Grandma Defrauded by Online Store Learns Her Grandson Is Its Founder — Story of the Day

Tyler used to deceive and rob people to make an extra buck. However, he was forced to learn a valuable lesson about doing the right thing after being caught out by his granny and her friend.

Kate raised her grandson Tyler with her husband after her daughter died during childbirth. Tyler had always been quite the wild card, but his grandfather managed to keep him in check. The boy tended to find himself in trouble, but his grandfather's presence kept him on the right track.

However, after the passing of his grandfather, Tyler's life began to spiral out of control, little by little. He started getting in trouble at school and giving his grandmother a difficult time at home.

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Kate, however, did not give up on her grandchild. She believed it was just a phase and that he acted out like anyone would after losing someone dear to them.

Kate did her best to ensure Tyler didn't lack anything. She just wanted her grandchild to be happy, even if that happiness was to her detriment. Tyler's birthday was coming up soon, and she wanted to do something special for him.

"So, Tyler, your birthday is around the corner. Do you have a present in mind?" Kate asked her grandson as they sat for breakfast one morning.

"Actually, yes, I do," Tyler said, excitedly pulling out his phone and showing Kate headphones. Kate flinched as she saw the price next to the picture.

"Wow! Those are pretty expensive. That's double my pension, Tyler. For headphones, at that? Isn't there something cheaper, perhaps?" Kate asked.

"Argh! Not fair! I never get what I want," Tyler said, rolling his eyes with a deep sigh.

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"Now, you know that's not true. When have I not come through for you?" Kate asked sincerely.

"Are you going to be able to get them or not, grandma?" Tyler retorted rather rudely.

"Okay... I'll see what I can do," Kate replied, a hint of worry in her gaze.

Tyler's birthday was still a while away, so Kate decided to start saving up for the headphones. She knew it would be a major blow to her finances, but she was again willing to sacrifice for the sake of her grandson.

Tyler wasn't very helpful around the house. Kate was seventy-five years old, and with her husband gone, it was difficult for her to get household chores done.

When she asked him to go to the store, he told her to call for online delivery. When she asked him to help with the cooking, he'd make up excuses or simply tell her to order takeout.

One day, Kate asked Tyler to hang up the new chandelier she had bought. But, as always, Tyler was full of complaints and excuses.

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"Oh, c'mon, grandma!" Tyler wined as he played video games, not giving his grandmother a second look. "Why are you always on my case?" Tyler added.

"On your case? Listen, Tyler, I'd just appreciate a little more help around here," Kate stated.

"Alright. Do you want help? YOUTUBE IT!! I'm sure there are tons of tutorials on that stuff! I don't have time!" Tyler retorted.

"You don't have time? All you've been doing the whole day is playing that silly game of yours, Tyler," Kate said, frustrated.

"It's not a silly game! I've got a lot invested in this. Do you know how much pro gamers make?" Tyler asked.

"But you're not a pro gamer, Tyler. And I'm sure it won't take much of your precious time. Besides, I don't know how to use the Internet," Kate explained.

Tyler burst into laughter, turning to his grandma mockingly, saying, "Grandma, it's the 21st century. The Internet is our everything! Only losers don't know how to use it!"

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"That's enough out of you, Tyler! I will not have you disrespecting me in my own house!" Kate barked.

"Whatever! I don't have to listen to this!" Tyler said, storming off to his room.

"Tyler! You come back here!" Kate yelled, rushing after Tyler, who shut the door in her face. Kate was in complete disbelief. It seemed as if her grandson's behavior was only getting worse.

As time progressed, just as Kate had feared, Tyler continued to go from bad to worse. He started behaving suspiciously and became more secretive all of a sudden.

It was as if Tyler had suddenly run into money that Kate had no idea about. He got a new expensive phone and avoided Kate whenever she asked him about it.

He also started to take taxis more often. When asked where he got the money, he'd simply say he found it, someone gave it to him, or something else. Tyler even started locking his room and forbidding Kate from entering his room altogether. Kate was extremely suspicious of her grandson but chose to keep her peace and not jump to conclusions.

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One day, Kate's vibrant neighbor and friend, Lauren, visited her. Kate was relatively the same age, and they shared everything with each other. Lauren was excited to show Kate a new hat she had purchased online. She'd even bought a similar one for Kate.

"When I saw this, I immediately thought of you," Lauren said, handing Kate the hat.

"Oh, wow! I absolutely love it! Thank you, my friend," Kate said, trying it on. "And you say you bought it online?" Kate added.

"Yep! And it was way cheaper than you'd get it in a regular store," Lauren exclaimed excitedly.

"Hmm... Interesting. I wouldn't know the first thing to do in an online store. No offense, but I'm surprised you did," Kate said, chuckling.

"Well, I had a little help from my granddaughter. I was even able to help a couple of friends at the old age home get a couple of items," Lauren said.

"Oh, okay. Well, I commend you for being so progressive," Kate said, pausing to think. "Actually, there are some headphones I wanted to buy for my grandson. Do you think I could find them on the online store?" Kate added.

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"Probably. Let's check," Lauren said, pulling out her phone. After a while of scrolling, they finally came across the headphones.

"There they are! Wow! That's way cheaper than the prices Tyler showed me. In fact, that's the exact amount I'd saved for. What are the chances?!" Kate exclaimed with excitement.

Kate immediately ordered the headphones, over the moon that she could finally get her grandson the present he had longed for. However, after a couple weeks of waiting on the delivery, the headphones never arrived. She even tried to contact the store but to no avail. Kate began to worry.

She contacted Lauren and discovered that some of her recent orders also hadn't come through. "And what about the folk at the old age home? Did they experience the same issues?" Kate asked, deeply concerned.

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"Yep. I don't know what to tell you, Kate. It's like they simply upped and vanished. I've been trying to contact them for weeks, but nobody has answered. I'm so sorry, Kate. But this looks like it may have all been one big hoax! And I'm so sorry I brought you in on it," Lauren said in a soft dejected tone.

"No, it's okay. How could you have known?" Kate added.

"Do you think we should notify the police?" Lauren asked.

"It may be a little too early for that. Let's give it a while. In the meantime, let's talk to everyone else at the nursing home, and if it comes to it, we'll all report it together," Kate concluded.

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A few days passed, and Kate grew weary of getting her grandson's gift. She and Lauren had spoken to Lauren's friends at the nursing home, and they had decided they would go to the police with the matter the next day. However, that day Kate discovered something that would not only shed light on her grandson's suspicious behavior but expose exactly what had happened to her and the others' orders.

As Kate and Tyler watched TV, he received one of his private calls and immediately went outside to answer it. Kate had grown tired of her grandson's suspicious behavior, so she went to his room, hoping to find something that would make sense of it all.

Luckily for Kate, Tyler had not locked his room this time. When she entered the room, she was shocked to find heaps of equipment, gadgets, clothes, shoes, and other stuff.

Tyler had his own little warehouse in his room, and Kate never knew a thing. As she looked through the stuff, she came across a hat exactly like the one Lauren had bought for her and Kate.

Why does Tyler have all this stuff? And why does he have the exact same hats from the online store? Could my grandson be involved somehow? No, surely not, Kate thought.

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She went to Tyler's dressing table to try to find more clues. As she rummaged through the dressing table compartments, she came across a sketch of the same online store's logo. At that moment, it finally hit her - her son was indeed behind the online store scam.

Kate crept to the kitchen window where Tyler was still on the phone outside, hoping to eavesdrop on the hushed conversation.

"I think people are beginning to catch onto us, man. I've received countless phone calls on the fake company number we set up, probably from people who've grown tired of waiting on their orders. But we just need a couple more customers, then we're good," Tyler said on the call.

Kate could not believe was she was hearing. As she continued to listen to her grandson brag about how many people he had scammed, she began to weep bitterly.

She immediately rushed over to Lauren's house and told her about everything. Lauren immediately wanted to call the police, but Kate begged her not to so her grandson wouldn't be jailed.

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"Then what do you suggest we do, Kate? He can't just get away with it. I know he's your grandson and all, but he has hurt a lot of people, Kate!" a frustrated Lauren explained.

"I know, Lauren. And he will learn his lesson. We just can't send him to jail, please. There must be another way," Kate pleaded.

Suddenly an advert for a dating app popped up on Lauren's television, and Kate was drawn to it. Watching it intensively with deep contemplation.

"Kate?" Lauren said, following Kate's wondering gaze. "This is no time to decide to pick up online dating. I'm all for being progressive, but no, my dear. Plus, we need to sort out this situation with Tyler ASAP!" Lauren added.

"No, I know that dating site. I think... No, I know my grandson uses it. He paid for his subscription with my account. He thinks I don't know, but I do," Kate said.

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"That's all fine and dandy, but I think you're getting distracted here," Lauren said, annoyed.

"No, Lauren! I have a plan. I think I know how we can teach him a lesson and get him to pay back the money he stole," Kate said with a spark in her eye - having a eureka moment.

The next day, Tyler got a random text from a gorgeous girl named Ginny on the app. They began talking, and Tyler quickly began to fall for her. Ginny eventually sweet-talked Tyler into sending her an exorbitant amount of money before inviting him to meet with her at a local hotel.

The day finally came for Tyler and Ginny to meet at the hotel. Tyler was excited to finally meet his new online girlfriend and arrived at the hotel room in his freshest gear.

When he entered the room, he found a beautiful romantic display of a candle-lit table in the living room. Ginny texted Tyler telling him to meet him in the room, and he immediately rushed in with child-like excitement. This was the moment he had long been waiting for. Tyler entered the pitch-black room.

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"Take your shirt off and join me in bed, my love," a seductive voice called from under the bed covers.

Tyler immediately did as he was told and rushed into the covers. As soon as he entered the bed, the lights came on. In front of him stood his grandmother with a camera pointed at him.

"Granny?" Tyler cried in awe as Kate snapped a couple pictures. Tyler turned to find Lauren lying beside him, dressed in a nice nightgown.

"Surprise birthday, boy!" Lauren said with a cheeky grin.

"What the hell is going on here?" yelled Tyler in confusion.

"I know about the little business... Or better yet, the scam you are running, Tyler. I'm so disappointed in you. You've lied and robbed so many innocent people," Kate said.

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"Wait... So, Ginny was..." Tyler started, trying to put two and two together.

"She was made up. All the money you sent us will be used to reimburse everyone you stole from. The rest you will have to pay off yourself. If you don't, then everybody at your school will see this picture of you in bed with an old lady," Kate said, waving the camera in her hand.

"But... But... I don't have any more money. I spent it all," Tyler said, ashamed, unable to even look his grandmother in the eyes.

Tyler reluctantly accepted his grandmother's terms. He spent the next 2 months working at the nursing home. While there, Tyler realized that helping the elderly was much more rewarding than deceiving and robbing them.

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He learned that honest work is the key to success, so he created a new online store, but this time he did things honestly. His business became successful, and he thanked his grandmother for teaching him properly and giving him a second chance instead of just handing him over to the police. From that day, Kate and Lauren could buy anything from Tyler's online shop completely free.

What can we learn from this story?

• You cannot build your happiness on someone else's misfortune. Tyler had tried to build his business by deceiving and robbing people, but he only truly found success once he did things the right way.
• Showing mercy can change someone's life. Instead of Tyler being sent to jail, he was shown mercy by his grandmother and Lauren. Ultimately, this act of kindness helped change Tyler's life for the better.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a boy who is torn after his grandmother who had been raising him on her own suddenly disappears, that is, until he opens up her closet to discover something shocking.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone's life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com