PHONE SCAM! STRANGER TRIES TO IMPERSONATE MY BROTHER TO EXTORT MONEY FROM FAMILY MEMBERS (PLEASE REBLOG)
I wanted to let you know about a new phone scam going around. I would appreciate it you guy can reblog this so many people can know about this.
Last month my aunt from El Salvador received a call from Mexico and the person on the call was claiming to be my brother. He said he was going to El Salvador on a vacation trip, my aunt became very happy since he hasn't been in El Salvador for a while. The weird thing began when this man who was claiming to be my brother told her that he was in Mexico and he was being held by the police because he had tried to take excess money out of the country. My aunt became worried at first but at the same time she started to feel distrust. The guys claiming to be my brother told her he would be calling again that he needed money to get out and that she would need to send it through MoneyGramm, about $700. My aunt waited for the call and when they called it was another man claiming to be my brother's lawyer. At this point my aunt had already contacted my mom and I to ask us about my brother and we made her aware that he was fine. Knowing this she spoke with the supposed "lawyer" and began asking him questions to catch him in a lie. To the point where she told him... "Please provide me with the case number, he is a United States citizen and we will have our family lawyer take care of this." The guy became nervous and said, "I don't have the case number." My aunt asked, "What's his last name?" and the guy again became nervous, "I'm not sure." That's when she told him, "You're his lawyer and you don't know his case number or last name. I'm calling the police right now." That's when the guy hung up and there were no more calls. My aunt called us to let us know what had happened and that she couldn't believe they had used my brother and knew her phone number and family information (like her kid's names).
At first we thought it might have been someone from El Salvador or maybe someone that knew the family, so we just left it as it was.
The problem was today... they called one of our other aunts who we have no communication in Los Angeles. Again a guy claiming to be my brother and saying he was in Mexico for a job. He asked my aunt if he could visit so he needed someone to pick him up at the airport. My aunt was happy about this and told him of course. The guy told her he would call for a time when he needed to be picked up. My aunt waited for his call and the second time he called he told her that he was in jail because they had caught him with $30,000 of cash and that he now needed $700 to get out. He told her that he desperately needed the money and that she should sent it through moneygramm and that he would pay her back and he specifically said not to call my mom because he didn’t want to worry her. My aunt resorted to calling my father soon after. Our dad lives in another state and we talk only every once in a while. My aunt told my father that she unfortunately did not count with that money and if he could help my brother. My father became worried and went to get the money out, but he then told my aunt that he would call my mom and I even if my brother got mad. When he called me I was surprised because it was like we were reliving the same situation with my last aunt from my mom’s side of the family. We told my dad that our brother was fine and that he was here with us at the house. He was relieved to hear that. Our aunt from my father’s side of the family claims that the number was coming from Mexico as well. Right now we have no idea they know about our family or how they got those number but we have already reported this to the authorities.
I would like everyone to be aware of this disgusting scam. Keep in contact with your family members and try to have a code between or key questions and answers. Both of my aunts were in different countries yet they still had their information. Please make sure you don’t just automatically believe when strange calls like this happen. Don’t be afraid to ask questions! If he or she is a real family member, test them!
Reblog this, post it on facebook, twitter it, whatever it takes to get the word out!
