With the continuing evolution of scams involving the Internet, telephone and mail, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood offers several suggestions to help avoid being swindled:

Beware of the “emergency scam” where the caller tries to use the scare of an emergency situation to force the victim to respond quickly.  

Also known as the “grandparent scam” because callers often target grandparents while pretending to be their grandchild in the middle of a crisis, perhaps a car accident or needing bail money.  The grandparent is told to act quickly and to keep the correspondence a secret.

“Everyone should look with suspicion at  any unsolicited emails that seek to play on your emotions and your pocketbook,” Attorney General Hood continued.  “Always protect your personal information and keep your anti-virus software up-to-date.”

 Be suspicious of anyone who is vague in identifying themselves on the phone.  

-Be suspicious of anyone who calls unexpectedly and wants you to wire money–especially out of the country.

The right thing to do is to call someone else in the family to verify the any so-called emergency situation.

-Always protect your PII (Personally Identifiable Information).   Giving it out could cause you to become a victim of identity theft.  

 More information on this scam, and others like it, can be found online at www.agjimhood.com.