Phone call costs Kentuckiana grandparents $8,000
CLARKSVILLE, IN (WAVE) - A frantic phone call forced a Kentuckiana couple to come rushing to help their grandson, but that phone call came with a hefty price tag to the Crockett family of Clarksville.
Like two birds of a feather, their family sticks together through good times and bad; that includes a series of phone calls in January about one of their seven grandchildren.
"I've got two black eyes and my nose is broke and my lip is cut," said grandfather David Crockett.
That's what their grandson Paul told them, calling from Barcelona, Spain.
"He's been in a wreck, hit by a drunk driver, and broke his nose and black eyes and facial trauma," said grandmother Ann Crockett.
Paul told them he had a few vacation days, and a friend had an extra ticket, so they took off.
"We picked up the rental car we were on our way to the hotel and we got hit by a drunk driver," Ann explained.
Worried about their grandson, they immediately took off for Western Union, and wired him money. They even talked to a member of the American Embassy, who assured them everything would be okay… as long as they'd wire the cash.
"Really winning your trust," Ann said.
And these schemers won big time, to the tune of more than $8,000.
As it turns out, Paul was at home in Cleveland the entire time with no bruises and no black eyes. It was all part of an elaborate, international scam that's slamming the country.
"I was pretty angry and you can't help but feel a little violated when you know that they've just taken advantage of you," Ann said.
They called Paul's parents a few days after wiring the money to check in, only to find out that while it all seemed so real -- from the sound of Paul's voice to the American Embassy person they spoke to -- it was all fake.
"I've been had and I just have to write it off as experience," David said.
It's an experience they're sharing, hoping others will learn before it's too late.
"Ask them a personal question that only that person might know," David said.
And now they're trying to smile through the ordeal...
"There goes my new car," laughed Ann.
The Crockett's filed a police report, but it is unlikely they'll get any of the money back, especially with it being an international operation.
Western Union has set up a fraud section of its website, alerting customers of other scams. Click here for the website.
The scam has been reported in several other cities across the country.
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