ROCKBRIDGE CO., Va. – UPDATE:
The Lexington Dollar General has received recognition for its clerk’s quick thinking in preventing a scam. The story has been tracked by 10 News for several weeks.
The clerk at the Lexington Dollar General stopped a woman from purchasing gift cards as part of a jury duty scam. In recognition of this action, the store received the Lexington Police Department’s Citizens Award for their assistance.
Police emphasize that businesses staying alert are crucial for maintaining community safety.
“Because individuals have to go into these merchants to purchase gift cards,” Angela Greene, the City of Lexington’s Chief of Police said, “if the merchants take more of a proactive stance, like the Dollar General, and ask a few questions, and if it is suspicious, contact us. We’d rather come out and talk to the individuals and make sure that they are making a legitimate purpose or purchase rather than a fraudulent purchase.”
The Lexington Police Department advises that if you receive a suspicious phone call, you should hang up and call the business or organization directly to confirm its legitimacy.
A Rockbridge County woman was just moments away from losing a thousand dollars in a jury duty scam — but an alert clerk helped keep that from happening.
And the sheriff tells us she’s not the only potential victim. Dollar stores are intended to save you some money, and Paula Martin is thankful she chose the right one.
“I said, look, you just saved me $1,000,” Martin said.
She went to a store in Lexington after she says a man claiming to be a police officer told her she was in trouble for missing jury duty. But if she bought two $500 gift cards and dropped them off at the police station, she said the man told her all would be forgiven and she would get her money back.
“And I thought, this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Martin said. “But then there are dumb things going on in the world.”
Martin says she was still on the phone with the man when she got to the Dollar General and told the clerk what she needed to buy. The clerk advised her to mute the call and shared what had happened to another woman who was asked to do the same thing.
“I unmuted him and said, ‘I was just told that another lady came in to get a $500 gift certificate, was told she would be reimbursed, and never was,’” Martin said. “And the phone went. And he was gone. And I felt suddenly like I had woken up from a bad dream. It was shocking.”
Rockbridge County and City of Lexington Sheriff Tony McFaddin says this type of scam is becoming all too common. But he says the clerk’s quick actions show their message about being on the lookout for scams is getting through.
“We hope that before people fall victim to this, they do talk to somebody else,” McFaddin said. “They do get a second opinion — ‘Do you think this is real? Do you think this is a scam?’ Because 99 out of 100 times, it usually is. So she was very lucky that she found the right person that talked her out of meeting their demands.”
Martin later returned to the store to thank the clerk. As for the would-be scammer, Martin said she feels a mix of disbelief and sympathy.
“I don’t know why he would do that,” she said. “I feel sorry for him. I feel sorry that he has to do something that takes advantage of other people and is inappropriate.”