Scams Galore! Scams Galore!
Well, I’ve told you about computer scams and a few other
odds and ends, but this concentrates solely on phone and door-to-door scams. And
some might think the elderly are more susceptible, but that is not always the
case. Beware of both types. For example, you receive a phone call around dinner
time (after normal banking hours, for example), and some person tells you they
are from your bank and there seems to be a problem with your account. Mind you,
they have gotten your name and address from the telephone book. They will ask
you to confirm your name and address, and then to confirm your Social Security
number. NEVER, EVER give out your Social Security number to anyone unless you
are absolutely sure where it is going (for example, if you are at the Social
Security office signing up for Medicare, that would be okay). Also don’t give
out phone numbers, account numbers or any other such vital information. Best
thing to do is simply hang up (or if you are as nasty as old Blackdog, you can
tell them to screw off, that you’re on to their scheme, and hang up).
Note here and below that whenever you receive phone calls
like this, check your caller ID. Many phone users have caller ID. If you see
“private number,” be VERY suspicious. Very few people can get away with that
foolishness. I received one of those very such caller ID messages, and I
answered the phone appropriately…with a very loud and suspicious bark. (Blackdog
has a very deep, mean-sounding voice.) Turns out that it was an advertising
supplies company that I’ve done business with for quite some time (and who is
quite reputable). I simply told the woman who called that I didn’t want to
ever be called again, and I did not appreciate being called by a “private
number.” What makes this worse, of course, is that some of us, myself
included, have only cell phones. Put all your phone numbers on the “Do Not
Call” list. They called me simply because I was a customer. Well, customer or
not, I DO NOT WANT calls to my cell phone.
And speaking of cell phones, there is NO directory of cell
phones, cell phone numbers cannot be released and any plans you hear about
creating a cell phone directory are only for people (such as trades people who
are on the road a lot) who WANT to be listed as an advertisement.
The latest scam is nasty and shows you to what end these
people will go. It’s called the Courthouse Con. Sometime (again around
dinner), you get a call from a person who says that because you didn’t reply
to the summons for jury duty, a warrant has been issued for your arrest. Most
folks would be very upset at that, obviously. One woman, who lives near me,
received just such a call. But she was thinking on her feet. She had been called
for jury duty three months earlier and released because of a disability, so she
could not understand why she was being called again—and at dinner time, when
the court is closed. The caller asked to confirm her Social Security number to
verify her identity. She was smart. She asked for a fax number to fax her
disability excuse, and got one. But when she faxed the notice in the morning, it
was a non-existent number. All the bad guy wanted was her Social Security
number!!
Older folks might get scared when someone calls with such a
request! DO NOT! Fight back. You KNOW they are crooks. Hang up on them. Tell
them to ##)*)*#$_)(*)()$&*_)(*$#*)$!!! in no uncertain terms. [NO ONE ever
returns calls to me by the time I get through with them. Remember, these are
crooks. I don’t care how nice YOU are, they are out to STEAL YOUR IDENTITY AND
YOUR MONEY. They deserve every four-letter work you can throw at them and then
to be put into jail!
Now remember some of the more common door-to-door scams, mostly popular in the summer:
Above all, NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER let anyone into your home, especially if there are two people. One often will talk with you about home repairs while the other is scoping out “possible repairs,” when he really is walking around your house looking for items to steal, like all your jewelry. Do NOT let people into your home. The one time I did, I followed them around with a loaded shotgun. They didn’t stay long, and nothing was stolen!!!
My favorite was actually a winter scam. On a very cold day in early December, I was working in my office and the doorbell rang. It was a woman in her 40s, claiming to work for the XYZ Company (well known), and she noticed that I had ice forming on the inside of my front window. Her line was that with my “double-pane” windows, if ice is forming on the inside it means that the gas between the panes has escaped. Well folks, if you DO have double-pane windows, that’s true. Only it was so pathetically obvious that I do not, but I do keep the humidity up fairly high in the wintertime. When it’s 10 degrees outside and 68 and humid inside, you ARE going to get frost on the bottoms of your windows. It hurts nothing. I was busy working, otherwise I would have invited her in and then called the police. She was just another scam artist.
They come in all varieties, all types of scams, all times of year, at the door and by phone. The bottom line is simple:
It’s a dangerous world out there. Seems far more people today would like to get money the easy way. Don’t let them take yours!
Blackdog
