Elderly Wisconsin woman accidentally stops scammer; here's how
Elderly Wisconsin woman accidentally stops scammer; here's how
An elderly Wisconsin woman frustrated scammers and got them to quit their con before stealing any of her money – and she did it entirely by accident.
RACINE, Wis. - An elderly Wisconsin woman frustrated scammers and got them to quit their con before stealing any of her money – and she did it entirely by accident.
Gift card scam
The backstory:
It was a simple misunderstanding that saved a relative of Jon and Jill Tubman in Racine from losing her money to scammers.
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"They got a scammed by an elderly lady, best way to put it," Jon Tubman said. "They had her go to a discount retailer, buy a couple of $500 cards and come back to call them."
A Horicon Police Department report said scammers told the woman her computer was hacked, and she owed them $1,000 for fixing it. They wanted Apple Pay gift cards. She misheard them and bought Applebee's cards.
Horicon Police Department report
"And they’re like, 'That aint what we told you,' and she’s like 'Well, I can’t buy any more, I have no more money,' and then they hung up on her," Jill Tubman said.
After the phone call, the woman realized she'd been dealing with scammers.
Contact 6 steps in
What they're saying:
The scammers didn't get any money, but that's not the end of the story. The Tubmans wanted a refund for their relative's gift cards. They decided to write to Contact 6.
"I didn’t know who else to call, they didn’t respond to us," Jon Tubman said.
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Contact 6 wrote to the retailer on the woman's behalf, and she was told to pick up $1,000 in cash from the store.
"Oh, it means a lot because she’s on a fixed income," Jill Tubman said.
July resolutions
Big picture view:
The woman's $1,000 savings are among the more than $38,443 FOX6 viewers say Contact 6 helped them save in July.
Working behind the scenes, Contact 6 producer Annette helped a Racine woman get a refund for an $1,807 recliner delivered to her dad shortly before his death. The recliner was outside the return window but never used.
FOX6 viewers say Contact 6 saved them more than $38,000 in July 2026
Contact 6 helped a West Allis woman get a refund of $6,300 for car repairs and a rental car after she said the vehicle was damaged by a car wash.
And, thanks to Contact 6, a River Hills woman got a broken refrigerator fixed, plus a refund for a previous repair and spoiled food. She estimates her savings at $2,110.
Contact 6 helped to resolve 17 cases last month, with the savings ranging from $70 to $13,000.
A vacation refund
Dig deeper:
Last summer, John and Jeanne Albanese in the town of Waukesha were supposed to visit Alaska. Then, Jeanne had open-heart surgery and developed sepsis.
"My wife was fighting for her life, and we didn’t think about reading the fine print obviously," John Albanese said.
Their travelers insurance denied a trip refund, saying they didn't give enough notice.
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"He saw you on TV and decided to try Contact 6. What do we have to lose?" Jeanne Albanese said.
Contact 6 got the couple more than $5,176 back. They booked another trip to Alaska in the spring.
"We got the whole amount. It was amazing," Jeanne Albanese said. "We were very thankful to Contact 6 because we were getting nowhere."
Submit to Contact 6
What you can do:
Consumers who have a complaint and want Contact 6 to get involved can submit an online inquiry through FOX6's website.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Jenna Sachs and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Jon Tubman, Jill Tubman, a Horicon Police Department report, Jeanne Albanese, John Albanese and Contact 6 case files.