Fucking scammers!!

[Kheldarson]

Just got off the phone with my mom.

My grandpa got fleeced over $1000 by a scammer claiming to be my brother. Said he was in jail. Not sure why that didn't seem suspicious to him, but he sent the money.

I want to hurt somebody right now.

[HYHYBT]

Those work because anyone can end up in jail; really, the more unlikely a given relative's behavior is to land them there, the more shocking it is to hear they're there and the more likely many are to want to bail them out. And unless they've heard of that scam before, there's no reason to think it is one.

[Andara Bledin]

First, the scammers are sucky fucknuts.

However, why would anyone get a call from a not-direct relative and just assume that it's them without, say, calling that person's parents/siblings/children to see if they know what's happened?

I mean, unless said grandparent is actually the guardian... in which case, you'd think he'd know the scammer's voice wasn't that of the relative in question...