Safety & Privacy

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4 min read 6 stepsMay 5, 2026Verified May 2026

How to Recognize the Grandparent Scam (and What to Say if You Get the Call)

A frantic call from someone claiming to be your grandchild in trouble is almost always a scam. Here is exactly how to tell — and what to say.

At a Glance

Pause before reacting to the emotion

~20s

When someone calls in tears claiming to be a family member, the natural reaction is to help right away. Scammers count on this. Take a breath. Tell the caller "Wait one moment, please" — and put the phone down for ten seconds. A real grandchild in real trouble can wait ten seconds. A scammer often hangs up.

Ask a question only your real grandchild could answer

~33s

Pick something a stranger could not look up online. Not "what is your dog's name" (often on Facebook). Try things like "what was the name of the camp you went to in fourth grade" or "what did Grandpa always call you." If the caller hesitates, makes excuses about being too upset to remember, or tries to change the subject — it is a scam. Hang up.

Quick Tip

Quick Tip: Set up a family password word in advance — a word only your immediate family knows. If anyone calls claiming to be a family member in trouble, ask for the family password.

Hang up and call the grandchild back directly

~29s

Real or not, hang up. Then call your grandchild directly using the number you already have for them. If they pick up calmly, you know the call was a scam. If they do not answer, call your child (their parent) to verify. This step alone defeats the grandparent scam in nearly every case — scammers cannot fake a real phone number.

Warning

Do NOT use the callback number the scammer gives you. They will route you to an accomplice posing as a hospital, jail, or police department.

Recognize the payment requests that signal a scam

~20s

Real bail bondsmen, hospitals, and police departments never ask for payment by gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers (Western Union or MoneyGram), or cash sent by courier. If anyone on a phone call asks for any of these, it is a scam. No exceptions. Hospitals send bills by mail. Police do not collect bail by phone.

If you already sent money, act fast

~22s

Wire transfers can sometimes be reversed if reported within hours — call your bank or wire service right away. Gift card balances can sometimes be frozen if the codes have not been redeemed — call the card issuer (Apple, Google Play, Amazon, etc.) right away. Cryptocurrency transactions are usually unrecoverable, but reporting helps law enforcement track patterns. File a report at reportfraud.ftc.gov and at ic3.gov.

Share what you learned with friends

~20s

Talking about scams openly is the best protection. Many seniors feel ashamed to discuss being targeted, which lets scammers operate freely. Tell your friends what to listen for — and let them know if they ever get one of these calls, you will not judge them for asking your advice. Communities that talk about scams have lower victimization rates.

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The grandparent scam is one of the most common and emotionally damaging scams targeting seniors in the United States. The Federal Trade Commission tracks tens of thousands of these calls every year, and average losses are now over $9,000 per victim.

The scam usually goes like this: An elderly person receives a phone call. A young voice (sometimes synthesized to sound like their grandchild) cries "Grandma, it's me — I'm in trouble!" An "officer" or "lawyer" then takes the phone and explains that the grandchild has been arrested, in a car accident, or kidnapped, and needs immediate bail or hospital payment. The caller asks for cash, gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency, and insists the grandparent not call other family members.

Every part of this script is engineered to bypass critical thinking. The crying voice triggers protective instincts. The urgency prevents you from pausing to verify. The instruction not to call others isolates you. AI voice cloning has made these calls dramatically more convincing in 2025 and 2026 — scammers can pull a few seconds of audio from a grandchild's social media and produce a near-perfect voice clone.

The good news: a single phrase will reveal the scam every time. This guide walks through how the scam works, what to say to confirm it, and what to do if you have already sent money.

(Sources: FTC Consumer Information — Family emergency scams, consumer.ftc.gov; AARP Fraud Watch Network, aarp.org/money/scams-fraud; FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, ic3.gov)

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Official Resources

FTC Consumer Protection CISA — Cybersecurity Tips AARP Fraud Watch Network

Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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