‘I Have to Save My Mom': Teen Scammed Out of $900

Devonte McIntosh was at Prince Tech High School in Hartford when he received a phone call from an 860 number he didn't recognize. The person on the other end asked if he knew anyone who drives a black car.

"I was like, 'Oh, that could be my mom,'" said the 18-year-old.

The caller then told Devonte that his mom had hit the caller's son with that car and that they have warrants and can't have the cops involved. Instead, the caller said Devonte needed to pay up and that if he didn't, the caller would kill Devonte's mom.

"They were like, 'If you hang up, we'll kill her right now.' So it's kind of like you can't do anything. It's like every second you don't pull the phone away from your head. You can't go silent for a second," said Devonte. "It really hit me, and I was like, 'Okay, I have to do something. I have to save my mom.'"

Still on the phone, the teen left school and ran to a nearby store to send every cent he had.

"I have to do this. It's only $900. I can make that back, but you can't make a mom back," said Devonte.

As soon as the money went through, the caller hung up. Moments later, he heard from his mom.

"He said to me, 'Mom, weren't you in a bad car accident?' And I said, 'No, I'm home,'" said Marlene McIntosh, Devonte's mom.

That's when Devonte realized it was all a scam but it was too late. His hard-earned money was gone.

"It's terrible for somebody to do that to a kid who works so hard," said Marlene.

Marlene texted and called the number back. Eventually, someone called her back.

"I said, 'What is your name?' and he said, 'It's Carmello.' And I said, 'Can you return the $900 you took from my son?' and he hung up the phone," said Marlene.

When we tried calling the number, no one picked up.

Devonte and his mom want others to know what happened to them so no one else becomes a victim.

"I'm just not going to pick up numbers I don't know anymore," said Devonte.

Looking back, Devonte said he's just thankful that his mom is okay.

Hartford police said every single call like this that's been reported to them has been proven to be a scam. If you receive a similar phone call, do not send money. Instead, hang up and call police.

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