Last December, Cecil Rogers from Elmwood Place, was looking forward to spending the holidays with his family. Everyone would be gathered to enjoy the festivities and it would be a good time for all.
A few weeks before Christmas, however, Cecil got a call from his oldest grandson telling him he needed help.
The young man told his grandfather he was involved in a horrible car crash and had been arrested for impaired driving. Currently, the boy was in jail.
“He said, ‘I hit a woman’s car and she was seven months pregnant. And they charged me with drunken driving and I’m in jail,” Cecil told WCPO.
Then, a lawyer got on the phone and told Cecil he would have to go to Walmart and make a store-to-store transfer of $2,300 to pay his grandson’s bond.
Upon hearing the instructions, Cecil, the doting grandfather, didn’t think twice about helping his grandson in need. The senior collected his coat and wallet and immediately head to the local Evendale Walmart.
Sadly, for many seniors, the story ends here— scammed out of their money without any way to get it back. However, in a moment that saved him thousands, Cecil picked cashier Audrella Taylor’s line.
When the cashier heard Cecil’s story, she immediately knew something was up.
“He said something about his some or somebody was locked up in jail,” Audrella recalled. “He got a call and he needed to come in and send $2,000.” Upon hearing the circumstances of the call, the woman grew increasingly suspicious. “I felt like if his grandson was in true need, then the mom would know first before the grandpa would.”
“I’m going to refuse to send this,” Audrella told Cecil.
“I’m not going to let you send this money because I think you’ve been scammed.”
This scam is known as the “Grandparent Scam” and has cost seniors millions of dollars across the country, AARP reports.
Generally, the scammers are able to get away with it because they instruct victims to not tell anybody about the call.
A few years ago, on CBS News, a former con artist discussed the Grandparent Scam, revealing details about the practice:
“We target people over the age of 65, mainly, because they’re more gullible. They’re at home. They’re more accessible.”
“Once you get them emotionally involved, they’ll do anything for you, basically.”
The con artist reveals that roughly 1 out of every 50 people fall for the scam and lose thousands of dollars in the process. Thankfully, there are ways to protect yourself.
If you ever get a phone call from a relative in danger asking you for money, “you need to pause, calm yourself, say you will have to consult another family member first and hang up,” AARP recommends. Another way of testing the caller is by asking personal questions that only the family member would know.
As mentioned, these scams are all too common in society— but, at least this time, it was a happy ending for everybody!
Hear the story below!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
