Scammers are always a danger, even for those who are confident that they are too smart to get scammed. Vigilance is the only solution.
An elderly couple in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan have shown that average folks can and should fight back when they're targeted.
Larry and Helen are withholding their last name as they are part of the ongoing court case, but they shared their story here.
The scam started with a phone call from their "grandson" who spun a complicated tale that resulted in him being in jail and unable to post bail. Initially, the couple were panicked enough to agree to withdraw enough cash to get their "grandson's" bail secured.
On their way down to their apartment lobby in the elevator, the two started to realize that they were being played. At this point, the average person bails and breathes a sigh of relief at having dodged the bullet. It's an embarrassing and frightening thing to experience and most folks would just be happy to have it in the rear view.
Not these two.
They got in touch with the local constabulary and set up a sting.
A tense day of waiting for the cops to get everything organized forced the couple to improvise a story to stall the scam artists but eventually a couple of plain clothes officers were able to arrest one of the suspects and then two more. The trio have been charged with 10 counts of fraud over $5000 stemming from this and several other similar scams they had run in the city.
It's a great story and I applaud Larry and Helen for their bravery and tenacity. It takes guts to admit that you've been duped and to then stand up to the criminals responsible. Hats off.
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