In this day and age of identity theft, I thought I'd tell you all about something that happened recently to my in-laws, and it's one of the oldest scams in the book.  They got a phone call from a stranger purporting to represent my son, telling them that he had been in a car accident and needed them to send money, and not to tell his parents.  (My son is 28 - way past the "don't tell Mom and Dad" stage). I don't know what was going through their heads, but they sent $2,000.00 by Western Union to this stranger.  A day later he called again and told them that my son was in jail because of the accident, and asked for another $2,000.00.  Unfortunately, they sent that money, too.  Finally they called my son who, of course, informed them that there had not been any accident and that he had not asked anyone to contact them to ask for money. Needless to say, it was too late to get a stop payment, so they are out $4,000.00.

Please, please, tell everyone you know to be careful.  These people are utter filth to prey on our natural desire to help our families in times of need, and it is all too easy to be victimized.  Be warned, be careful.  Now that the horse is out of the barn we've set up code words with our kids to use in case of an emergency. I don't know if that would have made any difference in this particular situation, but I do know that if I ever get my hands on that piece of slime he's in for a world of hurt!