Sadly, we as human beings are constantly exposed to devastating news and heartbreaking stories. With this negativity constantly shoved in our faces, it can be hard to see the good in the world. However, beneath all the devastation, good people live and positive stories are happening every single day.
When you walk into the store with thousands of dollars to spend, you would expect a store associate would want to eagerly help you part with your hard-earned money. But that is not always the case it seems. When Cecil Rogers walked into Walmart ready to spend all his cash, he ended up getting a blessing from the person behind the checkout counter by her refusing the help him.
The incident occurred in December when Rogers was looking forward to spending Christmas with his grandchildren. They were all coming over to his Elmwood Place home but before they arrived, Rogers received a call from someone claiming to be his grandson. That’s when things started to get rather mysterious.
“Papaw,” the voice said on the phone. “This is your oldest grandson. I’m in trouble.”
The “grandson” told Rogers about how he had gotten into a car accident. He allegedly hit a pregnant woman’s car. The grandson told Rogers that he was charged with drunk driving and was being held in jail.
After the “grandson” told Rogers his sob story, a “lawyer” came on the phone and instructed Rogers to go to his local Walmart. The lawyer told Rogers to bring $2,300 and wire the money to pay the bond.
Rogers was horrified. He didn’t want his grandson to be in trouble, so he gathered up the money and went to his local Walmart to wire the cash for his grandson.
Sadly, scams like this happen all the time and Rogers would have become the latest victim – except an unlikely hero stepped in to save him. The Walmart store associate heard why Rogers was wiring the money and refused to let him do it.
Cashier Audrella Taylor became suspicious once she heard Rogers’ reasons. He tried to change her mind and told her about how his grandson was in jail and needed $2300 wired for bond money.
“I’m going to refuse to send this,” Taylor told Rogers. “I’m not going to let you send this money because I think you’ve been scammed.”
This scam is known as the “Grandparent Scam” and has cost seniors millions of dollars across the country. Generally, scammers are able to get away with it because they instruct victims to not tell anybody about the call.
A few years ago, on CBS News, a former con artist discussed the Grandparent Scam, revealing details about the practice:
“We target people over the age of 65, mainly, because they’re more gullible. They’re at home. They’re more accessible.”
“Once you get them emotionally involved, they’ll do anything for you, basically.”
Instead of being scammed, Rogers had money to spend on his grandkids that Christmas.
Watch the video report below:
Leave a Comment