Alex Carson
Scam Artists Are Everywhere
It seems as though you hear about a new scam on the news every day and a new victim who was taken advantage of. Back in the mid to late ’90s, millions of people were getting emails from an “African prince” who was looking for an American with a bank account to help him get his fortune. In return, the American would be paid thousands of dollars. Since then, there have been phone scams, internet scams, and even door-to-door scams. There are unscrupulous people out there who have no problem bilking unsuspecting people out of their life savings.
Cecil Rogers
Cecil Rogers is a hardworking man with children and grandchildren. He was looking forward to having a Merry Christmas with his family. It wasn’t often that everyone all got together, so Christmastime meant a lot to him.
A Troubling Phone Call
One day, Cecil got a troubling phone call. The caller said, “Papaw, this is your oldest grandson. I need your help. I got into a bad car accident, and I hit a car driven by a pregnant woman. I’ve been charged with drunk driving, and I am in jail.”
After Cecil’s “grandson” told his story another voice came on the line. The person on the phone claimed to be Cecil’s grandson’s lawyer. He told Cecil that he would need $2,300 to get out of jail. The lawyer told Cecil to go to his local Walmart and to wire the money so that he could pay the bond to get his grandson out of jail.
No Hesitation
Cecil didn’t give the phone call a second thought. He loved his grandson, and he wanted to do whatever necessary to help him out. He didn’t bother to make any calls to confirm the story, and he rushed to Walmart with the money necessary to get his grandson out of jail. The whole way over, he thought about how his grandson being stuck in jail would ruin his family’s Christmas. He was happy that he could fix things just in time.
Saved In the Nick Of Time
When Cecil walked over to the customer service desk as Walmart, Audrella Taylor was working. Part of her job was to send Moneygram wires for customers. Cecil was a talkative guy, and he told Audrella his story. After he finished, she refused to wire the money. Cecil was very angry and told her that he had to wire the money as quickly as possible as not to ruin his whole family’s Christmas. Fortunately, Audrella refused to do what the man asked. When grandpa tries to wire $2, 300 to grandson, Walmart clerk immediately sees red flags.
Convincing Cecil
Audrella realized quickly that Cecil wouldn’t believe that the whole thing was a scam without proof. She didn’t think that he was a stubborn man; she just thought that he would do anything for his family. First, she asked him if he had called his child first. She asked Cecil why his grandson and his attorney would call him before calling his own parents. This put some doubt in Cecil’s mind, but not enough. He thought that maybe his grandson was too scared to call his parents, so he called his grandfather instead. Audrella knew that she had to give Cecil more proof if she was going to keep him from sending his money to a scammer. He told Cecil to go right to the source.
Calling His Grandson
Audrella told Cecil that if he called his grandson and he didn’t answer or if he confirmed that he was in jail, she would be more than happy to process his request. Cecil decided that he would humor the cashier and he called his grandson. He was a bit shocked when his grandson answered the phone. Cecil asked his grandson where he was, and his grandson told him that he was still away at college and he would see him soon for Christmas. Cecil asked his grandson if he had been arrested recently and his grandson told him that he had never been arrested. The two said their goodbyes, and they hung up.
My Hero
When Cecil hung up with his grandson, he told Audrella that she was his hero. He says that he didn’t know that there were people out there who would do such a terrible thing and he was so happy that she kept him from making such a big mistake. Thanks to Audrella, Cecil would be able to spend his money on his family’s Christmas gifts rather than sending it to a scammer.
Audrella’s Manager
Audrella’s manager at Walmart is Dominic Gross. Cecil made sure to let him know how his employee helped him out that day. He congratulated Audrella. He was thrilled that she prevented Cecil from being scammed.
New Training
Thanks to Audrella, Dominic decided to start training the cashiers to spot scams before they can happen.
YouTube Description
Have you ever been the victim of a scam? Have you almost ever been the victim of a scam? If you said yes to either, you aren’t alone. Millions of people fall victim to scam artists every year. One person who was almost a scam victim is Cecil Rogers. Cecil Rogers is a loving and caring father and grandfather who was looking forward to spending the holidays with his family. If it weren’t for the quick thinking of a Walmart employee, Cecil would have handed over his life savings. There are some Walmart employees who do their job but the bare minimum. There are some like Audrella Taylor who will go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that their customers are satisfied. This is a sweet story with a happy ending. Check out the video to see for yourself.
