(NewsNation) — Among the 100,000 Americans over 60 impacted by scams and fraud, one 92-year-old grandmother said she’s not falling for it and instead turns the tables on scam callers with viral prank calls.
Donna “Bumma” Saltzman told “Morning in America” that she started answering spam calls around five years ago and once made a scammer sing Happy Birthday to her.
“I was getting so many calls, and I wasn’t doing anything. So, I thought I guess I’ve just talked to them and have fun with them,” Saltzman said.
“Somebody called me, and they said, ‘How are you today?’ And I said, ‘Oh, it’s my birthday. Will you sing Happy Birthday to me?'” The guy sang Happy Birthday to me, she recalled. “I’ve had several different calls like that, one guy called and sang a love song to me in Spanish.”
Saltzman said scammers typically ask her to buy something during the calls, but she never gives them any personal details.
“I will say okay, I’ll go get my card. So, I go to the desk and bang the top down like I’m hunting for it,” she explained. I keep them on the line and then I go back, and I say I can’t find it right now, and they’ll say well go look for it.”
Saltzman said her longest call with a scammer was about 10 minutes.