Ruidoso couple avoids phone scam

Aug. 18--When Maury St. John answered her phone one day as usual, she heard a faint voice but couldn't hear what it said. She said "hello" a second time and she heard the quiet, "grandma."

"Who is this?" she asked

"Grandma, I need help," said the voice on the line.

"Carson!" she said, assuming it was her grandson.

The voice on the line sounded very upset, St. John said. He said he was in jail and needed help getting out. His voice was different, he said, because his nose was broken and he had damage to his face in an accident.

The voice told Maury and her husband, Don, who were now on speakerphone, that he had been arrested for driving under the influence. He said he blew a couple of thousandths over the legal limit after being involved in a fairly minor traffic accident.

The "Carson" on the end of the line asked for help from the St. Johns and asked them to speak with his public defender who would explain things. He also asked that Maury and Don not talk to any of the rest of the family because he was so embarrassed over the situation.

"He wasn't on the phone very long at all," Maury said. "It was very short."

Follow-up calls from the attorney to the St. Johns revealed money was needed to get their grandson out of jail.

The story was that Carson had an accident with another, a rental being driven by two people from Columbia. The St. Johns needed to come up with restitution money to the travel insurance company of the Columbians to pay for the damage on the rental car. Then Carson could be let out of jail.

"I was told to send money to Columbia," Maury said. "They had it all thought out very well."

The couple were to wire $5,100 through three different Western Union locations and were told exactly where in Lincoln County those locations are.

By now, the St. Johns were getting a bit suspicious and feeling cautious.

"There were just a lot of odds and ends of things, the way they try to pull you in just to get you to listen to them," Maury said.

So while Maury went to get the money in case the situation turned out to be real, Don worked on tracking the real Carson down to see where he was. Don was able to find Carson by calling the bank at which he works and the question was settled.

Meantime Maury went to the police station to wait for the attorney's next call. But, she said, the police couldn't do anything and told her such scammers use disposable phones.

When the attorney called again, Maury told him they had decided to let Carson rot in jail and, she said, the man got very angry and used some very bad language with her.

"We had wasted a couple of hours of his precious time that he could have used in trying to shake down someone a little more gullible," Don said.

The scammers had some information on the family, Don said. The couple would like the rest of the community to know what happened to them so they can watch for the scam and not be taken by it.

"I did not think of it at the time, but perhaps this will help someone else if they get targeted by the con artists," Don said. "Think of some question to ask the 'grandchild' that does not show up on a normal Google type search. Ask something like 'What is the name of your dog, cat; have you won any more motorcycle races,' etc.."

Don said the police told them there are a lot of scams going around targeting grandparents nowadays.

"I guess they are often enough removed from the grandchild's family so as not to be able to immediately verify the call," Don said. "One of the core parts of the scam is to hurry the mark as much as possible so they don't have time to do any checking."

Maury said every time she thinks about the scam she shakes.

"I asked the 'lawyer' in my last conversation with him, 'How can you do such a despicable thing to anyone?'" she said.

What to do if you think you are being scammed

If someone calls or sends a message claiming to be a family member or a friend desperate for money:

--Resist the urge to act immediately, no matter how dramatic the story is.

--Verify the person's identity by asking questions that a stranger couldn't possibly answer.

--Call a phone number for your family member or friend that you know to be genuine.

--Check the story out with someone else in your family or circle of friends, even if you've been told to keep it a secret.

--Don't wire money -- or send a check or money order by overnight delivery or courier.

--Report possible fraud at ftc.gov/complaint or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP.

Source: Federal Trade Commission/consumer information http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0204-family-emergency-scams

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