Un Escroc, Escroquer, Une Escroquerie
: a con (scammer), to cheat, a fraud
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A DAY IN A FRENCH LIFE by Kristi Espinasse
Last Friday the 24th, after a day of celebration, I asked my husband if he'd talked to our daughter lately. "I tried calling earlier, but she didn't answer. Je vais réessayer," he said. Jackie still wasn't answering her mobile phone a moment later when, suddenly, she texted her dad back, and there began a series of cryptic messages….
…something about her being on the phone right now with social security
…something about a drug trafficker who'd gotten hold of her ss number
…something about identity theft
…something about the call being transferred, now, to the police
….something about her being implicated in a scheme if she didn't comply by staying on the phone
SOMETHING was clear amidst all the cryptic messaging: she was being warned not by a government official or the police, she was being manipulated and threatened by un escroc!
"Jackie, hang up. It's a scam! Raccroche! C'est un escroquerie!" Her dad texted back, en vain. The next text message came from me: JACKIE. THIS IS YOUR MOM! PICK UP THE PHONE!!!! When she didn't respond, I began texting Jackie's roommates. I called her boyfriend. Nobody knew a thing, everyone said they had not heard from her in a while.
When Jackie still would not answer the phone a chill ran down my spine. What if someone was with her? What if she'd been kidnapped? Le temps presse!! Jean-Marc get her on that phone!!!!" Lord help us! Lord help us! Lord help us! LORD! LORD! LORD!"
Suddenly, Jean-Marc broke through when our daughter picked up the phone and we learned what had transpired in the last 2 hours:
A LONG-DISTANCE HOLD-UP
Glued to her phone, in a state of panic and under specific directions of a scammer–our daughter left her apartment, took an Uber to the bank, withdrew her savings, got into another Uber, drove to a gas station, riffled through the cash to put part of it, with the help of a QR code the "police" gave her over the phone, in an ATM (it turned out to be a bitcoin ATM and it turns out that scammers use to extort money). Our daughter would have lost all her savings if it weren't for her phone battery running low on the long walk to the second dropoff point. That is when Jackie pleaded with the "police" to let her go and charge her phone. The "police" agreed, even suggesting she grab a snack before they called back… And just like that, the whole nightmare was over when she hung up.
HOW COULD THIS HAVE HAPPENED?
To understand how our daughter could have fallen for this scam, I should mention that last month, while returning to Miami from France, her social security card went missing. She had packed it in France, in her carry-on, and three days after arriving in Miami she realized the folder was nowhere to be found. For the next 4 weeks, she worried herself sick, and finally, her worst fears seemed to be coming true when the phone rang and a so-called government agent introduced herself. When she received the fateful call, she believed every word–and in under two hours, Jackie's hard-earned money was stolen from her. The rollercoaster ride wasn't over, because we now wanted our daughter home immediately. (To our relief, she arrived safely in Marseilles, yesterday.)
Having left France three years ago in pursuit of The American Dream, Jackie fled The Land of The Free, without her money, or a sense of security. What will she do next? She is not sure about anything at the moment, except that it feels good to be home.
PLEASE SHARE YOUR STORY
As Jackie recovers from this troubling experience, it would help for her to know she is not alone–and that anyone of any age or intelligence can fall for a scam and be a victim of extortion. Have you or has someone you know fallen for a scam–phone, email or otherwise? Please share related stories in the comments section below. Thank you!
FRENCH VOCABULARY
un escroc = a scammer, a con man, a cheat
escroquer = to scam, cheat, swindle
une escroquerie = a scam, a fraud, a rip-off
je vais réessayer = I'm going to try again
raccroche! = hang up!
en vain = to no avail
le temps presse! = time is of the essence!
blanchiment d'argent = money laundering
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Soooo glad that your daughter is safe at home!! Hopefully, she will come to know God’s plan for her life. Thank You Jesus for keeping her!!
God bless you all,
C-Marie
I’m so sorry about Jackie’s encounter with the scammers. As others have said, the US gov’t will only send a letter never call on the phone. Please notify them though that she has lost her SS card & will need a replacement or new #. I think getting a new # is not easy so after this trauma has passed, start that process. Best of luck to your family dear Kristi. Sincerely, Diane Arnold
These scam calls come through far too often, here in the US. I stopped answering my phone unless I recognize the number in the caller ID. And if they leave a VM message, saying they are from some government agency,or a credit card company, before returning the call, I look up the actual government agency or merchant phone number and call that number. If people pick up their phones and speak with the person saying they need “whatever” or they are the police or any entity, the rule is always ask for a callback number and their extension number and say you have to call them back. Typically they will just hang up on you.
I was in France last week and overheard a man from the UK traveling behind us in a parking shuttle van in Eze and he was telling his friend that he had received a voicemail message from his supposed credit card company listing off around 3 very large charges on his credit card account and they wanted him to call them back and confirm they were valid.The message stated he’d need his credit card number as a reference. Fortunately, he took that as a red flag, called his credit card company at the number on his card, and found there were no such charges.
I’m a senior so I occasionally get mail from Social Security and it always has a reminder that they will never call you for information. They will notify you in writing. This, in response to the calls many of us get telling us that our Social Security card has been used for an illegal crime and they need to assist us in resolving the issue. All scams.
It’s happening all over, apparently. I have a rule. If I receive a call and I suddenly find myself reaching for my credit card or my purse to give them money or information, it’s a scam. I ask for a callback number and they typically hang up.
Hopefully, she’ll consider this a lesson learned, and will never let it happen to her again.
Unfortunately, this is the world we live in.
All the best,
An Scott
How horrid for Jackie and all of you! Thank goodness she is home again and ready to recover from this trauma in your care. Good, honest people of all ages and all walks of life are targeted by these crooks all over our planet.
The worst price paid by victims is the self-doubt and undeserved shame for being fooled, allowing a seeming ‘official’ to control one’s behaviour. It’s such a hard way to learn a bit of healthy cynicism without losing one’s trust in most people who ARE good, honest, and kind.
Please hold Jackie close for me too, Kristi. Keep reminding her that SHE is not one whit at fault. These scammers are experts with amazing skills and tricks. Any one of us can fall prey when our emotions are manipulated by such wily crooks.
Jackie, do forgive yourself, and please accept our thanks for sharing your story. Every such gift of personal experience helps to alert and protect others. Great to have this info to remind my own family and friends to be sceptical of ‘officials’ who call or email them about some ’emergency’.
My email was hacked this week, and a false plea for money sent out to all my contacts. The fake message got through a few people’s spam filters and worried them about me. This event was minor compared to your ordeal, yet for sure, I’ll be freshly wary going forward.
Big hug to you, and to your parents and brother as well.
Dear Kristi,
Jackie is certainly not alone. I am so sorry she had to go through this, especially the interruption of her American experience. I don’t believe this was a function of her being located in the US. It happens to people in many countries.
We receive these scam calls many times a day. They come from India, where scam organizations are ubiquitous. The pattern to each call is the same and the content is repetitive. English is spoken, always with a Hindi accent. I challenge the “agents” and they usually cut me off or…call me nasty names. Searching the subject on the internet brings up interesting evidence of their scamming.
It is so important to bring awareness to this issue. Perhaps Jackie’s story will keep others from falling into this situation. I hope she can eventually shake this off and emerge okay and ready to move on. I hope she hasn’t completely lost trust in others. Not everyone is mal-intended. May she find safety and solace at home.
Quel cauchemar! I’m glad the scammer was unable to complete the scam!
My sister-in-law’s mother was almost the victim of this kind of scam. When she asked her daughter to help her transfer money out of her bank account, her daughter realized what was happening and got her to end the phone call and nothing was lost. It was a scare for them all to realize how easily one can be taken advantage of. Unfortunately, this is the price we pay for living in the digital age. It seems as if nothing is safe, and because the scammers are faceless, they feel no guilt in destroying people’s personal security and in shattering their faith in humanity, not to mention taking their hard-earned money. What a way to learn that life is not fair….
We recently got a call with that exact script from someone claiming to be our grandson. The unfamiliar voice was even explained by the “broken nose.” My quick-witted husband came up with some questions that exposed the scam, but it was disturbing how much this caller knew about us and our family. It’s really sad that people so clever are using their skill to cheat others when they could be doing something positive with it.
I was called for jury duty. I have a kidney condition that requires frequent bathroom breaks so I need a medical excuse. I filed the excuse electronically before we traveled to Europe. We were now returning home. There was a voicemail saying something about my medical excuse not having been approved and I had to call a number immediately or be in contempt. Of course I panicked. But I stopped myself from calling until I checked my status on line. My excuse had been approved. I concluded the scammer worked inside the court system and had access to jury selection records. How would anyone know I was called for duty and asked for an excuse! I’m sure the goal was to get me to say my social security number. Sadly I called the court to report the scam but no one seemed to care. So scary all this info is available. I’ve no interest in Facebook.
Hi Kristi,
What a horrible shock for you all and thank goodness Jackie is safe!
I’ve had many variable scam attempts made on me, the spookiest being where someone hacked my Facebook account and pretended to be one of my friends asking for financial support. Unfortunately for the scammer, I speak to my UK friend on the phone weekly and knew that he would not ask me for help in this way. I immediatelyI rang my friend and confirmed that indeed his FaceBook details were being fraudulently used. Given that I had the tightest security in place, and rarely posted anything on Facebook, I decided that deleting my account was the smartest thing to do….in fact I no longer have any social media accounts to temp fate. My girlfriend had her reputable (and expensive) online dating site hacked – the hacker/potential scammer was sending messages to both men and women on the site – he would just use another man or woman’s photo with a different name – and he would send the same message to everyone, but just tweak it to be either from a man or from a woman. Once he made contact with a woman, he would then get them onto Skype, without video of course, and try to exhort money from them. Let’s just say his voice and speech pattern came from the African continent, most likely. We girls had a good laugh at the scammers expense one night, as unbeknownst to him, we were all crowded around the computer listening as my girlfriend asked him specific questions and got him into a very tight corner with his continual lies – that’s when another male voice in the background could be heard pushing him to get off Skype! We then had the pleasure of telling him he had been recorded, and reported to all of the relevant agencies. At which point, he became very nasty. We clicked off and deleted my friend’s Skype account.
Unfortunately, these experiences leave a very nasty taste in one’s mouth, however I know in my heart that the vast majority of humans globally are decent, kind, loving and honest.
Hi Kristi,
Last year I got a call from a man saying that he and my husband had a small car crash, but that my husband was fine. The man said his brother who was on parole and recently released from prison was with him in the car. They didn’t want police involved. Supposedly my husband tried to call the police from his cell but the man’s brother took my husband’s phone away. Their solution was for me to come with money
Luckily I was in my kitchen on my cell, but I had my land line close by so called my husband at work. He thankfully answered right away (which hardly ever happens). I can’t express how nervous I was when I heard the story, and even though I was suspicious I think I may have followed through if my husband hadn’t answered.
Hi Kristi and Jackie -I hope from all the above that you see this is not an uncommon incident. My husband, who is normally very discerning, fell for a scam which claimed he needed to get a money card from our local drugstore to “protect” our Apple services immediately! When he went to purchase it, the clerk (praise him!) asked, “Are you sure you want to do that?” Thus we were saved by a person as opposed to a dead cell phone. As a widow, I get all kinds of calls from “Social Security” (which NEVER calls), “Apple,” wanting to save my account”:by going online, “Amazon,” wanting to get information to “correct a suspicious charge,” etc. Terrible to say, but if the person leaving a message (because I don’t answer unrecognized numbers anymore ) has a very heavy accent, then I suspect it might be a scam operation in a foreign country, where scams are in full force, vigilantly at work in warehouses of telephone operators who case the whole planet for the vulnerable – young, old, and uninformed. I hope Jackie has not lost her taste for the joy of travel, living out life experiences in new countries (like the US!) because of the actions of a despicable person or group. Don’t give them power over you, Jackie. Learn, live, regroup and go forth! As I could tell by your dead cell phone, God is watching over you. ❤️Janet
I was scammed in June this year, while in hospital after an accident. I know about scammers and never thought it would happen – maybe painkillers altered my brain (I had a head injury). I was told my Pay Pal account had money taken from it and if I wanted ‘the bank’ to return it, I would need to give them my numbers. Foolishly I did – and lost $5,000!
These things happen so easily and always catch you off-guard.
Jackie has no reason to be embarrassed about this. They are profesional scammers and only target good people who trust.
I really feel for her – I have gone through all the emotions – but in the end, you must forgive yourself. You were so lucky that your phone died – count that as a blessing.
Sending love.
I’m so sorry to hear this happened to Jackie. I’m glad she is back home again for awhile. Something similar happened to my mom several years ago. Someone contacted her saying her granddaughter had gone to Mexico over spring break and she’d gotten arrested and needed $1000. They even had someone that sounded like a young woman crying in the background. My mom was given instructions as to where to send the money and she wasn’t to tell anyone else in case the granddaughter wouldn’t be released from jail. Unfortunately, my mom fell for it and $1000. was stolen from her. Such crooks! I’m so sorry Jackie that there are such people in the world. I can’t begin to relate to cheating and stealing from others. Bless you!
Hi Kristi,
I am so sorry it happened to Jackie!
When several years ago I worked for the State The General Attorney sent us a letter warning about sings of crook activities and suggestions of how to avoid identity theft problems. Some of them are:
1. NEVER leave any papers (bills, letters, statements, etc.) on the table at home when you are going somewhere.
2. Always SHRED all papers that you throw away. There was a picture in the General Attorney’s letter showing people digging in a trash, taking out papers. And I’ve personally seen a man digging in the dumpster at our apartment complex. He pretended being looking for aluminum cans but actually was reading some papers from the dumpster. I told our manager about him and she forced him away from the complex, but after a while he appeared again.
3. Always check you credit card statements for every single transaction. If any transaction is different, compare to your records (even if this is just a few cents) call that company or go to their office and tell them about it. Such people at first add a little to your bill and watch your reaction. If you don’t bother to do anything about it next time your bill will be much bigger.
4. NEVER keep your papers in a suitcase when you leave a house, hotel, etc. It just seems to you that if you locked the baggage with a coded lock, nobody can open it and take your stuff. They can open everything. You can leave something only in a well- built big safe, not in that funny little box you can buy in Wal-Mart that they can easily open with a pin.
Such crooks are everywhere. If you are careful, observant and take care of your things you can avoid a lot of problems.
Jackie, I wish you to get over that stress as soon as possible and move on. There are much more honest and good people in the world, then crooks. And those guys will get theirs sooner or later. Thank God, you have such a good supportive family and this is what counts.
GOOD LUCK to all of you, guys!
Kristi & Jackie,
What a scary thing to go through! Especially when you realize your folder of paperwork is missing and someone out there has your personal information! Thankful she is home and praying for peace, healing & help in securing her information.
Several years ago, we were traveling to Southern California for our son’s wedding & were looking for a place to rent near the beach for a mini-vacation after the wedding with family. After checking Air B & B and the other rental sites, I decided to check Craigslist. I thought I had found the perfect place, sent the deposits, but as the time came closer, all communication with the ‘owner’ stopped. It turns out it was a ‘fake ad’, there was no place to rent so we had no place to stay and were out a couple thousand dollars! But it gets worse … when we got home we filed a complaint with the FCC and were then contacted by the police in this city. Turns out the couple was part of an organized crime ring that had been scamming people out of money for quite some time! While they were caught & taken to court (and hopefully put in jail!), they had spent all the money so there was nothing to recoup and repay those that had been scammed.
A lesson learned by this 50-something mom who is usually a pretty savvy travel planner! Like Jackie, though, we were thankful we didn’t walk into a situation that jeopardized our physical safety, even if we were shaken and sad to have lost so much money. At the end of the day, it’s only money, and while nice to have, certainly our lives and family are of much more value 🙂
Hugs!
Dear Kristi: Certainly Jackie should feel no shame. These scams are happening all over the world; our bank account was recently hacked to the tune of $3,000.00. Had no idea this was happening; we had to change bank account numbers, e-mail info & filed fraud info. Thank goodness all the money was put back; but, it was very frightening; especially, when people don’t have the means that some others have. thank goodness Jackie wasn’t harmed or anything more serious & happy, too, that she is safely back home! It was a great try on her part & very brave of her; in the end, her safety & life are all that’s important! Stay safe & healthy, A biento, Ann
So so very sorry for Jackie and all her family. When our daughter had some misadventures we always said, “it was only money, at least everyone is safe.” So glad Jackie is safe and home.
I can relate to your experience Kristi. Our college-age daughter was traveling with friends in Spain. She called us from the Ramblas in Barcelona. In the middle of a pleasant conversation about her travels, she suddenly said, “I have to go now, I think I’m being robbed.” Click. it was a very anxious time before we heard from her again, But it was only money and she was safe.
Hope Jackie is relaxing after her ordeal.
The IRS scammers will leave threatening voice messages.
Glad she is safe at home,
Hi Kristi,
I was close once when ‘the fraud division’ from my bank called me early one Monday morning telling me that there were two withdrawals from my account during the weekend (done by my son) somewhere in China! They wanted to help me retrieve it, but during the conversation I realised the truth!
So sorry for poor Jackie.
Another reason to NOT go to Florida,although I am sure it happens all over the US. I wonder if France or UK or other countries have this problem. So very sorry this happened to Jackie, who now probably hates the USA. It makes me sick to read this from the Paris apt I am in for vacation. I have some robocall program that every call gets blocked. I get plenty of spam calls every day, but they are blocked. I hope she recovers and keeps a positive attitude!
Thank God Jackie is OK and the scam didn’t get completed. It’s so sad when our innocent and trusting kids have painful (and scary) life lessons like this. The sad truth as evidenced by all of the stories above is that these scammers are skilled and very convincing. My mom got scammed for $1000 for a fire wall-we actually were able to call the scammer back and he had the gall to defend his actions. This was the second time this happened to her- they were very convincing. It’s an unfortunate reality and Jackie is not alone. Nevertheless, how upsetting.. I pray for perspective and peace for all of you.
My husband and I each get at least 3 scam calls a day on our own cell phones. Usually claiming to be the IRS or SSA. Or our bank. We know now to just hang up immediately and then block them, which seems to do no good. But at first, it really scared me. So many scammers and just plain Not very good people here in this country (USA) now, it shames me. I don’t know what is happening to this country, but it’s gotten out of hand. I am so glad Kristen is home with you now, safe and secure. Horrible experience for anyone to go through but especially someone her age that is not even in her home country. Everyone has a right to feel safe and this just breaks my heart for her, and you. I don’t feel safe here anymore either.
I agree but remember many of the scammers are from different countries, not in the US.
I’m so sorry for what happened to Jackie, but experience is the best teacher, and I’m sure it won’t happen again. Once those scammers get on your trail, they will keep on it. My driver’s license was stolen, and a credit card was taken too, but I didn’t notice the missing credit card right away. Then some fraudulent charges were made through an AT&T store in Texas (I live in Georgia). The credit card company first took the charges off but later put them back on. I sent them some documentation, but they didn’t mention a police report. The credit card people didn’t answer. I called the offices of Clark Howard who has a newsletter and helps people with financial matters. His representative told me to file a police report and send it to the credit card’s Fraud Dept. I’m in my 80’s and have COPD, so, it’s tough, but I’m gonna fight.
Oh, so sorry! A good friend, much older than your daughter and sophisticated enough to know better, got scammed recently. The scammers somehow got her credit card number from a
legitimate monthly payment she makes, told her she was the victim of a scam, and somehow convinced her to buy several Apple Play cards worth hundreds of dollars to resolve the problem. Finally, she did call both her bank and the credit card to put an end to all the nonsense. The credit card company has credited the charges, but the bank was dragging their feet, claiming she made the charges of her own free will, and they would not reimburse her for them. It amounted to about $2,000 total, I believe. I’m not certain how it’s been resolved. People like this are just terrible!
Dear Kristi, I’m so sorry Jackie was duped by those rotten people, and judging by all the responses you have gotten, this is a widespread crime. Every other day I get an email thanking me for investing in some strange company, and thanks to having had my identity stolen a few years ago, I know to just delete the email, like you should just hang up a weird call. Cybercrime is one of the unfortunate sides of the internet. So thankful she made it home safely!!
I fancy myself being tech savvy and smart, and I was taken in by a similar scam.
I received a call on my mobile from someone claiming to be with my carrier. He said there was some questionable activity and wanted to verify for me that my phone number hadn’t been stolen. He said he would send me a number in a text and all I had to do was verify it.
Long story short, I verified it, the person on the phone was doing a password recovery on my account, and used that to steal my carrier account password. Not a minute after falling for it I realized what I did, went to the carrier’s nearest kiosk, and locked the guy out before he could buy phones with my name.
Myself and friends receive scammer calls almost weekly. They’ve increased in Australia at least, since Covid emerged and these awful people crawl out from under a rock to cash in on trusting people. It seems it’s our innocent trust that make us vulnerable….but they would only catch a person once. It’s important to share these experiences to make us all the more aware and prevent it from happening at all. Now if I receive a dodgy call I say fine, I’ll phone the tax dept or the police back on their general number and speak to them directly. I never react to an incoming call or provide information of any kind. My experience is that if it feel “odd” it’s because it is. Hang up and verify.
This is sickening! I too became victim of ID theft. I learned about it only when I went to apply for disability insurance last year after back surgery. I discovered then that a year earlier someone had applied for both unemployment benefits and disability insurance with the government using my id, and they got away with $10K!!! I would have not known had I not applied.
The ID theft happened when Experian’s database got hacked, you might recall that happening; and here, I was paying Experian, one of the three credit reporting agencies, for data protection. I got $5 from the class action lawsuit against Experian.
Long-story short, the story is not over. I had to freeze my credit, I have to fill out a police report, file with government and federal trade commission, and I still have not received what the government owes me, the REAL ME, for disability insurance.
It sucks…tell Jackie I am sorry she had this experience in US…