Money!/Lake City/Wed June 6/9:30 am: A woman who was born in the year of 1923 was awoken this morning by the ring of her phone. She answered it, and after perfunctory greetings, the caller, a complete stranger, got to the point. The stranger said that he worked for the fraud division of her bank (Wells Fargo on Lake City Way), and needed her to help him apprehend two dishonest tellers. The old woman asked how she might help him do this. The man from the fraud division told her to go to her bank, withdraw $5,000, and then walk out of the bank. Once outside, a security guard would follow her for a distance, and when they were clear of the bank, she was to hand the money to him and he would return to the bank and redeposit it. The old woman then asked what she was to say if the teller asked why she was withdrawing so much money. The man from the fraud division told her to say it was for family reasons. "This way," he explained, "the tellers won't get suspicious." At 11:12 am, the old woman left her apartment, walked to her bank, withdrew $5,000, exited the bank, and walked to the intersection of 127th and Lake City Way, where a man with a full face and small mouth approached her and identified himself as the security guard. She handed him the money; he thanked her and left.
More Money!/Lake City/Wed June 6/11:40 am: Just as the old woman returned home after helping the fraud division fight crime, her phone rang. She picked it up--it was the man from the fraud division. He told her that they were able to narrow down the list of dishonest employees to four, but she had to go back to the bank and withdraw $5,000 again. Though exhausted from the last visit, she agreed to help the fraud division a second time. She went back to the bank, withdrew the cash, and at the intersection of 127th and Lake City Way, handed the security guard the wad of money.
Even Mo' Money!/Lake City/Wed June 6/12:22 am: When the old woman got home, the phone rang again. Yes, it was the man from the fraud division. He asked her to withdraw $5,000 again--they were this close to catching the dishonest tellers. The old woman got mad and asked, "Is this going to take all day?!" The man assured her that this was the last mission. The old woman finally agreed and went to the bank. But when she asked to make her third huge withdrawal in just over an hour, the bank teller became suspicious and had the bank manager look into the curious matter. The bank manager asked the old woman if everything was okay. The old woman defensively told him, "I'm withdrawing the money for family reasons." The manager considered it a good explanation and let her withdraw $5,000 again. The old woman walked down to the intersection and handed the money to the man with the full face and small mouth. The man from the fraud division kept his word--he did not call her a fourth time.
