Cecil Rogers’s was looking forward to having a merry Christmas with his grandchildren. His grandkids were all coming over to his home but before they arrived, he received a phone call from someone who said they were his grandson. That’s when things started to get rather strange and mysterious.
“Papaw,” the voice on the phone said. “This is your oldest grandson. I’m in trouble.”
The voice told Rogers that he had gotten into a bad car accident. He allegedly hit a pregnant woman’s car and he had been charged with drunk driving and was in jail.
After the voice told Rogers his story, another man came on the phone that said he was a lawyer. He instructed Rogers to go to his local Walmart and to bring $2,300 with him so he could wire the money and pay his gandson’s bond.
Rogers was horrified for his grandson. He didn’t want his him to be in jail, so he gathered up the money and went to his local Walmart to wire the cash for his grandson as the lawyer instructed.
Now sadly this was a scam if you have not guess it yet. Scams like this happen all the time and Rogers would have become the latest victim. Except an unlikely hero stepped in to change Rogers ‘Christmas story’ ending. The Walmart store associate listened to why Rogers was wiring the money and she refused to let him do it.
Cashier Audrella Taylor became suspicious once she heard Rogers reasons behidn the wire transfer. He tried to change her mind and pleaded with her to do it. He told her about how his grandson was in jail and needed $2300 wired for bond money as the lawyer had instructed.
She flat out stopped him in his tracks, “I’m not going to let you send that money. I think you are being scammed.”
Instead of letting him send the money, Taylor instructed Rogers to call his grandchildren and ask if they’re in jail. He did and learned that there was no car accident. Instead, Rogers’ grandson was safe at college getting educated.
Taylor knew that Rogers was being scammed when she found out the boy’s mother, Rogers’s daughter had not been contacted. Why would the grandson or the police not contact his mother first? Why would they bypass the parent to speak to the grandparent? That sounded like a red flag to Taylor.
When the Walmart manager Dominic Gross learned about Taylor’s heroism, he congratulated her. And to follow her example, Gross is now training all cashier at his Walmart location to spot suspected scams before they happen.
Instead of being scammed, Rogers had money to spend on his grandkids at Christmas. Thank you Lord for kind people that help us in our time of need.