If you suddenly get a phone call from your kid or grandkid saying they’re in trouble - a car crash or being in jail - you might be encountering this scam. The same may be said of someone calling you to tell you your kid/grandkid is in trouble. I call it the Descendant In Trouble as these scams have two things in common: a child or grandchild has gotten in some kind of legal trouble, and you need to help them.

With the child/grandchild on the line variant, scammers use a generic voice for someone of the child/grandchild’s age range, trusting that in your panic you’ll mistake it for the actual person’s. There are some rare variants where the scammer uses an AI replication of the child/grandchild’s voice, but that often takes way more setup than lazy scammers like to do.

In some variants, the solicitor for a young pregnant woman calls, claiming that the accident permanently injured their client.

For all cases, this turns into a request for money, either for bail or for medical treatment. You might be told it’s $x0,000, but they’re willing to take $x,000 (a generous 10%!). And of course this will be sent in a way that the parent/grandparent cannot recover the money - usually by some sort of wire transfer. And of course later, you’ll find the child or grandchild in question was never in jail or in an accident.

How to protect yourself
Remember: take a deep breath. Whatever situation the child or grandchild is in can hold while you verify details. Call the family member or a close relative and verify what’s going on.

Ideally, beforehand you will have decided on a code word or phrase of sorts that a family member can use in case of such emergency to let you know that this is a legit family member with a legit emergency. Also, know your family. A family member who’s very keen on being a law-abiding citizen is unlikely to end up in jail, for example. A family member who uses a nickname for you that doesn’t use that nickname is another red flag.

Get out of the habit - if you have it - of saying a younger family member’s name if they say “hey, it’s your son/grandson/daughter/granddaughter” as that gives the scammer something to play on to get more into your confidence.