This week I received a call from a woman in our area who told me about a new government program that helps elderly people with their expenses. The program sent her mother, who lives in North Dakota, $150,000 in cash! Obviously a scam.

I pride myself in being able to spot various scams with ease. This particular call really got my attention, not only because of the amount of money involved, but because the caller seemed very sincere. After questioning her, I became more concerned for the safety of her mom who, according to the daughter, had $150,000 in cash in her home. “Does she actually have $150,000 in cash in the house?” The daughter empathically replied “yes.” I had visions of an older lady alone in her parlor with a pile of money on the coffee table.

“How did she actually receive the money?” I asked. The daughter explained that it was entirely legitimate and safe. Two couriers delivered the money to her mom in an armored truck, just like you sometimes see at the grocery store. Turns out, the mother had to pay for the courier service — $2,000. The daughter assured me the entire transaction was legitimate. She’d called the telephone number her mom gave her — the government office giving away the money. The person who answered the phone assured the daughter that the program was real and all she had to do was register by phone and transfer $2,000 for the courier service and she too would receive $150,000! Bingo, there’s the scam!

I told her not to send any money. First she should call her mom and have her mom call the local police and escort her to the bank, with the cash. The bank could them determine if the money was real and if so, secure it. The daughter said she would and within five minutes called me back laughing.

When she reached her mom by phone, her mother had no idea what the daughter was talking about. It turns out mom and daughter regularly communicated through Facebook’s Instant Messaging text feature. In confirming all the information, they had never actually talked by phone. A scammer had “hacked” the mother’s Facebook account and was sending Instant Messages to all mom’s Facebook friends informing them of her good fortune and telling them how they too could take advantage of the government giveaway. They could call and verify the program, send off their $2,000 and then receive their $150,000 grant money. Scam uncovered. Nobody hurt.

I felt rather smug in uncovering a well-designed scam and saving the daughter from losing a couple grand. As the late great Paul Harvey used to say, though, here’s the rest of the story.

Later that morning I was speaking at a meeting about consumerism. Prior to the actual meeting a friend of mine in the audience came up to me laughing about the Instant Facebook message I sent him the night before about the $150,000 Federal Grant Program. It turns out MY Facebook account had been hacked, and I sent out the same bogus message to my closest 823 friends telling them of my good fortune. Color me embarrassed! After the meeting I went home, changed my Facebook password and posted the scam on my Facebook page. LESSON: Scammers and crooks can target anyone, including Consumer Guys.

JURY DUTY SCAM: A man called this week and told me he had been scammed by a caller identifying himself, by name, as a deputy sheriff in Kootenai County. The “deputy” explained that the citizen had ignored a “jury recall notice” sent to him. The man had served on a jury months ago. The “deputy” informed him in strictest terms and tones that a warrant had been issued for his immediate arrest. The “deputy” assured the citizen the warrant was legitimate and provided the citizen with a local number for the Kootenai County Sherriff’s Office so the existence of the warrant could be easily confirmed. The citizen called and confirmed the warrant.

The “officer” who confirmed the warrant explained the Sheriff’s Office worked with a bail bondsman and to avoid immediate arrest and incarceration, the citizen could post a bond ensuring his appearance before the judge in the morning. The citizen posted a $2,000 bond by sending the bail bondsman, that night, $2,000 in money orders. The next morning a call to the real Sheriff’s Office confirmed it had been a scam. The number provided the night before was disconnected, as was the number to the fake bail bondsman.

LESSON: Law enforcement rarely calls you to warn you of an impending arrest. Law enforcement does not have “special relationships” with bail bondsmen. Don’t send money orders off at night. Wait until regular hours, look up the real number of the law enforcement department and call them. If necessary, go down to the office yourself. Most of these calls come after regular office hours or on weekends making it more difficult to check out. Don’t fall for this one.

The Better Business Bureau (509) 455-4200, and the Idaho Attorney General's Office (800) 432-3545, are great resources but The Coeur d’Alene Press, through me, The Consumer Guy, offers our community a unique opportunity to check out scams 24/7. When in doubt call me. We’re here for you. Let’s protect and educate each other.

Stay tuned — Next week I’ll focus on the local Veterans Administration Hospital. It will be very interesting.

I have many more interesting cases that I’m working on as The CDA Press Consumer Guy. Call me at (208) 449-7222, email me at CDAPressConsumerGuy

@gmail.com or fax me at (866) 362-9266. Also include your full name and a phone number. I am available to speak about consumerism to schools, and local and civic groups.

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Bill Brooks is the CDA Press Consumer Guy. He is an active Associate Real Estate Broker for Tomlinson-Sotheby’s International Realty in Coeur d’Alene.