Lies Romance Scammers Tell to Steal Your Heart and Your Money
“Conner was in a car accident, and he’s in jail!”
Mom’s voice trembled and tears welled in her eyes. She told me her grandson called. “He was crying. He said an ambulance took him to the hospital, and then the police took him to jail. Here,” she demanded, handing me a torn piece of paper. “Take this number and call his attorney.”
“Mom, you’re going to have to calm down.”
“He’s in jail! Did you hear me?” she yelled. “He was crying so hard I couldn’t understand everything he said. He needs $5000. Call his attorney! Now!”
The whole thing reeked of a scam. I tried pointing that out to Mom, but she was too worked up to listen to anything I had to say. After all, she was talking about her grandson.
“Mom, why do you think Conner would call you to bail him out of jail? Conner would call his dad. He wouldn’t call you.”
“Well, he did. He called me because he knows I’ll come to his rescue.” When she used that tone, I knew to tread with caution.
“You’d send him $5000?” I asked with gentle sarcasm — knowing Mom trusted her brain more than her heart when it came to her money.
“You think I’m crazy?” she snapped back.
