You run a small business. It's not much, but you're proud of it just the same. Your workers are like family and you'd hate to hear of anything happening to them. One day, you receive a call from a sergeant with the local police.
He tells you your employee Stephen Grayson is in custody for driving under the influence. It's a young guy, and the officer tells you Stephen didn't want to call his parents because he was too ashamed.
He wants somebody he can trust to post bail--and he tells you Stephen is willing to pay you back with his next paycheque. You consider yourself a bit of a role model to Stephen so you comply and wire the bailout money.
You see Stephen the next day at work and he makes no mention of what happened. When you finally ask, he looks at you bewildered. That's when you realize you are the foolish one, and not him. The scammers just found out his place of work from websites like Facebook or LinkedIn, where people usually have listed their employers.
How to avoid: if you ever find yourself in this situation, you will not have to wire the money. Most of the time, you will be asked down to the police station. If you're asked to wire, tell them you'll come down to the station instead. They'll likely try and make excuses and if they do, hang up.