ANDERSON, Ind. —
A 78-year-old Anderson woman was targeted by a scam artist, her daughter said earlier this week.
Kelly Smith said she was helping her mother, Judith Reasner, apply for a loan online, when Reasner received a call from a company called Easy Finance. Smith said Reasoner couldn’t understand what the woman on the other line was saying and transferred the phone to Smith.
“The lady said her name was Slone, she talked real fast, I couldn’t understand her,” Smith said.
Smith added that there was a lot of noise in the background.
“It sounded like a disco party,” Smith said.
After numerous requests to slow down, Smith said “Slone” offered her a loan between $1,000 and $3,000, however she said her mother only wanted a few hundred dollars so she could do some Christmas shopping.
Before Reasner could receive the loan, Smith was told she would have to wire the first payment of $172 to prove she could make payments.
Smith said the offer seemed fishy because she was told there was no interest built in, and they did not run a credit check for Reasner. She also called Western Union, whom “Slone” wanted Reasner to wire money through, about the offer, and was told it was a scam.
Reasner received another call from the loan company, but Smith took over the phone and told them to never call again.
Smith said she feels fortunate that she was able to help her mother from being taken advantage of, but knows there are others who could have easily fallen for the scam.
“Other people don’t have people to help them. I don’t want some other lady, whose by herself to lose her money,” Smith said.
Erin Reece of the Indiana Attorney General’s Office, said they receive 10-15 complaints about scams similar to Reasner’s, but have not noticed an uptick over the holiday season.
Contact Sam Brattain at 640-4883, sam.brattain@heraldbulletin.com
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