The grandparent scam takes advantage of the victims compassion and love for their family.
In this scam, the scammers call he victim and say something like “Hi, Grandma, its your favorite grandchild”. When the unaware grandparent guesses the name of the grandchild they think is calling, the scammer is able to instantly secure their trust.
The fake grandchild will then ask for money to solve some urgent financial problem (such as overdue rent, car repairs, or jail bond) and will often beg the grandparent not to tell anyone as they "don't want their parents to know they are in trouble".
The scammers will often ask to be paid via gift cards or money transfer, which don’t always require identification to collect, so the victim may have no way of ever recovering their money.
In other versions of this scam, the caller claims to be an arresting police officer or doctor who is trying to help the grandchild. They then use high-pressure tactics that play on the emotions of their victim to get them to send cash as quickly as possible.