SCAM WATCH

The pitch: “Grandma, I’m in trouble.”

The scam: It’s a pitch designed to tug at the heartstrings of any grandparent who answers the phone. The grandchild is in distress -- stuck in a foreign country, had the car stolen, has a medical emergency, in jail -- and turns to a trusted elder. But according to the Federal Trade Commission, the caller might be a scammer who is not a relative. In a warning issued last week, the agency said complaints were on the rise about con artists who make calls to elderly people, pretending to be a grandchild in trouble. The scammer might be familiar with the family and know all the right names, but it’s more likely to be a random caller who pulls an old confidence game trick.

The call: The call might go something like: Scammer: “Hello, Grandma.” Victim: “Is this Nancy?” Scammer: “Yes it’s Nancy. I’m in terrible trouble. . . . “ The scammer hopes that the person is so distressed, and maybe a bit hard of hearing, that the fraud works.

The payout: The scammer is likely to ask the victim to send emergency cash by wire, the preferred money-transfer method of con artists.

Info: The agency warning is at www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt111.shtm

-- David Colker