There are a lot of scams out there, and on in particular has been dubbed the “Grandparents Scam,” because it targets the elderly and uses info from online about their grandkids to better sell the scam.
One elderly couple in St. Louis almost fell victim when they received a call from a guy, claiming to be a lawyer in New York, telling them their grandson was in a serious accident. The grandparents were urged to send money via FedEx to help, and even went as far as putting someone on the phone that sounded like their grandson.
So, the grandparents called a courier service to help them send the requested $15,000 to help their grandson.
Thing is, the owner of the courier service noticed things didn’t quite add up. When Ontime Express Courier and Delivery’s owner Nick Kirkou realized the envelope was going to an apartment and not a business, he got a little suspicious and decided to check in with the police, who were able to confirm the grandson was fine.
Nick’s intervention saved the elderly couple a lot of money, and even more heartache had the scam gone through.
While Nick is in the business of making money by fulfilling his customers’ orders, he feels more morally obligated to look out for his customers over anything else.
