The SCAM

The SCAM


Today Sharon got a call from our granddaughter, Julianna. She told us that she had been arrested while crossing the border in a rental car. The border guards had found drugs and cocaine in the car and Julianna was now calling us from jail. “Grandma,” she said, “can you help me? They say I have to post a $5000 dollar bail or I will be going to jail. Please help me grandma”. Sharon talked with her for a while and said for a sum of money like that she would have to talk to grandpa. Sharon said “Julianna, you sound different.” “I am under so much stress grandma, please can you help me?” was the reply.

Needless to say that this was a scam; a scam which has been successfully perpetrated on many other grandparents. A granddaughter or grandson is in some kind of trouble and needs immediate help; in the way of money. Fortunately it didn’t work with us; it has worked on others.

When it is all over you feel violated. You wonder, where did they get all of that information? How did they get my telephone number? Those and many other questions race through your mind. Then you are left with a choice. Am I willing to let this get the better of me, to be distrustful of anyone who says they have a message from our grandchildren, or anyone that we love and care for? Or, are you willing to let this be a lesson learned; to be cautious in the future, but not to lose trust. We chose the latter.

To calm our nerves and put things back into perspective, Sharon and I chose the only sensible thing we could do; we went to the nearest Dairy Queen and ordered two medium sized Pecan Cluster Blizzards. The energy and personality of the boy behind the counter buoyed our spirits. After he had completed making the Blizzard, he turned the container upside down and gave us an approving smile as he handed the treat over to us. The Blizzard tasted just as good as he had indicated. When we left the store, I called him over and said “Good Blizzard, and good service”. I then handed him a $5.00 tip. As I walked out the door I could see him with the other staff gathered around asking him what that was all about. “That was cool!” he said.

On the way home we had to stop at PetCo to get some dog food. I was waiting in line at the check stand. The cashier had just rung up a purchase for a girl in front of me and asked her if she had a PetCo card for the discount. “No” the girl exclaimed. “Perhaps you have a telephone number” the cashier asked? The girl rattled off two different telephone numbers, but to no avail. “Perhaps she meant 253-……….” I said as I gave her my telephone number. “That‘ll work” the cashier said with a smile. The girl looked back at me with all the purity and innocence of an eighteen year old and said a simple “Thank you”.

        Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
        The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
        And somewhere men are laughing, and somewhere children shout;

Yea, today was that kind of a day.