BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI
North Country This Week

POTSDAM — Phone scams have become prevalent in recent years, with many North Country residents receiving the fraudulent calls.

Such was the case for John Hough, a retired UPS delivery driver, who said he received a call just a couple weeks ago.

“I thought it was my grandson Blake,” he said.

The resemblance of the caller’s voice is what struck Hough the most.

“He sounded just like him, I thought for sure it was him”, Hough said.

The scammer told Hough he had been in a car accident and required money to pay for the damages to a rental car in Fort Lauderdale.

The only issue was that Blake is currently in Ohio, completing an internship as part of his degree program through RIT.

Hough sent money via UPS to an alleged attorney in California.

The scammer had told Hough a friend was also in the car and his father was an attorney who would front the money to pay for the rental car.

“I didn’t think anything of it, I just wanted to help my grandson. My wife kept telling me not to send the money but I wanted to help,” Hough said.

It did not end there, however.

A second call soliciting money for medical expenses came next.

The scammer told Hough that an individual in another car in the accident was sent to the hospital and planned to sue unless their bills were paid for.

Hough again sent money through UPS to the alleged lawyer to cover the expenses.

It was at this time a UPS driver in Lincoln, California took notice of the package, which was sent by next day air for a Saturday delivery.

The driver noticed the address was an abandoned property and refused to complete the delivery, Hough said.

It was at this time he received a phone call from a UPS fraud supervisor in Lincoln, who informed Hough of the situation.

The second package was sent back to Hough, thanks in large part to the driver who had the route that day.

“I’m just so thankful for that driver thinking twice about it. We had that sort of training when I was a driver but it doesn’t always pay off. He and the fraud supervisor did a great job and I’m just very thankful for them,” Hough said.

Scams like this are very common today and target many seniors with a wide range of propositions.

Hough wanted to tell his story so others can learn from it.

“Looking back there were a bunch of red flags I should have caught but when I heard his voice I just thought my grandson was in trouble. I hope others think twice before they send anything,” Hough said.