While IRS fraud has been around for a long time, it’s become an increasingly serious problem for Americans. Especially for senior citizens, criminals know all the right things to do and say to scam them out of money, often, a lot of money. Just in the past year, the government has sent out multiple warnings, telling people how to avoid becoming a victim of fraud.
Usually, these crooks use email or phone calls. As part of the scam, they rely on various tactics to get the elderly to willingly fork over their hard-earned money. The ruse…they either promise a significant amount of money in return for paying supposedly owed taxes or they threaten if they don’t pay, the police will arrest them.
One taxi cab driver knew something was off
Raj Singh owns Roseville Cabs in California. He was sent to Sun City to give a 92-year-old woman a ride to her bank. Okay, nothing out of the ordinary so far. Yet, as the woman began telling her story, he felt uneasy. The more information she shared the more he realized someone was trying to scam this innocent lady.
The crooks wanted $25,000
During their conversation, Singh learned that someone called her, claiming to be an employee of the Internal Revenue Service. That person said the woman owed $25,000 and that she needed to settle the debt quickly to avoid consequences. Thankfully, she ended up in Singh’s cab on her way to the bank to withdraw that very amount.
He wanted to get to the bottom of things
That’s when Singh came up with an idea. He asked the woman if he could place a phone call to the “employee.” He told her he wanted to ask him some pointed questions. She agreed. But once the scammer got on the line, suddenly, he no longer knew who the woman was or why anyone was calling him.
Singh wanted more information
But as this cab driver put even more pressure on the man, his number was blocked. Singh continued to explain to the woman that she was a target. Even so, she was reluctant to believe that anyone would scam her. So, the cab driver came up with a second plan.
They visited the Roseville Police Department
Rather than take his passenger to her original destination, Singh made a detour to the local police department. Once inside, he asked if one of the officers could explain to the woman that this “employee” of the IRS was nothing more than a criminal trying to take her money. She finally got it.
Sharing the experience
Impressed with his actions, the officers posted about the story on the department’s Facebook page. They were so thankful that Singh would go out of his way to help a complete stranger, they asked him to return to the station to give him a $50 gift card.
For Singh, it was all in a day’s work
The officers wrote, “We love this story because several times throughout, Raj could have just taken his customer to her stop and not worried about her wellbeing. He took time from his day and had the great forethought to bring the almost-victim to the police station for an official response.”
They went on to say, “His quick thinking saved a senior citizen $25,000 and for that, we greatly appreciate his efforts.” Like most heroes, Singh just feels he was doing what every human should do…watch out for one another.
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Source: Good News Network
