NEW YORK: An alert Indian-origin taxi driver in California has saved an elderly woman from being scammed out of USD 25,000, prompting police to declare that he deserved a ‘great citizen award’.
Raj Singh, the owner of Roseville Cab, picked up a 92-year-old woman who mentioned that she was headed to a bank to withdraw a large sum of money to settle an Internal Revenue Service debt, CNN reported on Sunday.
Singh, who picked her up two weeks ago, said this sounded very suspicious to him so he suggested to the woman, this may be a scam. She didn’t believe him. He pleaded with the woman to reconsider so they agreed to stop by the Roseville Police Station to ask an officer, the Roseville Police Station said in a Facebook post.
While the woman waited in the cab, Raj requested the officer to speak with the woman. And when the officer spoke with the woman, she believed that sure, it was a scam, the post said.
“I am an honest guy, and these are old people. They need help,” Singh, was quoted as saying by the CNN on Thursday. Singh also called on the number the woman gave him and asked the man, ‘Do you know this lady?’ He said no,” Singh said. “I knew something was wrong.” When Singh pressed the man, saying the woman was 92 years old and she was nervous, the man hung up on him. After repeated calls back, Singh said the number blocked them, the report said.
For his quick thinking behaviour, the police department said that Singh deserved a “great citizen award”. “His quick thinking saved a senior citizen USD 25,000 and for that, we greatly appreciate his efforts,” police said.
Officers also gave Singh a USD 50 gift card to thank him for what he did. PTI
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