Scammer tried to frighten an elderly woman with a fake $5,000 penalty — her calm 2-word reply ruined his entire plan

Senior citizens are assumed to be susceptible and gullible, and are often looked at as the first targets of scams. An elderly woman who goes by u/Leading-Knowledge712 nearly became a victim of financial fraud when she received a call from a scammer claiming to be an agent. In a post shared on January 15, the woman revealed how she was called about a possible fraud and was told that a major illegal mishap was avoided, but she had a $5,000 penalty in her name. Instead of being helpless and naive as presumed, she dealt with the situation with two simple words that left the scammer stunned. 

Calling the scammers “WBS: Would Be Scammers” in the post, she shared how the frightening call took place. The person who called spoke in an authoritative voice, posing the call as a serious and worrisome one. She was first asked whether it was really her by confirming her name. “Speaking,” she replied. “I never say yes to any question from an unfamiliar caller, so it can’t be used to claim I’ve consented to anything,” the woman smartly said. She was already ahead of the scammer before they even knew it. The caller then filled her in with random credentials and played their trick.

“We’ve intercepted a large shipment of illegal drugs from Mexico addressed to you!” the fraudster said, after sharing a fake identity. The expected response was for the woman to get frightened and do anything and everything to clear the blunder. Instead, the elderly woman shrewdly responded with two simple words. “Thank you!” she said to the caller. The WBS was a little stunned, confused, and again alerted the woman that she might “go to jail” for such a claim of illegal shipments. Playing along at this point, she hysterically said, “But now I don’t have to worry about it because you’ve intercepted it. Thank you!”

The scammer was caught off guard at this point, trying their best to stay in character and convince the victim. “Don’t you understand? You’re in big trouble and facing a $5,000 fine that must be paid immediately! These are very dangerous drugs!” they said. However, the woman stayed put in her role and executed it brilliantly from start to finish. “Wow, you’re doing a great job protecting me from dangerous drug criminals by catching this smuggler before that happened! Thank you for your service!” she insisted. One last time, the person tried to assert that the fine had to be paid. 

But somehow, this elderly person was too good. She pretended to be confused and said, “That sounds terrible, and I’m so glad you stopped this shipment and kept me safe! Thanks again for protecting me and our border with your diligent enforcement. I appreciate you and hope you put this dangerous criminal in jail!” Before the confused caller could find another excuse, she repeated her powerful 2-word reply and hung up. Worth brilliant applause.

According to the FBI, the elderly are constantly threatened with ruthless claims and scammed financially. A previous report revealed that scams targeting seniors caused over $3.4 billion in losses in 2023. The percentage had increased from 11% that year. Tech support scam was said to be the highest among other forms of fraud. FBI Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall, who leads the Bureau’s Criminal Investigative Division, noted, “Combating the financial exploitation of those over 60 years of age continues to be a priority of the FBI. Along with our partners, we continually work to aid victims and to identify and investigate the individuals and criminal organizations that perpetrate these schemes and target the elderly.” 

In the meantime, what is crucial is to be attentive and shrewd in handling such exposure, just like this senior did. u/OddRevolution7888 said, “Well done! And smart for not saying ‘Yes’ if you don't know the caller. I do the same thing.” u/JoyfulCor313 added, “You did better than me. When they said I owed a fine, I told them to send Border Patrol to my house. My lawyer and I would love a chat. They hung up on me.”

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