The digital age has brought with it a lot of things – some good, some not so good.
One thing that’s for sure is that it’s increased the amount of scams out there. With it now being so easy to connect and talk to strangers, be that online or over the phone, we’re more susceptible than ever to phoney traps created to take our hard-earned money.
A lot of scammers choose elderly people as their targets, not only because in general they’re more trusting and less savvy, but because they can sometimes be out of touch with the sorts of things that younger people can usually spot from a mile away.
Sadly, loving grandfather Cecil Rodgers was so nearly another victim. He received a phone call from a man pretending to be his grandson. He told him that he’d been involved in a terrible car crash and needed some financial help. His ‘attorney’ then got on the phone and demanded Cecil send money.
Panic-stricken, Cecil was about to do just that … before lady luck shone on him with all her light.
After receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be his grandson, and then being passed to a man claiming to be his attorney, Cecil was ready to send $2,300 of his own money. He hurried to his bank, and then to his local Walmart to send the money without delay. As he was so worried for his grandson, he didn’t even hesitate to question the phone call – all he thought about was sending the cash.
Once in Walmart, he got into Audrella Taylor’s line. Fortunately for him, though, Audrella had her wits about her. She asked exactly why he was sending that amount of money. When he told her the truth, she realised instantly that something was wrong.
Timely intervention
Having worked at Walmart for the past five years, Audrella has seen a lot of things come to pass. She had a hunch that Cecil was about to make an error, and didn’t want to see him fall victim to fraud. Instead, she took action.
As she explains: “He said something about somebody was locked up in jail. He got a call, and he needed to send $2,000. I said, ‘I am going to refuse the sender. I’m not going to let you send that money. I think you are being scammed.’”
Audrella went on to ask if any of Cecil’s other family members had been contacted by either the grandson or his ‘attorney’. She grew increasingly alarmed when Cecil admitted that they hadn’t. The biggest red flag for Audrella was that she knew in the event of a bad accident the first person who should have been approached was the grandson’s mother.
On his part, Cecil was confused as to why Audrella was questioning him – he still believed he was doing right by his grandson and didn’t want to delay. He couldn’t fathom why someone would try and take his money in that way, and hadn’t even considered the idea that it wasn’t his son on the phone.
To make matters worse, the attorney on the line had advised him not to tell anyone about the phone call, suggesting that if he did his grandson might end up in even more trouble.
Quick thinking
In the end, Cecil was convinced by Audrella and so didn’t send any money. In transpired that the funds he was going to transfer were for his Christmas shopping. His grandson is safe and in no trouble at all, and his family was able to enjoy their Christmas.
As for Audrella, she’s been praised by her manager – there would have been no way for Cecil to get his money back had he sent it. Audrella’s manager has said he is very proud of her, whilst Cecil’s family are grateful for her intervention.
Thankfully, there are people like Audrella in the world, as without her intervention Cecil would have been a victim of fraud of the worst kind. To think that he almost lost his Christmas money breaks my heart, and I’m so happy that Audrella was able to save the situation.
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