For decades, we work to earn enough money to pay all our bills and expenses each month. At the same time, we set money aside in a bank account and/or retirement fund to make sure we have the savings we need to live the life we desire once we retire. It takes a lot of time, work, and sweat.
So, imagine how 95-year-old Barbara Hinckley felt when she glanced at her bank account last summer and found that every cent of her $16,000 life savings was wiped out. All of the money she worked so hard to obtain – gone.
But her money didn’t just disappear out of the blue like Casper the ghost. It all started when Hinckley was a target for a scam. A man informed the Auburn resident that she won the second-place prize from a “Publisher’s Clearinghouse contest.”
As the so-called winner of a $2.5 million cash prize and a brand-new Mercedes-Benz, Hinckley was eager to wipe out her bank account to the man after he requested her to do so before she could earn her cash winnings. Instead of receiving her monetary prize in response, the victim was left with not only no prize but none of her own money.
Shocked and upset, Hinckley told news reporters about the incident in hopes that they would inform the public about the scam.
Not long after speaking out, John Baldacci, the former Maine governor, felt compelled to do something to help the woman out.
“Stealing from the elderly is not the Maine Way,” Baldacci told Bangor Daily News. “Let’s turn something bad into something positive by showing the world our true Maine character.”
The former governor led a spaghetti dinner fundraiser that took place earlier this month. All earnings would go towards giving Hinckley her savings back.
With numerous cases of vegetables, 17 gallons-worth of tomato sauce, 60 pounds of spaghetti noodles, dozens of cupcakes, bread, and more, volunteers fed approximately 400 people and were able to earn not only the $16,000 Hinckley was scammed out of but an addition $2,000!
The town was in awe at how selflessly the community came together the way they did, including Hinckley’s daughter, Marsha Donahue.
“From the unexpected $1,000 checks to the obviously financially struggling people in line that gave extra above their tickets, I have been bowled over by people’s generosity,” Donahue said. “It has been a roller coaster ride for her and all of us in the family, too, from destitution to solvency.”
Hinckley hopes that by going public about her experience with fraud that she can help others to be more careful. She, too, has learned a valuable lesson. From now on, she plans to only answer phone calls if she knows who’s calling, refuses to reply to e-mails of people she doesn’t know, and will only spend money with her family’s approval.
Scams come in many different forms and can happen to anyone of any age. Make sure to share this article on social media to warn all of your friends and family members.
