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‘Grandma, I'm in Jail': Scammers Targeting Elderly San Diegans

May is Older Americans Month and what better way to observe it than to listen to them about the scams that are constantly trying to take their money

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It was Loteria time — picture Bingo over at The Golden Years’ Senior Center in San Ysidro. The intensity grows with every card that gets called out. The game came to a pause when the conversation turned to scams that prey on senior citizens.

Everyone had a story to tell. Especially when it comes to the so-called grandparent scam. It comes in as an unexpected call from someone claiming to be family.

"And he said, 'Grandma, I'm in jail,' and I asked, 'How come you’re in jail?' And he said, 'I was drunk and they picked me up and I need $3,000. And I was like, what?" recalled Josefina Loyon, a San Ysidro resident

The scammers' game is to convince grandma or grandpa to send money without calling anyone first. Grandparents are also told stories of a loved one stuck at the airport or in trouble in Mexico — supposedly hospitalized, arrested or even kidnapped.

"It was 3 in the morning and I said, 'Where is your mother? Is your mother not home?'" Loyon said.

Loyon desperately wanted to send money as the caller spoke and sounded like one of her grandsons, but something just didn’t seem right. She instead called her daughter and found it was all a lie.

"They’ll abuse older people because they think our mind is not here," Loyon said.

Most of the ladies at the table nodded in agreement, some saying that technology has moved too fast for them. It makes it harder to know what’s real and what’s fake. Other scams to look out for, according to San Diego County’s District Attorney, are investment opportunities, Medicaid calls, and sweepstake prizes among many more that tend to use high-pressure tactics to get victims to send money or personal information. Watch out if they ask for gift cards.

San Diego’s DA’s office has resources and people you could talk to if you feel you were a victim of a scam or just want to feel more at ease about the person you hung up on. Check their website to find the financial elder abuse toolkit.

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