Bend woman too smart for phone scammers

As technology continues to change, so do the ways scammers try and get your money.

Kathy Larson of Bend says earlier this week, she got a call from a man claiming to be from from the Social Security office.

He told her the government agency was changing the way it processed Social Security money.

“He said, ‘All I need to do is verify your name, your address and your phone number,'” Larson said.

When the man started asking questions about her bank, she became suspicious.

“He said, ‘I need the number at the bottom of the check’ — and I said,’ I’ve never heard of such a thing,'” Larson said. “With that, he disconnected.”

Larson says this isn’t the first time someone has tried to scam her out of money.

Last year, a young man called her, claiming to be her grandson. The man on the other line said he was being held by Mexican police and needed $3,800 to get out.

She told the guy she didn’t have that kind of money and to call her grandsons’ parents. With that, she headed off any impact from the very wide-ranging “grandparent scam.”

“They’re heartless,” Larson said of the scammers. “They’re positively heartless. My message to them is, one day they’re going to be old, and they’re going to be vulnerable.”

To learn more about current scams and how to better protect yourself, CLICK HERE