FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — It started like any other shift for Cody Moore, until he noticed some odd behavior from one of his regular customers, and stepped in to save her from being scammed out of hundreds of dollars.
Watch the video report from Meghan Daniels in the video player below
“They always target the older people who don't have anybody," Cody said.
Cody is a shift lead at Walgreens in Farmington Hills. He tells me he noticed something not quite right with one of their regulars.
“She was buying some gift cards for $500, which I thought was weird because I've never seen her buy gift cards," Cody said.
He said he noticed an unsaved number out of California calling the woman repeatedly. This raised some red flags for Cody.
“So I asked her was that the number who she was getting these gift cards for and she said, yeah, so I informed her that it was obviously a scam and not to answer that,” Cody said.
Becky Ulcinski was in line behind the elderly woman while this was all going down. She says the relief on the woman's face was obvious.
“She said, 'thank you so much. You're a good person. I have been worried about this all day, and you're right, it is a scam now that I think it through, no bank is gonna want Target gift cards,'" Becky said.
“She said she had second thoughts, but I guess those people can be kind of convincing sometimes," Cody said.
Becky says seeing Cody trust his instincts and go out of his way to help the woman made her proud of her community.
“He could have just said, 'this isn't my problem,' ring them up and sent her on her way," Becky said. "And the fact that he recognized the scam and said, I'm not, we're not going to be a part of this, we're stopping this right here was just so wonderful to see.”
Mayor Theresa Rich stopped in to the Walgreens after seeing a post about the encounter on Facebook. She says scams like this happen all too often among the elderly population.
"Yeah, I think there's a special room in hell for people who target our elderly population," Mayor Rich said.
But she's proud to hear there are people like Cody who choose to stand in the gap for the most vulnerable among us.
“This is what our neighbors and friends are for and especially for those who have senior loved ones who may not be in the same town," Mayor Rich said.
“Yes, definitely, I always think about that because I do have grandmas and they are elderly and I would want someone to step in and help them," Cody said.
Cody tells me he hopes he can be a reminder to others on how important it is to look out for your fellow human.
“Just use empathy and look out for the elderly and the youth and everyone, honestly," Cody said.
Web Extra: Farmington Hills police sergeant talks about how to avoid scams
