{"id":1387,"date":"2022-06-02T16:04:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-02T20:04:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=1387"},"modified":"2023-01-24T13:37:02","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T18:37:02","slug":"scam-alert-beware-of-couriers-collecting-cash-in-family-emergency-scam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/scam-alert-beware-of-couriers-collecting-cash-in-family-emergency-scam\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>SCAM ALERT: BEWARE OF \u201cCOURIERS\u201d COLLECTING CASH IN FAMILY EMERGENCY SCAM<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>BURLINGTON \u2013 Attorney General T.J. Donovan is warning Vermonters about a new variation of the family emergency scam in which scammers are demanding that cash be handed over in person to a \u201ccourier.\u201d By presenting a fake emergency in which their loved one needs help getting out of trouble, scammers pressure panicked family members, including grandparents, into acting before they can realize it\u2019s a scam. Until recently, scammers took a hands-off approach in collecting money, demanding gift cards, wire transfers, or virtual payments. Now, the Attorney General\u2019s Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) is receiving reports that scammers are enlisting \u201ccouriers\u201d to collect cash directly from unsuspecting family members at their homes to resolve the fake emergency. Vermonters who receive these calls should resist the urge to act immediately and take steps to verify the caller\u2019s identity.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/06\/In-person-Courier-Scam-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Scam Warning: In-person courier money retrieval scam. Slow down. Take steps to verify. Never give money to parties you cannot verify. \" class=\"wp-image-1389\" width=\"432\" height=\"434\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>These scenarios are designed by scammers to be emotional and high pressure. If you are presented with this type of scenario\u2014pause; hang up the phone; and call a friend or family member to verify. <strong>Do not give money to someone coming to your home<\/strong>. Instead, <strong>call local law enforcement <\/strong>and the Consumer Assistance Program to identify and report the scam.<\/p><cite>Attorney General Donovan<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While the family emergency scam has long plagued Vermonters, CAP is raising awareness about the spread of \u201ccouriers\u201d coming to Vermonters\u2019 homes to collect cash. In the last week, CAP has received 4 family emergency scam reports from Vermonters who were told that an individual or a \u201ccourier\u201d would retrieve cash from them at their homes\u20143 of these scams resulted in monetary loss. Common elements of this scam include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Claims of a \u201cgag order\u201d being in place which requires secrecy.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cash is needed to pay for a \u201cbond\u201d or a \u201cbail bond agent.\u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A loved one was involved in a \u201ccar accident,\u201d sometimes related to traveling for a COVID-19 test.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>CAP has found that scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their contacts and appear to be using internet searches and public social media profiles to research the locations of family members. By searching telephone numbers and addresses on the internet and scanning popular social media sites, scammers can learn about familial relationships, ages, and geographic locations. Scammers then use this information to make the scam seem credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CAP advises Vermonters to slow down and follow a plan to not get scammed. Use the SLOW method in urgent situations:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2022\/06\/SLOW-for-Imposter-Scams-1024x914.png\" alt=\"S \u2013 SLOW DOWN. Scammers pressure you to act urgently. Take time to regain your calm.\nL \u2013 LOG THE CONTACT. Write down the phone number of the contact and disengage.\nO \u2013 ONE CALL. Make one call to a primary contact, such as a friend or family member, and discuss the incident.\nW \u2013 WHO CARES? Call CAP to identify and report scams at 1-800-649-2424.\n\" class=\"wp-image-1388\" width=\"387\" height=\"349\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Slow down and follow a plan to not get scammed.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><strong>S \u2013 SLOW DOWN<\/strong>. Scammers pressure you to act urgently. Take time to regain your calm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>L \u2013 LOG THE CONTACT<\/strong>. Write down the phone number of the contact and disengage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>O \u2013 ONE CALL<\/strong>. Make one call to a primary contact, such as a friend or family member, and discuss the incident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>W \u2013 WHO CARES?<\/strong> Call CAP to identify and report scams at 1-800-649-2424.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you or someone you know has lost money to this scam, contact law enforcement and report the scam to CAP at 1-800-649-2424. Learn more about family emergency scams by watching CAP\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lIzL8T3sR1I&amp;t=15s\">Avoiding the Family Emergency Scam video<\/a> and reviewing steps to verify at <a href=\"https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/cap\/family-imposter\/\">https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/cap\/family-imposter\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reference: https:\/\/ago.vermont.gov\/blog\/2022\/06\/02\/scam-alert-beware-of-couriers-collecting-cash-in-family-emergency-scam\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a new variation of the family emergency scam in which scammers are demanding that cash be handed over in person to a \u201ccourier.\u201d By presenting a fake emergency in which their loved one needs help getting out of trouble, scammers pressure panicked family members, including grandparents, into acting before they can realize it\u2019s a scam. CAP advises Vermonters to slow down and follow a plan to not get scammed. Use the SLOW method in urgent situations. <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/scam-alert-beware-of-couriers-collecting-cash-in-family-emergency-scam\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4480,"featured_media":1389,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[639468,639477,402199,481474,494301,505456,639455,639457,505544,639486,482450,639488,639384,704866,639489],"class_list":["post-1387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-stopscams-2","tag-takestepstoverify","tag-cap","tag-consumer","tag-consumer-assistance-program","tag-elder-protection-initiative","tag-family-emergency-scam","tag-family-imposter","tag-grandchild-imposter","tag-grandparent-scam","tag-scams","tag-slow","tag-slow-down","tag-slow-down-and-follow-a-plan-to-not-get-scammed","tag-slow-method"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4480"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1387"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1566,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1387\/revisions\/1566"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}