TUSTIN – With disabilities forcing them to live on a fixed income, it’s not easy for Dawn Lunsford and Jim Wood to save money.
The Tustin couple had managed to squirrel away $1,100 earlier this year. They hoped to use the savings to visit friends and a relative who live in Texas.
“We haven’t been able to do that now because of what happened,” Lunsford, 46, said. “I’m slowly building up my savings again, but it’s not anywhere near $1,100.”
In April, the couple fell victim to a phone tax scam that’s targeted hundreds of thousands of people nationwide. The scammer bilked Lunsford and Wood out of their savings, nearly driving them into debt before an alert store clerk figured out what was happening.
The couple’s former neighbor Shauna Stanley, who now lives in Irvine, caught wind of what happened. On Aug. 5, Stanley – who used to make dinner for Lunsford and Wood and take them to doctor appointments – launched a campaign on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe.
“They’re just nice, kind people,” Stanley said. “And I just knew that they weren’t going to get that money back without some kind of help.”
Though you wouldn’t know it from their steady smiles, Stanley said, the couple has had a rough go of it.
Lunsford had cancer when she was 26. She was also diagnosed years ago with tuberous sclerosis, a genetic disorder where non-malignant tumors form throughout the body, including the brain. It often causes intellectual disabilities, development delays and seizures, which can become worse as sufferers get older.
“It’s pretty manageable right now, but it can be challenging,” Lunsford said.
Wood, 56, had a stent put in his heart in 2010, after years of severe chest pains. He’s also battled severe asthma since he was a child, and dealt with hernias and other health issues.
The couple went to a doctor’s appointment on tax day, April 15. When they got home, they had a message on their answering machine telling them it was “very important” they call back because there was a lawsuit pending against them.
Concerned, Lunsford called the number. The man who answered told her she owed more than $1,300 in back taxes.
“They said I would go to jail if I didn’t pay the money back,” she said.
Lunsford and her husband have never been able to work more than part-time, getting by on Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. So they’d never owed taxes, as far as she knew.
The caller was persistent, though, telling her she could pay in installments. He cautioned her not to tell anyone about the calls. And he said if she paid quickly per his instructions, she’d likely even get a refund.
Lunsford had sent the scammer two payments through prepaid debit cards, depleting her savings. But she was still a couple hundred dollars short. So she took a cash advance on her credit card, then headed to Haggen grocery store on 17th Street to buy a prepaid Western Union card as the man had instructed.
“Fortunately this clerk took notice and caught on to what was happening,” Lt. Bob Wright with the Tustin Police Department said. The cashier called over the store manager, who contacted police. Officers helped Lunsford fill out a crime report to submit to the federal Treasury Department.
The couple haven’t gotten any of their money back. Authorities warned Lunsford there’s a good chance she never will, since the scammer is likely out of the country.
When he heard what happened, a representative with Orange County Adult Protective Services gave the couple a $60 Albertsons gift card, Lunsford said.
Tuesday, she found out about Stanley’s GoFundMe campaign.
“I’m surprised but I’m very grateful, too,” Lunsford said.
The campaign had raised $700 of the $1,250 goal as of Thursday night. If they raise enough money, Lunsford and Wood still hope to take that trip to Texas.
Contact the writer: 714-796-7963 or BStaggs@OCRegister.com
