A Massachusetts cab driver is being praised by police for helping an 87-year-old woman from being taken by a classic scam.

Richard Spencer, who drives for Yellow Cab of Quincy, tells The Patriot Ledger he sensed something was wrong when the woman he was driving Wednesday told him she was going to Walmart to purchase thousands of dollars in gift cards.

Instead of taking her to the store, he drove her to the police station.

The woman told police she had received a phone call saying her grandson was in trouble and needed the money to stay out of jail.

Unfortunately, the woman had already been scammed out of $4,000, but police say "it could have been much, much worse."

Spencer says what he did was not a big deal.

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Information from: The (Quincy, Mass.) Patriot Ledger, http://www.patriotledger.com