Miss-Delectable
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WLTX-TV News, Weather, Sports for Columbia and the Midlands of South Carolina
A Calhoun County couple says they were almost the victims of a well-known internet scam that seems to be targeting the hearing-impaired.
Richard and Holly Wegman are both deaf, and use their computer as a way to communicate with other hearing-impaired people around the world. They frequently log on to Deafconnect.com, a resource center and social networking site.
“We use it to find good friends,” Richard Wegman said, using sign language at his home Sunday.
But Wegman says a few weeks ago, he met someone whose intentions were hardly friendly:
His family tells us a chat room visitor to Deafconnect.com posing as a hearing-impaired person tried to get the Wegmans involved in a scam.
“Deaf people trust other deaf people. It's a very tight knit community,” said Holly Wegman’s father Ken Zenauskas.
He says the online “friend” begged the Wegmans to let her send them $2,500 in Wal-Mart money orders. The instructions were for the Wegmans to cash the certificates, and then send the money overseas to Nigeria, where the scammer said she needed the money to fly to the U.S.
Thinking it was a fellow hearing-impaired person in need, the Wegmans agreed, and the scammer sent the money orders.
Last Friday Holly received an envelope with no return address containing three money orders and instructions on how to cash them.
“You hear all the time about scams and I know this was a scam,” Zenauskas said.
Luckily, Holly asked her parents to check it out. The Zenauskas called Wal-Mart where they were told the money orders that matched those routing numbers had been cashed several months ago.
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs officials told us they have no doubt this was a typical scam.
But what frustrates this family is the deception behind it.
“It seems like people like to pray on the weaker,” Zenauskas said.
The Wegmans tore up the money orders, but the incident has left them wary.
“Sad and scared,” Richard says. “Because you think it’s real.”
“Deaf people trust deaf people; it’s a very tight knit community. When that trust is violated, it really puts a damper on the whole community,” echoed Zenauskas.
Officials with the Department of Consumer Affairs warn that this type of scam applies to everybody, not only the handicapped. Here are their tips on what to do if you think you may be interacting with an online scam artist:
- If in a chat room stop chatting immediately, or break off all communication.
- Save any evidence: that includes mailings, and online documents or conversations.
- Report the problem to the Secret Service: the agency that investigates these types of scams.
A Calhoun County couple says they were almost the victims of a well-known internet scam that seems to be targeting the hearing-impaired.
Richard and Holly Wegman are both deaf, and use their computer as a way to communicate with other hearing-impaired people around the world. They frequently log on to Deafconnect.com, a resource center and social networking site.
“We use it to find good friends,” Richard Wegman said, using sign language at his home Sunday.
But Wegman says a few weeks ago, he met someone whose intentions were hardly friendly:
His family tells us a chat room visitor to Deafconnect.com posing as a hearing-impaired person tried to get the Wegmans involved in a scam.
“Deaf people trust other deaf people. It's a very tight knit community,” said Holly Wegman’s father Ken Zenauskas.
He says the online “friend” begged the Wegmans to let her send them $2,500 in Wal-Mart money orders. The instructions were for the Wegmans to cash the certificates, and then send the money overseas to Nigeria, where the scammer said she needed the money to fly to the U.S.
Thinking it was a fellow hearing-impaired person in need, the Wegmans agreed, and the scammer sent the money orders.
Last Friday Holly received an envelope with no return address containing three money orders and instructions on how to cash them.
“You hear all the time about scams and I know this was a scam,” Zenauskas said.
Luckily, Holly asked her parents to check it out. The Zenauskas called Wal-Mart where they were told the money orders that matched those routing numbers had been cashed several months ago.
The South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs officials told us they have no doubt this was a typical scam.
But what frustrates this family is the deception behind it.
“It seems like people like to pray on the weaker,” Zenauskas said.
The Wegmans tore up the money orders, but the incident has left them wary.
“Sad and scared,” Richard says. “Because you think it’s real.”
“Deaf people trust deaf people; it’s a very tight knit community. When that trust is violated, it really puts a damper on the whole community,” echoed Zenauskas.
Officials with the Department of Consumer Affairs warn that this type of scam applies to everybody, not only the handicapped. Here are their tips on what to do if you think you may be interacting with an online scam artist:
- If in a chat room stop chatting immediately, or break off all communication.
- Save any evidence: that includes mailings, and online documents or conversations.
- Report the problem to the Secret Service: the agency that investigates these types of scams.
