Mike James: Scam target hits back: 12/12/09

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December 10, 2009

Anonymous The Daily Independent Thu Dec 10, 2009, 11:22 PM EST

When a scammer casts his net, he hopes to haul in a chump — or, to be more precise, a chump’s cash.

The scammer who dialed Don Cartmill’s number just made his intended victim mad.

Cartmill, who lives in Flatwoods, picked up his phone earlier this week and heard a muffled voice. Trying to figure out who was on the line, he blurted out a couple of names, including that of his grandson Bill. (It’s not really Bill, but by now Cartmill thinks he’d better keep the real name to himself.)

Sure enough, it was Bill on the other end — or so Cartmill thought for the next few minutes. But it wasn’t. It was a bold fraudster who’d picked Cartmill’s number out of the book in hopes of separating him from a big chunk of his bank account.

What strikes Cartmill is just how elaborate the spiel was, a long and convoluted story about a wedding in Canada, a fender-bender, a DUI arrest and subsequent dismissal of charges. The caller named names and offered up details that made the story more convincing — or at least complicated enough to keep a less skeptical target mentally off balance.

Then the caller got to the nut. Bill’s auto, a rental, was damaged and some insurance technicality made the damage payments Bill’s obligation. Could Grandpa wire the money?

There was more to it than that, some gobbledygook about nonrefundable plane tickets and so on. But at some point, Cartmill started to wonder who he was really talking to.

Maybe it was when the voice on the other end called him Grandpa, which his own grandchildren never do. Whatever it was, Cartmill started asking questions, throwing in some red herrings to prompt obviously bogus answers.

Before long, Cartmill said he’d call his bank and arrange the transfer, and rang off.

Then he called Flatwoods police.

That didn’t amount to much. The call came from Canada, and local police can’t pursue an investigation across international borders. By then, however, Cartmill wasn’t about to just forget it. From memory he scribbled down the telephone conversation and called a reporter.

He figures that the only way he kept his wallet to himself was by keeping his cool. But failure doesn’t discourage fraud artists. There are millions of phone numbers out there and gullible people at some of them.

The sad thing is, Cartmill said, the scammers tend to prey on older people, some of them easily confused. Maybe, he thinks, if enough people read about his experience, they’ll be ready when the crooks call.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.

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Mike James: Scam target hits back: 12/12/09

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