After agreeing to help a child in the street, who was trying to contact his parents, a man was robbed of nearly 4,500 euros.
We are not wary enough of children, who always seem angelic, cute and carefree to us. Even less so when they ask for our help in the middle of the street. This is the case of a 27-year-old young man, Anyon Rettinger, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who had no idea that he was going to be scammed by a child of around 12 years old. The latter allegedly approached him asking him to use his cell phone, so he could urgently call his parents. “‘He was traveling on an electric scooter, his credit was running out and he had gone too far“, explains the 27-year-old young man, who did not hesitate to help him.
He then gives him his cell phone after unlocking it so that the young boy can call his parents. But the latter had prepared his move well: in less than a minute, he managed to transfer £4,000, or a little more than 4,500 euros, to another account via Apple Pay. Getting his phone back, Anyon begins to panic, he quickly realizes that no number has been dialed as he thought.
Initially, the cancellation of the transaction is even refused since it is considered to be “valid”. He had to file a complaint and insist with his bank to be able to be reimbursed. “Even my recurring bills aren’t thousands of dollars,” he continued. “So it should have been flagged by their system,” Anyon told Wisn 12 News. Other similar cases have been spotted in the United States and the police are investigating this virtual pickpocket which, wrongly, inspires confidence.