Published On: January 31st, 2022Categories: Alabama News

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A scam meant to pull at your heartstrings and your wallet almost cost a local woman $14,000.

The call Ms. Betty received last week would’ve worried anyone.

“She was crying and I said, well who am I talking to? She says ‘your oldest granddaughter!’ And I said, ‘Amber?’ And she said ‘yeah, grandma I had a wreck,’” said Betty. She doesn’t want her last name identified.

The person on the other end of the line claimed she was with a lawyer who needed money.

“He told me he was there representing my granddaughter and he needed $14,000 cash,” she added. “He said ‘go get you an old magazine and that would fit in an envelope and you put the money in between the pages.’”

Unfortunately, Betty fell for it and brought the package to UPS.

When she came back home, she tried calling her granddaughter even though the scammer said she wouldn’t be able to do so. Betty said her granddaughter didn’t answer at first but called her back later.

“She hadn’t been in no wreck! She was home,” said Betty.

Immediately, Betty called UPS to hold the package and luckily, they did. She got her money back and the scammer was left empty-handed this time. Betty said many people called her lucky.

Unfortunately, not every scam story has a happy ending. News 19 asked the Better Business Bureau how someone can tell if a similar phone call is fake.

“The best thing to do is try to stay calm,” said Lindsay George with the BBB. “If you’re able to verify the individual that’s on the phone, your loved one, by asking a personal question that they should know the answer to. If they don’t, chances are it’s a scam and you want to immediately hang up.”

She said it’s also important to verify the claimed event like a wreck with another family member.

Ms. Betty is hoping to warn other potential victims of this scam.

If you think you’ve also been the victim of a scam, you too can contact the BBB. They’re a nonprofit with a mission on advancing marketplace trust and exposing potential scams.

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A scam meant to pull at your heartstrings and your wallet almost cost a local woman $14,000.

The call Ms. Betty received last week would’ve worried anyone.

“She was crying and I said, well who am I talking to? She says ‘your oldest granddaughter!’ And I said, ‘Amber?’ And she said ‘yeah, grandma I had a wreck,’” said Betty. She doesn’t want her last name identified.

The person on the other end of the line claimed she was with a lawyer who needed money.

“He told me he was there representing my granddaughter and he needed $14,000 cash,” she added. “He said ‘go get you an old magazine and that would fit in an envelope and you put the money in between the pages.’”

Unfortunately, Betty fell for it and brought the package to UPS.

When she came back home, she tried calling her granddaughter even though the scammer said she wouldn’t be able to do so. Betty said her granddaughter didn’t answer at first but called her back later.

“She hadn’t been in no wreck! She was home,” said Betty.

Immediately, Betty called UPS to hold the package and luckily, they did. She got her money back and the scammer was left empty-handed this time. Betty said many people called her lucky.

Unfortunately, not every scam story has a happy ending. News 19 asked the Better Business Bureau how someone can tell if a similar phone call is fake.

“The best thing to do is try to stay calm,” said Lindsay George with the BBB. “If you’re able to verify the individual that’s on the phone, your loved one, by asking a personal question that they should know the answer to. If they don’t, chances are it’s a scam and you want to immediately hang up.”

She said it’s also important to verify the claimed event like a wreck with another family member.

Ms. Betty is hoping to warn other potential victims of this scam.

If you think you’ve also been the victim of a scam, you too can contact the BBB. They’re a nonprofit with a mission on advancing marketplace trust and exposing potential scams.

, Huntsville woman almost scammed out of $14,000 through phone scam , Lauren Harksen , 2022-01-31 23:25:47 , WHNT.com , https://whnt.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/Grandparent-scam.jpg?w=900 , https://whnt.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2022/01/Grandparent-scam.jpg?w=1280 , [rule_{ruleNumber}] , [rule_{ruleNumber}_plain] , https://whnt.com/taking-action/bbb-consumer-alerts/huntsville-woman-almost-scammed-out-of-14000-through-phone-scam/ , https://whnt.com/taking-action/bbb-consumer-alerts/huntsville-woman-almost-scammed-out-of-14000-through-phone-scam/ , whnt.com , https%3A%2F%2Fwhnt.com%2Ftaking-action%2Fbbb-consumer-alerts%2Fhuntsville-woman-almost-scammed-out-of-14000-through-phone-scam%2F , BBB Consumer Alerts,Huntsville,News, #Huntsville #woman #scammed #phone #scam

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