Someone claiming to be family needs money

A voice that sounds like your grandson proves nothing, and neither does his name on the caller ID. A short clip posted online is enough to copy a voice, and caller ID can be set to show any number, including his.

If it’s happening now

They’re on the phone. Say you’ll call right back, and hang up. Call them on the number saved in your phone, not one the caller gives you. No answer? Call their parents, partner, roommate, or work, even if the caller begged you not to tell anyone.

It’s a text from a new number. Don’t save it, and don’t send anything. Call or text their old number, even if the text says it’s broken. No answer? Try someone who’d know where they are.

It’s from their real account. A message from their own Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp asking for money can come from whoever got into it. Call them.

Someone says they’ve kidnapped your child or grandchild. Hang up if you can, then call or text your loved one. If you stay on, don’t say their name, and have someone near you call 911 and try to reach them. Screenshot any photo or video they send. It can be faked from pictures posted online. Don’t agree to pay, and don’t go anywhere to drop off money.

A courier is coming for cash, or they want you to mail it. Don’t hand anything over, and don’t mail anything. If someone is on the way, call 911.

You’re at the bank or a store with them on the phone. Hang up before you take out cash or buy gift cards. Tell the teller or the clerk what the caller told you. A caller who tells you to lie about what the money is for is the scam.

What to say

• I'm going to hang up and call you right back on your number.

• Did you just text me from a new number? Call me when you see this.

• Someone called saying they were your son and needed bail money. Can you reach him? Don't send anything until one of us has talked to him.

• I sent money to someone pretending to be my grandson. I need to report fraud and stop or recall the payment. Can I get a case number?

If something already left your hands

Stop answering them. The FTC warns you may get more calls asking for more. If they’ve set up another pickup, call 911 or your local police before it happens. A pickup that hasn’t happened yet is when police can step in.

Then call whoever moved the money, using the number on your card, your statement, or inside the app. Ask for a case number and write it down.

You sent money

• Bank transfer, wire, or Zelle. Call your bank now and ask them to stop or recall it. For a wire, file at ic3.gov while the bank works on it, not after.
• Venmo, Cash App, PayPal, or Apple Cash. Report it in the app and ask them to reverse it. If it’s linked to a card or bank account, call the number on that card, or your bank, too.
• Western Union or MoneyGram. Call the company now and ask them to stop it and refund you.
• Gift cards. Call the number on the back of the card. Keep the cards and receipts.
• Crypto or a Bitcoin ATM. Call the ATM operator or the exchange, and file at ic3.gov at the same time.
• Cash you mailed or shipped. U.S. Mail: request a Package Intercept at usps.com (for a fee, it can stop a package that hasn’t been delivered), then call the Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455. FedEx or UPS: ask them to intercept it now, with the tracking number.
• Cash handed to a courier. Call your local police. Describe the courier, the car, and the time.

If you sent the money yourself, the bank or app may treat it as authorized, and the FTC says you probably won’t get it back. Ask anyway for a recall or a reversal. If they say no, ask for the decision in writing, then file a complaint at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Keep the texts and the call log, and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and ic3.gov. Then tell the rest of the family, including the person they pretended to be.

If you’re 60 or older, or helping someone who is, the National Elder Fraud Hotline helps with the reports.

Anyone who later offers to get the money back for a fee is running a second scam. That includes callers who say they’re from the FBI or the FTC, and lawyers, including the one from the first call. Someone offers to get my money back.

You gave them more than money

Your bank login, a code they texted you, a card number, or your Social Security number: I gave out a code, password, or card number.

What it looks like

7:52 a.m. Your daughter Jess mentioned last week that her phone was acting up.

(614) 555-0187

Text Message
Today 7:52 AM

Hi Mom it's me. Dropped my phone last night and it's completely dead. This is my new number, can you save it and delete the old one

Text me here for now ok

What do you do?

• Reply "Jess? Is that you?"
• Ask them to call you so you can hear her voice
• Save it, but don't send any money until you've talked to her
• Call or text Jess on her old number first

Show the answers

• Wrong move Reply "Jess? Is that you?" You just gave them her name. The text says "Mom" and nothing else, so whoever sent it doesn't need to know who she is. You fill that in.
• Wrong move Ask them to call you so you can hear her voice That call would come from their phone, and a voice can be copied from a short clip posted online. Hearing her on a call they set up proves nothing.
• Okay Save it, but don't send any money until you've talked to her Holding the money is the part that matters. But once it's saved under her name, every text after this one will look like it's from her.
• Best move Call or text Jess on her old number first If her phone really is dead, it goes to voicemail. Leave a message, then try someone she lives or works with. This may really be her.

Before you save a new number for someone, check it on the old one or with someone who's with them.

11:40 p.m. Your phone rings. The screen shows your grandson's name from your contacts.

Ethan

Incoming call · 11:40 PM

1. Caller Grandma? It's me. I'm okay, but I messed up really bad.
2. Caller I was driving and I hit another car. The police arrested me.
3. Caller Please don't tell Mom. She'll lose it. My lawyer's here, he can explain.
4. Lawyer Ma'am, this is Robert Hale, I'm representing Ethan. Bail is set at $9,400. There's a gag order on the case, so please don't discuss it with anyone.
5. Lawyer A bail bondsman can come by your house tonight to collect it, so he doesn't have to stay in jail.

It's his name on the screen, and it sounds like him. What do you do?

• Ask the lawyer for the case number and the name of the court
• Hang up and call Ethan's number from your contacts yourself
• Ask Ethan for the family code word

Show the answers

• Wrong move Ask the lawyer for the case number and the name of the court He'll have answers ready. Anything you learn on this call comes from the people making it.
• Best move Hang up and call Ethan's number from your contacts yourself Caller ID can be faked to show his number, and then your phone shows his name. When you dial his number, it rings his real phone.
• Okay Ask Ethan for the family code word Good if you set one up. Call his number before any money moves, whatever the answer.

His name on the screen is caller ID, and caller ID can be faked. Dialing his number yourself reaches his real phone.

You hung up and called Ethan's number. It went to voicemail. Two minutes later, another call.

(602) 555-0163

Incoming call · 11:46 PM

1. Lawyer Ma'am, it's Robert Hale again, Ethan's attorney. We got cut off.
2. Lawyer They took his phone when they booked him, so you won't reach him on it.
3. Lawyer The bail bondsman can be at your house by 12:30. Have the $9,400 in cash in an envelope. If bail isn't posted tonight, he stays in county until his hearing.
4. Lawyer And remember the gag order. Please don't call his parents.

His phone did go to voicemail, which fits what the lawyer says. What do you do?

• Get the cash ready, but don't hand it over until you've talked to Ethan
• Call his parents
• Look up the county jail's number yourself and ask whether he's there
• Call back the number the lawyer called from

Show the answers

• Wrong move Get the cash ready, but don't hand it over until you've talked to Ethan Cash in an envelope is easy to hand over when someone knocks and the lawyer is still on the phone. Don't get it ready until you've reached Ethan or his parents.
• Best move Call his parents The FTC says to call family even if the caller told you to keep it secret. The gag order is there to stop this call.
• Okay Look up the county jail's number yourself and ask whether he's there Safe, because you found the number. It's slower than reaching family.
• Wrong move Call back the number the lawyer called from That reaches the lawyer. It confirms nothing.

Voicemail tells you nothing either way. Keep calling people who'd know where he is, and don't pay while you're still trying. If someone is on the way to collect, call 911.

What they’ll ask for

Same move for each: hang up and call them on the number you already have.

“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad.” Call Mom and Dad. They may know where he is.

“I’m putting my lawyer on.” “This is Sergeant Ruiz with the county.” A second voice is the same call. Nothing they say can be checked on that line.

“There’s a gag order. You can’t talk about this.” It’s there to stop you from calling the family. Call the family.

“Someone will come by for the bail money.” “Put the cash in a box and overnight it.” No court sends someone to your door for bail money, and neither does a lawyer or bail company you didn’t call. The FBI has warned that the person at the door is sometimes an Uber or Lyft driver. Don’t hand anything over. If someone is on the way, call 911.

“Buy gift cards and read me the numbers.” The FTC: “anyone who asks you to pay by gift card or money transfer is a scammer. Always.”

“Put it in the Bitcoin machine at the gas station.” No court, lawyer, or jail takes bail through a Bitcoin ATM. Hang up.

“Zelle it to me.” “Send it to my friend’s Cash App.” Real families use these apps too, so the app tells you nothing. Reaching them on their own number does.

“Don’t you trust me?” Say “I do. I’m calling your number now,” and hang up.

Where a code word helps

A word your family picked ahead of time does the most when a call back can’t settle it: the phone really is lost, or they’re calling from a hospital or a police station. Set up a family code word.

• Ask plainly: “What’s our word?” Don’t hint, and don’t offer choices.
• If they can’t say it, hang up and call. A real grandkid in a panic can blank on it, so a miss isn’t proof either.
• If they say it, that’s a good sign. Call anyway before any money moves.
• Agree on it out loud, not in a group text. If one person’s account gets hacked, the old messages can be read.

The FTC suggests asking something only they’d know, like where you spent Thanksgiving. A wrong answer tells you something. A right one doesn’t prove much, because many of those answers are online. Call back anyway.