If you’ve ever wondered how elaborate and clever scammers can be, then Josh Margolin’s THELMA will leave you both entertained and shocked. THELMA follows the story of 93-year-old Thelma Post. Despite her age, Thelma is a determined and independent lady who lives alone in Los Angeles. She cares immensely for her grandson Daniel who comes by often to spend time with and support her. 

One day, Thelma’s love for Daniel is used as bait by a scammer when she receives a call from someone pretending to be her grandson. The fake Daniel invokes panic and anxiety in Thelma by claiming to be in jail and urgently needing bail money. The scammer instructs Thelma to send $10000 to a specific address which she does as fast as she can. Later, she discovers that Daniel is safe and was never in jail – she had been tricked. 

She turns to the police for help but when she learns that there’s little they can do and her money may never be returned to her, she decides to go after the scammers herself. This sees the start of an adventurous chase over the city as she follows the money’s trail through shady neighbourhoods and antique stores. The film concludes with Thelma confronting the scammers and successfully retrieving the full amount that was taken. 

Unfortunately, such happy endings are seldom seen in the real world when it comes to scammers. THELMA is a whimsical reimagining of a scam that nearly ensnared film writer Margolin’s actual grandmother (whom the film is named after). The scammers called her with the same bait as in the film, claiming to be Josh in desperate need of bail money after ending up in jail for hitting a pregnant woman with his car. 

The real Thelma, confused and anxious by the urgency of the caller, still managed to notice some odd things like Josh’s voice not quite sounding the same. But the scammers weren’t deterred, merely deflecting her concern by claiming “Josh’s” nose had been hurt in the accident. She tried calling Josh, who didn’t answer which added to the believability of the scam. 

The scammers had also pressured her by warning her not to call Josh’s parents, citing embarrassment as the reason. She called them anyway, but when they were also unable to reach Josh, their collective worry compounded. As more and more family members got involved, concern for Josh slowly escalated. Thelma was only moments away from sending through the $10000 when they managed to get in touch with Josh and realise he was safe and sound at home, completely unaware of what was going on.  

The fact that the scammers preyed on the genuine love of a grandmother for her grandchild shows that there are no lines they won’t cross in their scams. This remains true of the fraudulent schemes they use to target your employees and organisation. This is why it’s so important to make sure you and your employees know how to spot the signs of a scammer and have checks in place to ensure that any major action, financial or otherwise, is reviewed by multiple authorised parties.

3 Useful Considerations for Scammer Protection

  1. Implementing Precautionary Measures

As scammers use increasingly sophisticated techniques, the signs you need to watch out for have also become more subtle and difficult to spot. Having guidelines in place that guide how your employees respond to unverified or suspicious emails, texts, phone calls etc is an example of a useful safeguard that can protect the organisation. Examples of useful guidelines for your employees to navigate potential scams include:

  • Manually visit websites instead of clicking links
  • Check web addresses for authenticity sent via emails or texts
  • Contacting people/businesses to verify if they had sent a message 
  • Never give out confidential information to an unknown caller 
  • Confirm if a bill is legitimate by calling the source
  • Be wary of requests for payments in non-standard methods
  1. Separation of Duties

Vulnerability to scams is higher when all the decisions for a particular transaction or process are made by a single person. Ensuring separation of duties for financial and operational processes is a highly beneficial risk management principle you can apply to ensure that no one person has sole responsibility over any crucial decision. This way, there are always at least two pairs of eyes reviewing everything to reduce any potential oversight.  Having more than one perspective improves the likelihood of error detection and increases personal accountability. Requiring two (or more) individuals to review and validate actions creates a system where there are checks and balances in place to safeguard against both intentional and unintentional errors.

  1. Scam Detection

Alongside prevention measures, employers should also have detection methods in place for scams when they do arise. Regular audits of financial transactions and operational processes can uncover discrepancies that may indicate fraudulent activity. Automated monitoring systems can also flag unusual patterns or behaviours that deviate from the norm, prompting further investigation. Another useful detection approach is utilising data analytics tools to analyse trends and identify anomalies. By examining transaction histories and behaviours, employers can pinpoint red flags that require closer scrutiny.

How Polonious Can Help

At Polonious, we understand the growing challenges organisations face in safeguarding against scams. Our comprehensive solutions are designed to enhance your risk management strategies and streamline operational processes, empowering you to maintain a secure environment.
Visit us at Polonious Systems to learn more about how we can support your risk management efforts. Check out our free demo here!