If only, she says, she looked at the caller ID and hadn’t grabbed the phone so quickly that morning when she was washing the dishes.

If only, she wonders, she had hung up when the woman on the line told her an order for $1,581 was placed on an Amazon account that she doesn’t even have.

If only the scammers didn’t keep talking, putting one new character after another on the phone and fueling fear that she needed to act quickly or she’d lose her money. 

The con game — which started around 11:30 a.m. and ended shortly after 5 p.m. on May 4 — enabled the crooks wherever they are located to pocket about $5,000 for a half day’s work.

And the scammers stole more than money. 

Fearing that family finds out 

The woman now questions herself at every turn. She reported the fraud to Troy Police the next day but hasn’t told her friends or family members. She’s embarrassed, angry and unfortunately often blames herself for being gullible, not recognizing that scammers run a very sophisticated game that play the odds that they will catch someone off guard.