Elderly Dexter Township couple loses thousands in phone scam
Eighty-three year old Norman Houk, left, and his wife, Delores, 76, were recently the victims of a phone scam. The elderly Dexter Township couple sent thousands of dollars to a man claiming to be their grandson.
Photo courtesy of Edie Dehn
The Houks — Norman, 83, and Delores, 76 — thought they were helping an injured grandchild, but were instead scammed out of thousands of dollars.
On May 2, the couple received a call from a man who identified himself as their grandson.
“They started scamming (my parents) like crazy,” said daughter Edie Dehn. “They pulled on their heartstrings.”
The voice on the other end of the phone told the Houks he had been in a very bad car accident in Spain and needed money to pay for hospital bills, according to the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office. The scammer told Delores exactly where to go to wire the money — a nearby Western Union inside a Kmart.
Dehn said her mother and father believed the man on the phone to be Dehn’s 26-year-old son, Fred, a Marine stationed at a base in Quantico, Va.
The elderly couple promptly wired $2,000, which included a $15 processing fee. The Houks received another call in which the caller asked for the transaction number in order to retrieve the money. The voice on the phone thanked Delores Houk and asked her not to tell his parents, the sheriff’s office said.
The next day, the Houks received yet another call. This time, the man claimed he had received the money, but that he needed more to pay for the vehicle he had hit, according to the sheriff’s office.
Delores Houk once again dutifully wired money. Dehn said the Houks made two payments on May 3. Overall, the grandparents sent their “grandson” $5,891.
When the suspect called a third time saying he needed cash to pay for medical treatment for a broken nose suffered in the crash, Delores Houk went back to Western Union, but the system was down, the sheriff’s office said.
“(My parents) were in a panic,” Dehn said. “My mom had $1,500 in cash in her hand ready to wire.”
Delores Houk went to her bank to make the transaction, but the teller explained to her that she was being scammed and told her to call 911, according to the sheriff’s office, which continues to investigate the matter.
Dehn said police told her other elderly people in the North Lake area of Dexter Township, where the Houks live have also fallen prey to the ploy. The sheriff’s office says these kinds of scams are becoming more prevalent.
“They can come in the form of a random phone call like this one or in an email from a friends email account that has been hacked and even from a friend’s Facebook account,” said a release from the sheriff.
Police say to directly contact anyone who says he is in trouble and needs money to verify his identity. People are urged to document any communications or transactions they make if they think there is a possibility they are being scammed.
“An educated community is our best partner,” said Sheriff Jerry L. Clayton.
In the case of the Houks, the money is lost, Dehn said. But the impact on their finances hasn’t been as much as the emotional toll.
“My mom and dad are all shook up,” she said. “They’re having nightmares (about it). My parents are still receiving calls on their cell phones asking for more money.”
John Counts covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at johncounts@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Rich Rezler
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 4:54 p.m.
AnnArbor.com removed a reference to the Houk's street from this story. Subsequent comments that included the street name were also removed.
nickcarraweigh
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 4:43 p.m.
I notice two readers survived the merciless annarbor.com culling process and advised annarbor.com to drop the victims' street name from the story, fearing it would encourage further predation. Engagingly dim-witted as annarbor.com often appears, the street information was dutifully removed from the story. Except, of course, the street name is still included in the reader comments. annarbor.com may also be interested in buying a bridge in New York, I guess.
Robert Granville
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:09 p.m.
If you're fortunate enough to still have them, call your grandparents today and warn them about this kind of scam. They'll probably get upset with you for thinking they can't handle it on their own.... but just imagine how badly you would feel if they were pictured above.
ddjames
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.
To be fair to Western Union 100% of their business in not "scam" related. I have transferred money to my sister twice via Western Union. Understand there are many people who do not have credit cards. So when they get in the position where they need cash NOW, they call family. In this case, my sister called me. We used Western Union because it is very convenient. I set up an account on Western Union's website and sent the money to my sister's local Kroger store in Columbus. I gave her a confirmation number which she used to pick up the cash waiting for her. BTW both times she paid me back in cash within the month--including the Western Union fees. Their fees are a bit high but my sister had no alternative. The gas to drive up here to get the cash would have been as much.
Left is Right
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 4:15 a.m.
I agree that it actually *is* possible to use Western Union for legitimate purposes. Not all of their business is scam related. And in any case, they're doing nothing illegal, they're just an enabler. (Hey, wasn't that Napster's problem? Maybe scam artist should hit the "entertainment industry" through WU.)
ddjames
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:41 p.m.
Ann Arbor.com You need to get this couple's street address out of this report immediately. You are setting them up for another crime!
MiaMeow
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 11:52 a.m.
I too got scammed out of almost $2000. I was fresh out of a divorce and vulnerable and had a guy take advantage of me via a dating site.
pam
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 10:51 a.m.
The kind of problems described in this story will not be solved by talking and warning folks with dementia, as they will forget the advice...they remain vulnerable. Family members need to set up financial help and protection beyond a verbal reminder.
Tru2Blu76
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 3:07 a.m.
So long as there are vulnerable people, there will be predators. Sad, very sad.
RJA
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:43 a.m.
This is so very sad, and what I would like to add would not be printed.
Mikey
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 1:41 a.m.
great job to the bank teller who alerted their customer of this fraud!
julieswhimsies
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 11:58 p.m.
Grifters are vile. They take advantage of the most vulnerable in society. Our elders. I wish we could set up a fund to help these folks out. I'd contribute.
breadman
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 11:23 p.m.
These sound just like the same call I got last week about my Grandson.. Sorry for the luck fools, I had my Grandson on face book. So your scam call got a hang up...LOL LOL
Justice4all
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 11:10 p.m.
When I look at Mrs. Houk I see my grandmother and this story infuriates me. I'm making sure I talk to grams about this so she does not get taken advantage of. I know you lost money Mrs. Houk but maybe your story can help others.
Michael K.
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 10:27 p.m.
Considering that there are so many scams involving Western Union, maybe it is time for WU to modify their processes to provide better verification of identity and more recourse for senders? At the very least, they should have information on these common scams posted at the counter where people send funds! If the police are aware of a scam they certainly must be too. You would think protecting their brand would be more important than earning their $15 commission for assisting in these scams? Until they take an active stance the rule really needs to be "Don't send any money by Western Union - ever." Even using a credit card online offers a better chance of protection in the event of fraud.
Left is Right
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 4:07 a.m.
And it wasn't that far back that they had to find a different business model than telegraph and telegrams.
Left is Right
Sun, May 13, 2012 : 4:05 a.m.
Western Union is certainly aware of these issues and has come under considerable scrutiny. That does not mean that they're anxious to do much about it. Heck, I figure they'd lose half their revenue.
djacks24
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:50 p.m.
If you get an email or anything that seems legit and requesting a Western Union money transfer, don't ever do it. Nobody or no legit business would ever request funds this way. !00% of the time it is a scam. You might as well kiss your money goodbye.
T Watson
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:46 p.m.
I recommend this site as a resource: http://scamsurvivors.com/ The best way to deal with these things is education. I'm always sorry to see these stories.
jns131
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:41 p.m.
I got an email saying some friends of ours were stuck in England and needed help getting home. We knew they were home and watching television. I spammed it. Called them to let them know that someone has their email address as well. Very sad to hear this is happening to another couple. Too good to be true.
bedrog
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9 p.m.
a related scam is to hack into peoples computer address books and send personalized appeals for $$ in the acct. owners name ...always supposedly needed because of some mishap abroad. welcome to our brave new world of anonymous cyber creeps...including national security jeopardizing egomaniacs like wikileaks-boy..
Bob Johnson
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:47 p.m.
Can't they convert the next "Call for $$$" into a sting operation in concert with the authorities to nap the low-life?
Laura Jones
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:54 p.m.
They are out of the country, what good would it do?
justaposter
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:41 p.m.
Just like you discuss the facts of life with your kids, I think people with elderly parents would also benefit by having scam discussions with them. People coming to the door for home repair, phishing emails, phone calls etc. They don't always know the issues out there.
f4phantomII
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:15 p.m.
Surely, there is a special place in hell for the bottom feeders that pull these scams.
DNB
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 2:19 a.m.
Yes, they get to go to the front of the line...the lowest of the lows, stealing from the elderly.
5c0++ H4d13y
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 8:02 p.m.
You'd think western union could help people out on this kind of thing? Maybe ask a couple of questions and then suggest that it could be a scam but they'd do the transaction if costumer wanted to.
djacks24
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:52 p.m.
That would be nice, but if it weren't for the thieves always using Western Union, they would go out of business for losing all of their customer base.
Morris
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:57 p.m.
I got the same kind of call " Grandson... " on Friday. Fortunately, I recognised the scam as a neighbor had been bilked of $2000. Unfortunately, no caller id so couldn't track the call. Grandparents need to be prepared to ask family questions. The scammers will hang up.
julieswhimsies
Wed, May 9, 2012 : 12:03 a.m.
Always report these incidents to local police, whether they come by phone or email.
M
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:50 p.m.
I've written three messages that I deleted since I know AA.com will delete them. Just imagine a four-inch-tall block of profanity here, directed squarely at the jerks who ripped these nice folks off.
mr_annarbor
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:41 p.m.
My in-laws got a similar call about a month ago. Fortunately, my mother-in-law saw right through it immediately.
greg, too
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 9:32 p.m.
My friend got one too. So he played along, asking them questions about the aunt in question, asking how she was doing and how her cat was, etc. After a while, they gave up and haven't called back.
javajolt1
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:29 p.m.
Absolutely evil. Incredible how low some will go.
Former A2 Resident
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:26 p.m.
This is just a shame. I am so sorry for Mr. and Mrs. Houk. You can't print what I think should be done to scammers who take advantage of the elderly!
Linda Moore
Tue, May 8, 2012 : 7:21 p.m.
They should probably change their phone numbers. I'm so sorry this happened to them. It infuriates me!