Help my grandma got scammed, and now I'm scared

My grandma got scammed by a Jamaican area code telephone number on her cell phone. At first the guy told her she won a small amount of money, so she thought it was true. But they had her due all this strange stuff, don't tell anyone, ship overnight via FedEx, put the check in a while envelope and then put that in a book, and then put that in another envelope. Don't let the FedEx guy know what you are sending.

My grandma was by herself at the time, so I couldn't stop it. We stopped the check right away, so she didn't lose anything. But it didn't stop there, a week later, she kept getting calls from more Jamaican telephone numbers and the last call they ordered my grandma to buy them a green card, and if they didn't they were going to kill our whole family, since they know where we live, they even quoted the address to her.

We called the police and the deputy was nice and talked my grandma down, and we changed her number (probably won't got into effect for a little while) but I can't help being scared and nervous. I can't eat, I can't sleep, I can't focus on things, I can't relax at all.

I don't know what to do. They death threatened us, and they know where we live and everything. That makes me scared and nervous. Please help. Also even though we changed her number can they find out her new number? Please some advice from people who know about this stuff would help. I don't know what to do, I'm at my wits end.

Sorry to read this

First of all do not worry it is highly unlikely that you will be getting a visit,

The scammer is using scare tactics that seem to be verging on the ridiculous there is not a chance that he will follow up on it all he is after is money.

I would just ignore any phone calls, the scammer will move on

You did the right thing in getting the number changed

Thanks for the reply I feel a little better now. But something else I'm worried about is them doing something with my grandma's information, since they had her name, and all things normally listed on a check (like a signature.) So they could open up a credit card or something with her name couldn't they?

Welcome to the forums ng. No, no, no there is nothing to be nervous of. The wanna be thieving trickster is simply using intimidation tactics. A scammers life is built around lies, trickery, deception, throw away email addresses along with false names etcetera. They avoid bringing themselves into the open and it's 99.9%unlikely the scammer will cause any problems at your abode. If upon the most rare chance it did cause problems at your residence, the scammers real identity would become publically known to everybody. This being what the scammer avoids because it hides behind fake names and stories they invent.

re: Also even though we changed her number can they find out her new number? Please some advice from people who know about this stuff would help. I don't know what to do, I'm at my wits end.Good idea to change Granma's phone number and the trickster would be unable to discover the new one. Not unless she advertises the new number. Basically just cease all communications with the toss-pot. You can sleep easier tonght because there really is nothing to get worked up about.

Thanks for the reply I feel a little better now. But something else I'm worried about is them doing something with my grandma's information, since they had her name, and all things normally listed on a check (like a signature.) So they could open up a credit card or something with her name couldn't they?

I would not be too concerned there. Although I guess anything is possible, it's unlikely the scammer would bother using Grandma's information. I previously gave a great deal of personal info of myself to a russian scam syndicate and have no adverse effects happening from several years ago. When you stopped the payment on the cheque, the scammer probably never sighted it anyway, if it was a bank cheque. It became worthless when it was cancelled and stopped.

As you correctly point out yourself nervousygrandson whenever you issue a cheque, you not only give out your full banking details but also a specimen of your signature.

The scammer can do what he likes with it, as indeed could any of the hundreds of millions of people who receive cheques daily, but legally, if the signature isn't that of your grandmother on any agreement, cheque or obligation they fraudulently make, it won't have any legal effect.

They're more likely to participate in the next trip to the Moon than plausibly pull off impersonating your grandmother. If they did try it, repudiating would be very easy and simple.

If they could do anything with it, they wouldn't still be hassling you.

I'm sorry for this, but I couldn't help notice this post in the news section

Foriegn Lottery Scam Gets More Violent by Terminator5.

This kind of sounds like what my family went through maybe. So I have to ask again, (I'm sorry I'm a very worrisome person) But the chances of them coming to do anything to my family is really low or close to zero right?

(I probably shouldn't have looked more around the site, each time I see news about deaths it just skyrockets my nervousness.)

Calm down.....

There is ZERO CHANCE that anyone will be coming after you or your family, he does not have time to be doing that, all he is interested in is Money !

As the others have said, don't worry.

But, I'm going to go into more detail and not going to pretend here. Dealing with Jamaican lottery scammers is not fun.

Jamaican scam gangs can be relentless. They will pretend to be a victim's friend or tell them anything they want to hear. If friendship doesn't work, they can become vicious--threatening the victim, friends, family, anything they hold dear, in an attempt to make them shell out more and more money. Some scammers have gone so far as to call neighbors' homes and demand they walk over and get the victim to take their call (after family changed a phone number.) BUT--and this is very important--there was never any follow-through on these threats, and they typically only go to these extremes to maintain contact when a victim has a history of repeatedly paying. It sounds like you cut this off early, which will greatly reduce the headache for your family.

As far as violence goes:
These scam gangs have been linked to a great deal of violence, including murder, in their own country. In their own territory, the gangs have a great deal of power. The criminals have a good chance of getting away with their crimes there, and they know it. Law enforcement is trying to get on top of the situation, but they face the same challenge as the police in areas of some cities in the US where gang activity runs rampant.

That is not the case here. Your grandmother doesn't live in their territory. They do not have the power. If they were to visit her, and do anything to her or any member of her family, they would NOT get away with it, and they know it. They would be pursued, and they would be arrested.

These criminals are looking for fast money with no consequences. They have no desire to wind up in an American prison. That's why you see lots of reports of verbal attacks and threats, but you don't actually see reports of victims being hurt here in the US. They will say whatever they think is necessary, as long as they are safely anonymous on the other side of a phone call. But they are not going to put themselves at risk just because they lost a potential victim.

If your grandmother were traveling to Jamaica or some location they specified to collect her winnings, I would tell you to do everything necessary to prevent it, as it would NOT be safe.

The best thing to do is to make sure you continue to ensure the scammers cannot reach her. If they threaten, contact the police. But they will soon realize that she is more trouble than she is worth to them, and they will move on to a target with more potential.

See this CBS news report.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50142667n

The threats are part of the scam and the deaths that have taken place are in Jamaica and are down to inter gang disputes over the money.

There is even a type of scammer we term a 'hit man' scammer who tries to blackmail victim with death threats. We tracked down and identified one who came up on this forum, and he was located in Nigeria with no chance of ever visiting the USA.

I must post up his details in case he ever tries applying for a visa.

You and Grandma need not worry ng. The Jamaican scammer would need to spend a great deal of money travelling to your locality. The scammers principle roles are to fleece people for however much money they can get their grubby hands on. The scammer will see Grandma as being too much trouble and too difficult of a target and they will leave her alone.The scammers are not going to travel overseas to another country to hassle people they cannot fleece.
a) It would cost too much for the scammer to travel and does not have the funds to do. It would involve obtaining a passport, visa, travel tickets and etc. It would need to supply it's real name and details on the paperwork which is what they will avoid.

b) It's not going to cause problems to you at your locality because the resulting attention would be counter-productive in it's fraudulent game. There would be a high chance of Police intervention at your area, whereas in Africa or the Caribbean regions the Police action is less likely in regards to scams.

Could you please post up the phone number from which the call was initially received? It's quite possible someone in the forums may have come across it previously?