OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla., March 20, 2025—Thieves who were close to netting $8,000 by scamming a local 87-year-old woman ended up empty-handed thanks to the actions of a savvy rideshare driver and Okaloosa County deputies.

The driver said he’d been asked to pick up and deliver a package to Covington, La., Tuesday. The delivery fee was reportedly $700, causing the driver to suspect something was not right.

“We had an individual in one of our very affluent retirement communities locally who had received a phone call that her son was in jail in Colorado and to get him out she needed to send $8,000 in cash,” said Okaloosa County Sheriff Eric Aden.

She was instructed to send the money via a rideshare delivery which they would schedule.

According to the driver, when he picked up the package from the woman, she appeared to be following the directions of someone on the phone.

The package, a taped cereal box, caused the driver to become suspicious so he contacted law enforcement, concerned about the situation.

“The driver just didn’t feel right…about getting the payment to go to an area outside of the state to deliver this package,” said Aden. “We always say ‘see something, say something.’ If the hair stands up on the back of your neck, it probably is not legit. Kudos to [the driver] because he did that.”

When the package was opened, deputies found $8,000 cash inside.

Deputies were able to track down the money’s owner and learned she had received a call that day about her son being in a Colorado jail and needing bail money.

“We were able to determine that this lady’s son was not in jail, said Aden. “We were able to return the money to her and explain to her that she was the victim of a crime.”

The sheriff’s office is actively looking for the individuals responsible in this crime, according to Aden.

“I can’t say enough about the actions of this individual to be able to come forward when he didn’t feel something was right. It totally saved this lady from losing $8,000,” he said. “We want to try and reiterate to the public, if you hear something and you are the least bit skeptical, please contact us.”

As a reminder, the OCSO will never call or email asking for cash due to a missed jury service, unpaid ticket, warrant, etc.

OCSO release and photos