A growing scam is the fast-turn-around, fake kidnapping; i.e., somebody phones, says they have your son/daughter - pay up or lose them.
The thing is, though, that the kidnapping victim hasn’t been kidnapped at all but the elderly person that the scam is aimed at panics and pays up because the amount demanded is available and the deadline very short.
There is now a variation where the victim is in police custody and the caller is supposedly his or her lawyer.
Take the case a couple of months ago when an 85-year-old woman in Granada received a call to say that her daughter was being held in custody after a road accident. She was to pay 20,000 euros, 5,000 euros would be an immediate payment for her release on bail. The woman had 5,000 in her account so she rushed to the bank and withdrew 5,000 euros.
Luckily for her, the bank clerk knew the woman and was surprised by the amount of the withdrawal, especially as the elderly woman was extremely agitated, so she asked her what the matter was – the woman told her. The female bank clerk recommended that she immediately told the Policía Nacional in Granada.
The first thing that the police did was to phone the daughter and speak with her; she assured them that she was OK and at work.
So, the police accompanied the elderly woman home and waited with her for ‘a messenger from her daughter’s lawyer’ to arrive to pick up the 5,000 in cash. The man, a Brazilian, was handcuffed, arrested and marched off.
Apparently, this is not the first time there has been an incident like this one in Granada; according to the police there have been at least two ‘fake, express kidnappings.’ Over in Almería there have been at least eleven since mid July.
Precisely because of this kind of scam, the Policia Nacional go to pension clubs and rest homes to explain what to do and what not to do in this situation. Also, for example, they recommend that elderly people do not go to a bank alone to make large withdrawals – always go in company.
(News: City & Metropolitan Area, Granada, Andalucia)