Corky Welch reported an attempted phone scam to the Cullman Police Department recently.

Every day, phone scams swindle people out of their money, but one Cullman woman recently sniffed out one by doing her own research. 

Corky Welch reported an attempted phone scam to the Cullman Police Department. 

She said she received a phone call from a man she did not know. The voice on the other end said, “Hi grandma,” and spoke like he knew Welch, but she said she did not recognize the voice. 

“Right away, I knew that wasn’t either of my grandsons,” she said. 

When she asked the caller who he really was, he said his name was Bill, she said. 

Welch said she had a nephew named Bill, and the voice on the other end could have been him, so she decided to listen to what he had to say. 

The man told Welch that he had flown to Philadelphia with his wife to attend a friend’s wedding, and had gotten into a car accident when he left. His blood alcohol content was over the legal limit, so the police arrested him and brought him to jail, he said. 

The man said he needed $7,500 to post bail and gave her another phone number that was supposed to be his attorney. 

After calling the attorney’s number, the man she spoke to told her to send the $7,500 in cash to an address in Philadelphia, and call him as soon as it was in the mail. The supposed attorney then told Welch that she could not tell anyone about the money she sent, not even other family members. 

Welch said she was suspicious of the calls as soon as she hung up, and certain parts of the story did not make sense. 

The real Bill never called her “grandma,” and she wondered why Bill’s wife could not help him since she was supposed to have been in Philadelphia with him. 

Because of her suspicions, Welch decided to do some detective work of her own. 

She first got the number of the Philadelphia Prison System, and called to ask if they had any prisoners named Bill Welch. The officer she spoke to said there were not any prisoners by that name, nor had there been recently. 

After that, she called the number that the man had originally called from, but could not get anyone to answer. 

Then, she looked up the attorney that she had supposedly spoken to, but saw he had a different number and address than the ones she had been given. 

Finally, she spoke to the real Bill Welch, who said he had not been in Philadelphia, and certainly had not been in jail there. 

After deciding the phone call was a scam, she went to the Cullman Police Department to make sure they knew about the attempt.  

“I’ve never had anything like that before,” she said. 

Welch said she wanted other local residents to be aware of the scam so no one would be in danger of falling for it. The story sounded legitimate and believable. 

“They sure give you a sob story,” she said. “Just check before you send money.”

Lt. Jeff Warnke of the Cullman Police Department said officers receive numerous complaints of scams and hope Welch’s alertness will convince others to stop and think before sending money because of a phone call.

“The scams change from time to time and some of them sound realistic, but it’s always best to avoid sending money to anyone you don’t know,” Warnke said. “They could be hard-luck stories or someone saying they are an attorney or representing a government agency. But that’s not how business is done. If you are suspicious, there is a reason. Don’t send the money.”