Disabled woman duped by telephone fraudster

Mar 12, 2015 News

What was thought to be a surprise visit from an overseas-based relative turned into a harrowing experience for a disabled Mon Repos woman. The woman said that she was duped out of more than $100,000 by a telephone fraudster.
In an interview with Kaieteur News, the woman said that she received a call on her landline about 7:30am on Saturday. The voice at the other end purported to be an uncle who resided in the USA.
The woman, who lives in a simple home, said her “uncle” claimed to have been in Trinidad and Tobago, awaiting a flight to Guyana. Then, about 10 minutes into the conversation, he asked her to turn up at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) to clear and uplift some items he had sent in advance.
“I tell him, ‘man you know I can’t come to the airport because I’m disabled,’ but I don’t know if the man really knew if I was in a wheelchair or not,” she said.
She explained that she had not become suspicious even after the request was made and even after the man asked her to take $170,000 with her to cover duties and taxes.
Though she did not have the requested figure, she promised the man that she would send her son to the airport with as much money as they could muster. She said her husband borrowed $100,000 from a neighbour and she also included some jewelry to be used as collateral.
About two hours later her son was on his way to the airport, she said. She said as he made his way there he was called by a man, purporting to be a customs officer. The man told her son that he was already off-duty and was awaiting his arrival at the airport with the cash. However, instead of the airport, the man requested to meet with her son at a wash bay in Timehri. The son acquiesced and met a man at the new location.
He said the man was dressed like a customs officer in black pants and a white shirt bearing an emblem. He also flashed a badge, similar to that of a police officer’s, she said.
He subsequently handed over the money and the jewelry and was instructed to continue to make his way to the airport. He was also instructed to seek out a Customs officer named Nicola.
However, before he could reach the airport, the son was called once more and told to instead head to Laparkan to uplift the items.
“When he call and tell me tha’ I start getting suspicious,” the woman said. She said she instantly called Laparkan and used a reference number given to her by the man who was supposedly her uncle. However, she was told that no package had been lodged at the business.
“That’s when I realized we had gotten conned. I had to call my son and tell him that it look like he get rob,” she said.
They later made a report to the police. They also called Digicel seeking information on the fraudster’s number. However, they were told by the company that the information could not be released.
The woman expressed hope that the police would have better luck in getting the information from the telecommunications company.
“Everybody is quarreling with me, telling me I shoulda do this or I shoulda do that but nobody was in my position at that time,” she said. She continued, “He was so insistent, saying how his luggage is going to get seized and all these things…I guess I feel sorry for he. I didn’t really think so far that this is somebody trying to make me a fool.”

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Disabled woman duped by telephone fraudster

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