We Were Both Going to Get Scammed

I thank God we realized what was happening

Photo by Junior REIS on Unsplash

Yesterday I was driving home from work when I received a phone call. The screen in the car only shows the number, not the name. Had I not been driving, I would have seen that it was labeled “Potential Spam.” I do not answer those calls. I recognized the country code from Mexico. We have lots of family in Mexico, so I answered. The woman on the phone started speaking to me in a very friendly manner. She asked how I was and how the family was. She sounded so familiar that I started speaking to her. She said You know who this is, right?

I said yes of course. I figured it was my cousin Maria. She then told me that she’s in Albuquerque. She said she went to buy a vehicle and would be driving back to Mexico tomorrow. She said she would like to stop by and say hello on her way back. Albuquerque is only 4 hours away by car.

She said she would call me in the morning at about 6 AM when she’s leaving so that I can have an idea what time she would be here. She said maybe we can go out for brunch. I told her that was fine. She asked me if I wanted anything from Albuquerque. I said no. She told me to ask my husband if he wanted anything. He said no.

As soon as I got home, I started cleaning the house. My daughter and her husband and kids had just left that morning after visiting for almost 2 weeks. The house was a disaster.

The next morning at 8 AM I had still not heard from her. Then I remembered that she hadn’t been to our new house. We had moved a few years ago and she has only been to the old house. Because she was driving, I didn’t want to call her. I decided to send her a message on Messenger, so that she could read it during a stop. I told her that we had moved since the last time she was here and sent her my new address.

She replied almost immediately. She said she was glad we had a new house. I told her we down-sized to a very small house. She said that’s nice, it will be easier to clean. I asked her what time she was arriving.

She told me she’ll come visit us soon. She said she was currently at work. I asked her if she was in Albuquerque. She said of course not.

I then asked her if she called me yesterday and she said no. That’s when my husband and I realized that someone was trying to scam me. A short while later, the phone rang and it was the same number from Mexico labeled Potential Spam. I gave my husband the phone.

When he answered, she told him she had just passed Truth or Consequences and would be here in a couple of hours. He asked her Who is this? She said it was Maria. He said OK.

Then he asked her, “What’s your last name?” She hung up.

Now we knew for sure that it was all a scam.

I’m not sure what they were up to. My husband said he suspects she may have planned to call later to say the car had broken down to lure me.

I thought that maybe she would want me to meet her for brunch and then I would get robbed or worse.

I’m just glad I messaged my cousin. If not, who knows what could’ve happened. I think God was looking out for us.

My husband reminded me about this same thing happening to him a few months ago. He received a call from Mexico that also said Potential Spam. He doesn’t have family in Mexico, but he does have several customers there. He answered it. The man on the line started talking to him like he knew him. He asked him how he was, and how the family was. He asked him how his brother was doing. That’s when my husband got suspicious. How would a customer know he has a brother?

My husband then asked who he was.

He said Don’t you recognize me? I’m your uncle. Your favorite uncle. That’s when my husband knew it was a scam. My husband is almost 70, and his brother is in his 80s. Their uncles are all dead.

My husband hung up the phone and he never received a call from that number again.

These people never say their name. They want you to guess who they are, and that’s how they trick you. I’m glad we both were able to figure it out.

It’s scary to think of what could have happened. We won’t be playing any more guessing games with scammers.