Don't hand your money to con artists
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Carrie G. thought she knew who was calling recently, when she answered the phone about 11 a.m. She was sure it was her son having some fun with one of his impersonations.
"Knock it off," she told him.
But it wasn't her son.
It was a man with a heavy accent who told her she had just "won" $2.5 million. He said the money would be delivered by a UPS driver who would be accompanied by U.S. marshals and "a certified attorney to prove everything was legitimate."
After congratulating her on her "winnings," the man said she was to wire him $299 to "activate a fund to avoid paying taxes." He said she could send the money in a Mailgram from a Wal-Mart store.
She said she had no way to get a Wal-Mart. The man was incredulous. "Don't you have taxis where you live?" he asked.
Mrs. G, a 75-year-old widow whose working career included a number of years as a paralegal, told him to deduct the $299 from her "winnings" and send the rest to the Susan G. Komen Pittsburgh Race for the Cure.
She said it was apparent that the out-of-country caller didn't know anything about the annual Mother's Day event that raises money for cancer research..
"He was the most inept of the three men who called that day, but he also was the most aggressive," she said. She asked that her last name not be disclosed because she doesn't want any more calls from the man or any of his fellow crooks.
"I got a call about 2 p.m. that day from a second man and then another one about 10:15 that evening from the third man. They were very insistent and very annoying. They were convinced they could persuade me to send them $299. They even told me I won a Mercedes.
"I thought you might want to warn your readers about them," she said. "They're just con artists trying to take advantage of people, especially the elderly."
First Published August 5, 2010 12:00 am
