Cecil Rodgers, an old man from Cincinnati, Ohio, was looking forward to spending time at his Elmwood Place home with his family, especially his adult grandkids. He did, though, get an unsettling phone call. Rodgers’ oldest grandchild was on the other end of the line. “A voice comes on and says, ‘Papaw, this is your oldest grandson. I’m in trouble,’” Rodgers remembered.
He struck a woman’s vehicle, and she was seven months pregnant, he claimed. And they accused him of drunken driving, and he is in prison, Rodgers claims he was informed before speaking with a lawyer. Rodgers was informed that in order to assist his grandson, he needed to travel to Walmart and transfer $2,300 to another shop, where the lawyer would pick up the money and use it to post the grandson’s bail, allowing him to be released.
Cecil Rodgers was promised by the lawyer that all would be OK once he had the money, so the concerned grandpa went straight to his Evandale Walmart to carry out his instructions. But things didn’t go as planned when he walked into Audrella Taylor’s line.
Rodgers went to the cashier to transfer the money after taking money from an ATM. That’s when he met Audrella, whom he assumed would just do what he requested. The last thing he anticipated was having to deal with a cashier who obstinately refused the transaction. But that’s what he got. He couldn’t be happier right now.
Fortunately, Cecil Rodgers told Audrella about his grandson’s predicament. The cashier abruptly halted the purchase as he began to explain what had occurred. Audrella instantly smelt a rat when she saw the distraught, old guy in front of her who was so keen to save his grandson. And she was correct.
Rodgers’ intentions were good, but the caller, who claimed to be his grandson, was not. The voice on the phone turned out not to be Rodgers’ grandson after all. The second individual who took the line was also not a lawyer. Rather, they were con artists who had perfected their profession of preying on the elderly, a practice known as the “grandparent scam.”
He stated something about someone being held up in prison, getting a call, and needing to come in to transfer $2,000, Audrella remembered. Well, she is going to deny the sender, she responded. She is not going to let him transmit that money because she believes he was misled.
Audrella went on to say that her first hint was that the supposed grandchild called his grandpa rather than the young man’s mother. Since his daughter hadn’t been reached yet, she added, she felt as if a son was really in need, the mother would have been approached first before the grandfather. Then she advised Rodgers to wait a minute, relax, and contact his other family members. She was certain that he would discover that his grandchild was OK, and she was correct. Rodgers’ grandson was in good hands at college.
There had been no vehicle accident, and his grandson was not incarcerated. The whole conversation was a fraud, with the so-called lawyer encouraging Rodgers to speed through the purchase without informing anyone else in the family, ostensibly to avoid shame for his grandson. The fact is that persuading Rodgers not to contact anybody else to inquire about the incident kept the older guy from learning the truth. Fortunately, he and his money were spared due to a wise cashier.
Nevertheless, the old guy, who claims he doesn’t have much, is pleased that the Walmart employee intervened and saved him more than $2,000 Rodgers is right to believe Taylor is a hero, and the Walmart store manager concurs. They’re really pleased with Audrella and all of their customer service workers that assisted, Manager Dominic Gross said, adding that they now teach cashiers the indicators of fraud, such as transferring large quantities of money or purchasing significant amounts of gift cards.
Unfortunately, it’s often easier for con artists to trick people out of their money, especially the elderly. And it’s not always somebody like Audrella who takes the time to collect facts to spot a scam before it happens. Given that not all frauds are foiled by shop clerks, this tale serves as both a tribute to Audrella and a caution to others.
Families must educate their elderly loved ones about these possible scams and advise them not to feel forced to transfer money or give up their banking account or other personal information over the phone or through email. It just takes a few minutes for them to phone someone they trust or contact authorities to determine whether or not a scenario is authentic. Scammers prey on those who are trusting and willing to act without hesitation. Don’t allow this to happen to someone you care about.
