Phone scam preys on seniors’ concern for family

When 80-year-old Charles Burhop of Mount Prospect answered the phone early one morning, there was somebody on the other end of the line claiming to be his son and telling an incredible story.

Some friends had offered him a free trip to Peru, he said, but after arriving in the South American nation, he and his friends were pulled over for speeding. Police checking the trunk of the car found it full of marijuana. After his arrest, he was brought to the U.S. Embassy, where he was calling from, needing $1,800 to get home.

Burhop found the story implausible.

“John, that doesn’t sound like you,” Burhop told the caller.

Burhop then said he didn’t have that kind of money to send, and the person hung up.

Just to make sure, Burhop called his son in New Mexico, where his roommate confirmed John wasn’t in Peru at all, but was there getting ready for a doctor’s appointment.

“It was a total scam,” he said.

Burhop recognized the bogus call for what it was, but many like him are not so fortunate, falling victim to what’s become an increasingly common scam to steal money from seniors.

“These guys prey upon two things: fear and greed,” said Cook County sheriff’s Sgt. James Hennelly.

The sheriff’s office said seniors often are the target of scams playing upon fear — faking stories of relatives in trouble or of compromised bank accounts.

“The way the economy is at the moment, (seniors) are the ones with the money,” Hennelly said.

Other common scams try to convince would-be victims they’ve won a large prize or lottery but need to send a small amount of money to claim their winnings.

For Burhop, it was not the first time he’d gotten a call from a scam artist. Callers “with foreign accents” have asked him to send money via Western Union.

This time, however, the person on the other end of the line had an American accent.

Police tell residents not to share any personal, account, credit card or Social Security information over the phone unless they’re certain the person on the other end of the line is a friend or relative.

They also say people should consider adding caller ID to their phones, distrust offers that sound too good to be true, and not make rash decisions on the phone or at the door.

“The one thing that I always tell people to do in those situations is to stop, take a breath, and think about what you are doing,” Hennelly said. “Once those guys get you on the phone, they are very good at what they are doing.”