By Monte M. Korn
A client called me from Charlevoix.
He was very angry and distraught.
This was his message:
“I received a call from a young man in Spain. He said, ‘My name is Pedro. I’m a good friend of your grandson, Tim. Tim asked me to call you.
“‘Tim was arrested and is in jail in Seville, Spain. The judge fixed bail at $500. Tim needs the money right away or he will never get out of jail until his trial, which will come up in February.’”
The friend then gave the grandfather instructions on where and how to wire the $500.
The grandfather rushed to the bank, withdrew $500 and wired the money to Tim’s friend, Pedro.
That was the last the grandfather heard of Pedro or his $500.
The moral to this story: Don’t wire money to strangers without checking the source of the request for money thoroughly. The money request could be a scam....and, a fool and his money are soon parted.
Monte M. Korn is an attorney practicing law in West Bloomfield, has been a member of the State Bar of Michigan since 1942, and is a member of the Probate and Elder Law Sections of the State Bar.
Monte Korn is the talk show host of “Open Line with Monte Korn” on radio station WNZK am690 every morning at 11 a.m. He can be reached at (248) 933-4334.
The material in the above article is the research of Monte M. Korn. The Detroit, Oakland County, and Macomb County Legal Newspapers have no responsibility therein.
