OKLAHOMA CITY - As soon as Mary Meyer picked up the phone, she knew something was wrong.
“I was upset,” Meyer said. “She was hurt, [and] I didn't know how badly she was hurt.”
Her granddaughter was supposedly in an accident, in jail and desperate for $2,600 bond money.
Luckily, Meyer's intuition kicked in, guiding her to tell the caller that she needed to consult an attorney before doing anything.
“With that, bang,” she said. “The phone went down.”
Wire transfer scams are nothing new.
You may remember Bob Coleman was defrauded out of $33,000.
“He started off by saying this is your nephew and I'm in jail,” he said.
Cyber security experts said one way to protect yourself is by asking a question that only your family member will know.
Another red flag is if they demand payment using a cashier’s check, bank check or pre-paid debit card.
The In Your Corner bottom line:
- Wiring money is like sending cash.
- Once the money is gone, there's no way to get it back!
- Same goes for pre-paid debit cards.