Spokane7
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March 29, 2010 in City
Walmart clerks save Millwood woman from grandparents scam
Alyce Bailey is thankful that her grandson, Levi Hess, was driving a forklift at Spalding Auto Parts in Spokane Valley on Tuesday and not in a Canadian jail, as a telephone caller had nearly convinced her.
(Full-size photo)
Alyce Bailey wants others to avoid the trouble she encountered last week when she nearly fell victim to a swindle known as the grandparents scam.
Bailey was so fooled by the telephone caller that she was sobbing and ready to wire $4,200 to a supposed lawyer in Canada, she said.
Fortunately for her, the scenario raised red flags for the money-counter clerks at Walmart in Spokane Valley – where Bailey went to purchase a money order – and they convinced Bailey to do a double-check.
She did. She never sent the money, and now she is thankful to the store staff.
“I want to make it well known,” she said in an interview last week. “If I could be duped, other people could be duped, too.”
In fact, law officers said the scam works all too often.
Last fall, a Spokane woman told The Spokesman-Review she was bilked out of $17,000 in a similar scam.
Bailey, a regular newspaper reader, said she must have missed the story about that woman’s loss.
Here’s what happened:
On Tuesday, Bailey, of Millwood, said she received a phone call and the man on the other end of the line said, “Hello, Grandma.”
She responded by saying, “Hello, Levi.”
The man then assumed Levi’s identity and explained that he had flown to Montreal, Canada, on a bargain flight to see a sporting event and that on the way back to his room, he and a friend got into an accident. He further explained he’d had two drinks and had been arrested. He said he had some bumps and bruises and that his friend needed stitches.
She said the man also explained that he had a sore throat, in an apparent attempt to conceal the problem of having a different voice.
He said he needed money, and he needed it fast so he could get out of jail and catch his return flight later that day.
Bailey, 73, said she should have suspected she was being duped right then. For one, her grandson doesn’t drink.
But she said her emotions took over.
The man instructed her to obtain a money order and address it to a supposed attorney. He said he would call back later to get the receipt number at a specified time.
The man also told her not to tell anyone else about the arrangement.
She and her husband, Glenn Bailey, went to the Walmart at 15727 E. Broadway Ave., where the clerks recognized the scam and strongly suggested she make an attempt to reach the grandson independently, she said.
Bailey called the grandson’s workplace, and he was there.
Back at home, Bailey took the last of two return calls from the swindler and told him she knew he was lying and hung up.
Bailey said she notified the sheriff’s office, but they told her the attempted crime would not be investigated.
A Walmart spokeswoman said that clerks are trained to watch out for scams and try to work with customers to discern their situations.
“Thank God for the ladies at Walmart,” Bailey said. The swindler “had me hook, line and sinker.”
Returning farmland to a state of nature 
mikewsu on March 29 at 7:04 a.m.
“Bailey said she notified the sheriff’s office, but they told her the attempted crime would not be investigated.”
Great job!
spokanada on March 29 at 8:33 a.m.
out of all stories that hit the newsroom they decided that this one needed a picture.
eagleproducer on March 29 at 8:44 a.m.
Never underestimate the power of wrinkles.
That’s right next to “if it bleeds it leads” in Journalism 101 texts!
horse_feathers on March 29 at 10:28 a.m.
The Sheriff’s Office is busy with it’s emphasis patrols that envolve several deputies writing tickets for minor traffic infractions and other such revenue producing offenses. As a result grandma is victimized again.
The real crime in this story is being committed by the Sheriff.
misjustice on March 29 at 10:32 a.m.
Good looking out ladies at Wal-Mart…
Maybe grandma should contact our caring Attorney General, Rob McKenna. It is the AG’s job to investigate these types of crimes, when they aren’t busy trying to nullify federal laws to promote a personal political bid, that is!
horse_feathers on March 29 at 10:41 a.m.
No, it’s the Sheriff’s job, you just want to work your political agenda into the conversation
smarg on March 29 at 11:09 a.m.
Hey, look how worthless the highly paid sherriff’s office is. They are too busy to investigate because they are cyberslacking on public computers.
SugarShane on March 29 at 11:10 a.m.
Um sorry to dissapoint, but the story says the caller was in Canada, or at least thats where the money goes. Sorry but the sheriffs office doesnt handle international crime, that would be the FBI.
horse_feathers on March 29 at 11:18 a.m.
It starts with the local sheriiff’s office doing their job to at least determine the initial facts by doing some initial investigative work, If it is determined that it is a federal case it will then be referred up, but according to the story this poor grandmother was just told no investigation would take place.
misjustice on March 29 at 11:20 a.m.
Yeah, Sugar Shane or the Attorneys General office…
And last I knew, the only one monitoring this public blog (besides the SR which is their right/responsibility) is the corporate mouth piece Dan, Dan, the Corporate Answer Man!
And even Dan is only on pages that relate to Avista…
west on March 29 at 7:18 p.m.
I guess a little ‘common sense’ would be to call the son or wife..first! Gads these grandparents aren’t 90 years old and senile!
misjustice on March 29 at 7:40 p.m.
And horsefeathers seems to be grinding an ax of his own against the Sheriff.
The important point of this story, as I see it, is whenever someone gets a plea for money that they need to verify that the person calling for help is really who they say they are.
Again, kudos to the Wal-Mart ladies for looking out for a fellow human being!
horse_feathers on March 30 at 9:28 a.m.
misjustice is failing to see the obvious misjustice, how ironic
rbman on March 30 at 10:02 p.m.
misjustice- seriously?? the attorney general investigating an attempted phone hoax?
Sauce on March 31 at 10:59 p.m.
As a former employee of the Washington State Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Office, I can tell you that the AG’s office (though likely not Mr. McKenna himself) can and does investigate hoaxes and scams of all types.
Sauce on March 31 at 11:06 p.m.
If you are a victim of a hoax, scam, or are otherwise victimized by unfair business practices or advertisements, you can reach the Spokane office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection Division at (509) 458-3509. Even if they are unable to intervene directly, they are an exellent resource to assist you in contacting any agency that can provide assistance. If you are suspicous of a business’s practices, you can call the Consumer Resource Center, and though they cannot tell you if anyone has called in a complaint of the business, they can tell you if the AG has taken any legal action against them.
misjustice on April 01 at 1:40 a.m.
Thank you, Sauce!
Hcklbery on April 01 at 4:40 p.m.
“Bailey said she notified the sheriff’s office, but they told her the attempted crime would not be investigated”.
I guess it pays better to install red light cams than investigate an actual crime so the donut inspection tradition can continue unabated…..
rterrylynch on April 05 at 8:15 a.m.
I don’t comprehend how folks can buy in to a phone call without checking with others in the family. I’m sorry this lady was so overwhelmed with the baloney but my goodness one can’t be that ripe for picking and still function. I suppose we should never be surprised at the outcome of smooth talkers and the everyday citizen. Congratulations to the Wal Mart staff, many kudos. As for the responsibility of the Sheriff’s office to spend tax dollars chasing such criminals, sorry, not my tax dollars to attempt to save folks that just don’t think things through. An adult has to be responsible for guarding their own personal assets. If not, where do you draw the line?