|
An elderly Springfield woman fell prey
to a telephone scam artist on Wednesday,
January 23, 2002, costing her 2,800
dollars. Police are certainly concerned,
but what troubles them most, is that
this is the second incident of this type
reported by a local senior citizen. The
first incident occurred last summer. In
both cases, the victim was elderly and
the loss was substantial.
Police want to send an urgent
message of concern and caution to
area senior citizens to be alert for
this activity.
The first incident occurred on June
13, 2001, when a 74 year old
Springfield woman received a
telephone call from a pleasant
sounding man who identified himself
as Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery
told the elderly woman that an error
had been discovered in her bank
account and calmly instructed the
woman on what to do next.
The woman was told to go to her
bank, withdraw $4,200 and meet him
at the McDonalds Restaurant at 501
East South Grand, and that he would
see to it that her money was placed
into the proper account. The man
gave the woman a description of
himself and the clothes he would be
wearing. The woman did exactly as
Mr. Montgomery instructed, and after
meeting him and handing over the
cash, she never saw him or her money
again. The man called her back
shortly after she returned home,
thanking her for her help.
The most recent incident occurred
last Wednesday, when an 80 year old
Springfield woman received a similar
call, this time from a man
identifying himself as Mr. Gillard.
In this case, Mr. Gillard told the
woman that someone was taking money
out of her account. He went on to
add that the woman needed to go to
her bank immediately, write a check
for 2,800 dollars and cash it. She
was told to meet the man in the
parking lot of Famous Barr at White
Oaks Mall. As in the first case, the
woman followed the instruction of
the caller and met him at the mall.
There, she handed over the money and
was instructed by the man to wait 90
hours and then call her bank and
change her account number.
Police want the elderly who live
alone, or those who have an elderly
relative under their control, to be
aware of the circumstances and
events described in the two accounts
provided.
"Unfortunately, there are
individuals out there that prey on
the trust-worthy nature of many
senior citizens, and will take
advantage of them any time they
can", stated Sergeant Kevin Keen,
spokesman for the Springfield Police
Department. Sergeant Keen provides
the following tips that might
prevent you from becoming the con
artist's next victim;
-
Ask for the caller's name and a
telephone number that be called
to verify their identity.
-
Call your bank to see if that
person works there.
-
If the caller will not provide
requested information.....hang
up!
-
Call police immediately and
report the incident.
"No legitimate bank in America will
call you and ask you to hand over
your cash to them in a remote
parking lot", Keen said. "Keep that
in mind if you ever get a such a
call."
|
