your photos and your two-factor codes. A stolen passcode is a stolen life.
Lockdown guide
Lock down your Android phoneYour phone holds your bank, your email and your two-factor codes. A weak screen lock or a sideloaded app hands all of it over.