A Delaware taxicab driver is being hailed a hero for saving an elderly man from having his entire bank account wiped out.
Jaouad Ezzahar, who drives for Fez Taxi in Newark, is credited with stopping the 85-year-old man from being scammed.
The passenger told him he was on the phone with the IRS and needed to be taken to his bank to take money out of his account because his assets were being frozen. He told the driver he was then instructed to give it to an agent in a parking lot.
Ezzahar said that sounded suspicious so he told the man not to do it and took him to the police station to report what happened.
“As soon as he mentioned the IRS,it clicked in my mind, 'This man is going to get scammed,'" he said.
The cabdriver’s family said they’re not surprised their loved one is now a hero.
“He’s always very willing to listen or to have that intuition to notice that something kinda [odd] going on,” his girlfriend, Gerally Ayala-Flores, said.
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Delaware Attorney General Matthew Denn gave Ezzahar a commendation and said the cabbie's actions should serve as a great example to all.
"I wasn’t, like, looking into a reward or anything. I helped him because, like, I wanted to help him,” Ezzahar said. “Everyone would do the same thing.”
