Scams tried in Arlington Heights, Prospect Heights

An 89-year-old Arlington Heights woman avoided being scammed out of $2,500 after the helpful intervention of a Western Union employee, while a Prospect Heights man was scammed out of $1,098 by a vacation travel ploy. In Arlington Heights, a male caller told the woman at 8:30 a.m. April 17 that he was Rob working for the Red Cross in Haiti. She asked him if he was her great-nephew Robert, and the man said he was. He told her he was in jail on a speeding charge and needed $1,500 to get out. He told her to speak with an embassy representative, and a second man got on the phone. He told the woman she needed to send $2,500 by the end of the day or her great-nephew would be jailed. When an alert employee advised her not to send the money, she phoned her great-nephew who assured her he was not in Haiti and had not called her. The Prospect Heights resident received a phone call from a woman claiming to represent a tour company, who offered to sell the man a vacation package. He provided her with his bank account information. He never received a confirmation for the package and he is not able to contact the company.