Phone Scam Bilks More Than $4K from Lawrence Resident

An 83-year-old Springwood Drive resident lost more than $4,000 in a scam after someone called, said her son had been in an accident in Mexico and needed money to return home. 

The Lawrence resident said the person who called on April 23 said her son had damaged his rental car and couldn't return home until the repairs were made. 

The caller asked the woman to send a money gram via Western Union to Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Mexico City.

The resident sent the first payment, prompting up to nine subsequent phone calls. First the caller said the money hadn't come through and instructed her to send it to another Enterprise office- which she did. But when the resident called Western Union to get a refund on the first payment, she was told the payment had gone through and she couldn't get a refund. 

When she received yet another call asking for one final payment, she sent it. 

Three days after the woman had sent the first payment, her son called. He knew nothing about the phone calls and told his mother he hadn't been in Mexico. He told her to call the police. 

An investigation revealed that the phone calls came from a number in Quebec, Canada and the wire transfers did not go to Enterprise Rent-A-Car. 

Det. Caruso is investigating.