An elderly Omaha woman is taken for thousands of dollars by crooks promising millions. Her family wants to warn everyone of the high cost of elder scams and help us to protect older loved ones.
Linda cares for her grandchildren so their mother can attend nursing school. It's a big responsibility and one that Linda cherishes, but she is taking on even more responsibility. Linda is now keeping a close eye on her mother's finances after the 95-year-old was scammed.
"That is what is really sad is that you don't want to monitor them so they can't move, but you really need to see what is going on when they get older, what's happening with them."
Postal Inspectors caught the first attempt to send money to the crooks, but Linda's mom was determined to win the millions of dollars and a new car. The old woman got around the postal inspectors by gathering thousands of dollars in cash. "She sent all of that cash two days later in an overnight pouch down to this Jamaican address," says Linda.
That money is gone, as well as the money for the phone bills, but Linda says she believes the nightmare is over. Her mother's phone number has been changed and Linda and her husband think her mother finally understands the people calling her dozens of times a day weren't offering any prizes, they were taking her money.
"She's fine, she'll be okay. It was just a bump in the road that didn't need to happen right now, but she is going to be alright." Linda knows it’s not money that makes one happy, but it is important enough that it shouldn’t be wasted or given away.
Linda tells Channel 6 News that in most respects her mother is mentally alert. She recently passed her driver’s test and has a sharp memory. She believes two recent, small strokes may have caused her mother’s poor choices.
