A con artist was apparently no match for a Mt. Lake woman during a recent telephone call.
The woman recalled that the phone call started with the person saying, “Hi, Grandma!” That immediately caught her attention.
“He sounded kind of sad when he talked, heavy laden,” she recalled. “He said he had been in an accident.”
She asked if he was hurt and where the crash occurred.
The man replied that it occurred in Illinois and that he only sustained a shoulder injury and that doctors told him he will be OK.
“I said, what are you doing in Illinois?” the Mt. Lake woman said. “And, have you told your dad about the accident?”
The man replied that he went to Illinois for a wedding and that he didn’t call his dad because he was too embarrassed.”
The man added that he now faced a court case and wanted to her to write down his case number.
“I said, ‘I’m writing this down. By the way, what was the middle name your mom and dad gave you when you were born?’
“He replied that it was Michael. I said, ‘OK, well I don’t have a grandson with the middle name Michael. What was your brother’s middle name?’
“I had really put him on the spot. That’s when he said he didn’t have any more time. And I said, ‘I will have you know I will not help you. This is nothing more than a big, big scam’ and I hung up.”
According to police, this is a fairly common scam tactic. The caller disguises his voice and says he doesn’t sound like the grandchild because he has been sick. The grandparent doesn’t want the grandchild to think they don’t recognize the child’s voice, so they stay on the phone.
Eventually, the scammer seeks money, gift cards, or personal information.
Share your scam story
Local law enforcement is concerned about the impact of scams on area residents, particularly the elderly.
Consequently, this newspaper works with local police and sheriff’s departments to keep residents updated on common schemes. Scam Alerts will appear in future editions as often as possible in the coming weeks.
Readers can also find online scam updates Thursdays at windomnews.com.
If you have been the target of a scam, your first contact should be local authorities. Also, feel free to contact us with details (we can keep your name confidential).
Send your story to: rahnl@windomnews.com, or call 507-831-3455. By sharing, you could prevent someone from being scammed.
Mt. Lake woman outfoxes would-be scammer
