OPINION: Scams and scammers can be among us

Scams and scammers are now part of our lives. Daily they appear on our phones and computers or through the mail. We learn to recognize and ignore them for the sake of personal financial safety. But what happens when the scam comes in the form of a friend or family member? Are we as leery? Unfortunately not. The following is a true story. Only the names have been changed.

We have known Carol and her late husband Bill for over 40 years, nice people always willing to help. They had an immaculate little house, garden and woodworking shop in the village, turning out lovely work. Many visited the shop and were always warmly greeted.

Over 10 years ago, May, who lived three concessions north, visited, got to know the couple and became good friends with them. Carol called her a best friend, enjoying a fellow artisan’s company.

May soon realized that they loved their business but hated the bookkeeping, having neither computer skills nor were they connected to the Internet. She offered to keep their books and pay their bills online. It wouldn’t take long and they could repay her with an occasional home-cooked breakfast or lunch. And so the deal was sealed.

Over the years, things happened. Both Bill and Carol fought cancer, Bill eventually succumbing to it in 2012. Carol, left with their house and shop, some small savings and a $70,000 line of credit at their bank for emergencies, felt she would be alright. May carried on with the bookkeeping.

Over the next few years, there were house repairs and maintenance, all taken care of. Carol was coping well. Then a letter from the bank arrived: The line of credit was maxed out! Impossible!!

Carol called her daughter down from Ottawa and together they went over the books. Just over $80,000 was missing, including credit cards, which had been increased, then used up. Together, they went to the OPP in Long Sault with their evidence and the process began. The OPP found several thousand more taken, arriving at a total of almost $85,000 missing between October 2009 and February 2017, mostly spent on clothes, essential oils, and arts and craft supplies. After 18 frustrating months, charges were laid against May, who initially denied it but later pled guilty when the evidence was presented.

Next came the excruciatingly slow process through the courts.
While this dragged on, Carol sold her house, shop and most of the contents. With no safety net in case of emergency, plus massive debts to be repaid with interest, she had no choice. In December 2017, her cat went to her younger daughter’s apartment in Cornwall and she moved near Ottawa with her daughter and son-in-law.

A year later, missing this corner of Eastern Ontario, Carol moved into a small, one-bedroom, basement apartment in Cornwall, furnishing it through thrift shops. Her “coffin” as she calls it. She has her cat, although both crave being outdoors. She uses food banks, charity baskets and the likes to get by and is hoping for a slightly bigger and brighter place next year.

At sentencing, the beginning of November, Carol’s daughter read her Victim’s Impact Statement which the judge found moving. May handed a letter to Carol which she read later. In it, May tried to justify her actions. It is full of I: “I meant to repay you,” “I had plans for projects to make money.” May doesn’t understand and probably never will.

May’s sentence included 90 days in jail, stages of house arrest for two years less a day, reporting to a probation officer weekly and no bank account or credit card among many other restrictions. Also, repayment of $60,000 to Carol over the next five years. Carol will be 81 by then. A portion of the lost money repaid in dribs and drabs can never replace what she has lost but apparently Carol is lucky to get that.

Scammers come in all shapes and sizes. Not all live in foreign lands and talk with an accent. Some can sit across the table from you and share a coffee and chatter. Beware. Check everything at least twice. Don’t let someone take advantage of you.