It Pays to Be Alert — Phone Scam Awareness Helps Courageous Raleigh Woman

Posted December 2nd, 2011
Written by RPD Staff

Phone scam awareness is spreading across the globe and it has been instrumental in preventing the robbery of thousands of dollars. A Raleigh, North Carolina woman, Susan Johns, due to recent awareness, was able to spot a phone scam before it made her a victim.

Johns recalls viewing a NBC story about a woman who became a phone scam victim. Because of the story she became suspicious of a recent phone call to her house and credits the story and the courage of the victim with her victory. “If it hadn’t been for that really courageous lady, we probably would have picked up on it, but it made it more clear because of what she had gone through. If this helps someone else catch them, and say ‘oh, this isn’t right,’ then, Amen. Praise God,” she said.

The phone rang in John’s home and the call was received by John’s mother. The caller stated that he was in Mexico City for a friend’s wedding. The caller said he was “Jon” (referring to the grandson Jonathan) which is the name of John’s son who is away in the military. The caller then said he was in an accident and in jail suffering from a concussion and a broken nose. The man needed $1,500 sent to a “Judy Sullivan” so he could be released from jail.

The grandmother was in such distress that she passed the phone to her relatives. Jon’s mother, Johns, eventually took the phone to see what was going on. She realized after hearing the unrealistic story and the high-pitched voice of the caller that it was not her son. She was furious that this criminal would cause the house so much distress, especially her mother.

“I let him go ahead and do his little scam and told him, ‘Honey yes I’ll be more than happy to help you. We’ll do everything we can.’ ‘Well, mommy when do you want me to call you back?’ Johns said, ‘About 2 o’clock.’ The woman hung up on the scammer and went out to enjoy the rest of her day as if nothing happened. “I hung up the phone and we went to Red Lobster and the mall. (you knew it was a scam at that point) yes because it was not my son,” she said.

Johns then called her son to confirm that he was fine and had not suffered any injuries. She contacted her son and he was still in Hawaii on duty after returning from service in Afghanistan.

On yet another day, Johns received a call from a man who wanted to install a free security system in return for an advertisement on the front lawn. When Johns turned it down, the man offered the security system for free without the advertisement. Johns didn’t fall for it and realized it was most likely a scam. She is hoping more people become aware of scammers’ tactics and think first before reacting to strange phone calls.