Scams, scams and more scams!

Every day I read about a new scam targeting the elderly especially. Please remind your loved ones and friends that nobody gives you anything and that these people are just looking for victims.
Depressing,I know but it's happening all over the place.

 

I was recently hit with this one. (I'm 64).

I'm at the gas pump at a Wawa. Sweet looking blonde, early 30's, nice attachments, tight jeans and a sweater, gorgeous steel gray eyes comes out of nowhere.

Blonde: You look like a nice guy.

Me (Thinking): WTF does she want?

Blonde: I can't believe how dumb I am. I did a blonde thing. (Exaggerated thump of palm to forehead). I left work for lunch and forgot my purse. I have already pumped my gas. I wonder if you would loan me some money to pay for the gas and buy some lunch.

Me: You're kidding.

Blonde: No, I just need $100 and I'll give you my address and you give me yours. You can even come to my job tomorrow to pick it up. I work at (military base).

Me (Incredulous): No way.

Blonde (Very Sarcastic): Thanks a lot.

I called the police from my cell. It took them 90 minutes to respond. They took a report for "Suspicious Activity". Blonde was long gone.

 

How funny. She must have been a real blonde because nowadays you cannot pump without prepaying the cashier on inserting the credit/debit card.

I hate the gas money begging.

 

So, so true. My parents, 80-ish, grew up during a different time when trust was the norm. They are both highly educated, very intelligent, and both were well respected in their professional careers for over 40 years before they retired. Both are in declining health, but still very independent and living on their own. They have been the victim of scams twice because they trusted the wrong person, once even letting the person into their home thinking he was a repairman. It's heart breaking. Never in a million years would I have dreamed they could ever be the victim of a scammer! There is a "special place" for the people who scam the elderly! I wish crimes against the elderly were treated as "hate" crimes.

 

My grandmothers sister in law got scammed over the phone by some folks who told her she had won the Canadian lottery. She has never been to Canada and certainly didnt enter their lottery so now of it makes sense. But these people are con men who pray upon old people's trusting nature. She is very elderly and lives alone. They basically get her to send them thousands of dollars, which she didnt even have, over several months. When she realized there was no lottery money, she tried to commit suicide by ingesting an entire bottle of Tylenol. Just f'n sad.

I think everything is a scam. Not too long ago in Memphis some dude appears out of no where when I was with a colleague taking a customer to lunch. He was from out of town, his car broke down, and he just needed to the money to pay the mechanic, blah blah blah. I called his bluff and said, "so your car is in the shop? Take me there now. I want to see this car first and then I will see if I can help you". He declined and got away from me pretty quickly!

 

That is a regional thing. Almost every station here, you can still pump, then go inside and pay. I know in Vegas what you stated applies and it also usually applies to the pump furthest from the building, even here.

Also in Vegas, when you swipe your card, you have to enter your zip code. None of that here in WI.

While living in Vegas this young couple with an infant beg me for gas money at the pump for their car. Now I am not a softy by any means, but the situation touched me. I didn't give them money, but I swiped my card and told them to fill up.

He starts hugging me, she runs out of the car and is hugging me. You would have thought I gave them a million dollars.

It is the only time I've done something like that.

 

I hate to break it to you but the people you have to fear the most are family. I worked in a lot of areas of credit for a long time and we've dealt with losing 3 parents in the last few years, one of them had lost their marbles and we found out about money that went to my cousin and sister. Trust me, the biggest threat is right in the family.

 

Here in MN, we dont prepay for gas, except in certain "rough" areas. Back to scams...I had a call this week from the dept of "windows" telling me that my computer had been compromised and I need to go to a certain web page so they could fix the problem, I played dumb for awhile and then finally told the heavily accented indian woman that I dont believe you and hung up.

I also got a call a while back telling me I had won a $8000 govt grant and all I had to do was while money through moneygram at my local drug store and then they would give me the rest tax/strings free, I again played dumb and ended up talking to them for most of an hour(didn't have much to do that day), I kept hanging up on them and they would call back and apologize for getting cut off, it was great fun.

 

I was at a funeral couple years ago for one of my wife's relatives and heard a story that I'm pretty sure is true. She was suffering from dementia before she passed. While she was in the early stages dementia, a roofing contractor ripped her off for repairs that were never done and several of his friends also took advantage of her for about 50k. This all occurred in one week.

Well she had 5 boys and when they found out they were furious. They own a concrete business and the joke (sort of) is they are connected. They tracked them down and magically they got the 50k back after having a "long talk" with each scam artist

I agree the people that people who pray on the elderly are disgusting so I hope that these people got there just desserts because justice is not always available to many of the victims.

 

another elderly telephone scam is the guy who is from the "shipping department" and is awaiting verification of my CC # before they can ship my "needed" medical supplies. That is even worse than the broad who is calling about my credit card.

 

So true.

I am on the outs with my family because of money issue.

I am not the only person with family issues. Just one of the few that is willing to cut them out of my life.

 

My father hasn't been feeling well lately and when I visited yesterday he briefly commented on his heating bill. It took me about half and hour before I remembered his comment and asked him about it.

Turns out, someone came to his door and talked him into signing a contract that would charge him 3x the price he is currently paying for natural gas. Luckily, he had 10 days to cancel so I was able to call and get it cancelled.

It makes me sick that these guys rip off people when they are obviously not well. My father would never had fallen for this normally but he just wanted the guy gone. The salesman had talked his way into the house and wasn't leaving till he got what he wanted.

 

I get these emails all the time, just got this one today. I'm not sure why some people fall for this but it does happen.

Dear Beneficiary,

My name is Dr.Kingsley C.Moghalu,the deputy governor CBN.I was mandated by the President Federal Republic in conjunction with the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the Senate Committee on Foreign Debts Reconciliation and Implementation Panel on Contract/inheritance/compensation funds to complete all the unpaid Contract/inheritance/lottery fund. You are required as a matter of urgency to reconfirm your information including your name, phone number and your address for verification and immediate payment within 24 hours.

To this effect, the sum of TEN MILLION, SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED STATES DOLLARS (US$10.7m) has been approved for you. I wish to inform you that all matters relating to the release of this payment is now under my control and supervision. This development has become necessary due to the activities of unpatriotic government/CBN officials and impostors who keep on frustrating every effort to settle our clients by making requests for unauthorized fees and levies from them.

We apologize for any delay you might have encountered in the past; your payment is now 100% Guaranteed

Kindly choose from these three modes of payment(wire transfer, diplomatic cash payment and ATM card).

Best Regards,
Deputy Governor CBN

 

I was at a Kingman gas station on my way to Vegas and had just got back in my car after filling up. This guy in his 50's walks up to my window and I crack it enough to talk through but not much else. He doesn't look homeless but very close to it.

He asked where I'm going. I ask him where he's going. He blathered another question and I ask him the same question. He wondered why I wasn't more friendly and answer him so I told him I don't know him. He went on about being the "friendly type from Texas" and sticks his hand in my barely open power-window to shake.

As fast as his hand is inside, and purely on instinct, I hit the "Close" button smashing his hand. I open it a little and he pulls it out looking at me all mad. He stands there glaring at me and rubbing his hand as I calmly start my car, put it in gear and idle out to the street. He was walking to another fueling motorist at last glance and still glaring.

Moral of the story: Get to the scam sooner. It's easier on the bones.

 

This happened last weekend in Vegas:

Sitting at a BJ table in the Bellagio. An Asian girl approaches me with an MGM Grand slot ticket for $24.90. Says she has a plane to catch, and the Bellagio will not cash an MGM Grand slot ticket. Asks if I'd take the ticket and give her $20 in chips.

No way in hell was I gonna do that. So I just said no and tried to ignore her.

She tried asking the dealer what she could do. Dealer said she would take it as a tip if she couldn't get it cashed. :evillaugh

 

We finally had to take the checkbook away from my dearly departed, sweet, naive mother in law. She thought every month she was a finalist to win the Publishers Clearinghouse and/or Readers Digest Sweepstakes. Those people are parasites.

 

Many old folks are scammed by their supposed grandchild calling from some foreign place and they are desperately in need of wired money.

I've set up a system with my family that they have to know a secret code word before I will deal with calls or emails.

I think most of us carry family email addresses with us nowadays. If this list is stolen, you need that code word to be sure who you're dealing with. It's also a good idea to let the folks on your list know that this list was stolen.

 

If you get the 'Windows' call, tell them you don't own a computer.

 

We are dealing with my husband ailing parents. They have been taken advantage by every "political activist' group in the US. I'm sure their name has been sold numerous times (there are groups that sell SUCKER lists for people who have donated to a a shady Charity). My Father in Law is a Vet.. so anytime he receives something asking to support a military charity - he gives.. not really knowing if they are legit or not. There are many Legit charities..but just as many fake shady ones. I have spent hours on the net trying to get them off lists and requesting "Do NO Contact". Some of the places are impossible to find any address and you just loop over and over on the website.. and actually have no direct contact information. My In-laws do not use computers and are not savvy on how to research a legitimate Charity. We did not transfer the home phone number to the new assisted living place.. as they do not follow the "Do Not Contact' rules. They just start a new "Charity" name and start calling under that. They call them by name.. tell them how much they need there assistance.. and any amount will help. I would suggest having a direct and honest discussion with your elderly relatives about donations and charities. Volunteer to research a charity and give them honest feedback. If it is a legit charity - don't judge.. but let them know when one is a SCAM!

 

^^ Years ago I gave a nice donation to CNIB (Canadian National Institute for the Blind). Talk about charities selling their sucker list!! My phone never stopped ringing for about 3 years with other "charities" begging for money. That's the last time CNIB ever got my money and I told them why when they called. It's better to give anonymously. Once you get on that sucker list, scammers come from miles to get their share.

With seniors getting scammed, many don't like to admit what happened either. For years, my father warned me about scams yet when it happened to him, he was truly embarrassed. I felt so bad for him feeling that way but can't help wonder if other outfits are taking advantage of him too. You really have to be vigilant with elderly parents. For years they've been used to warning their children to be smart about scams and then they feel ashamed to admit it happened to them. It's sad to see them put in that position.

I've warned my Dad about the phone call from grandchildren scam but the code word is a good idea. I often hear about this scam happening around here. Thanks for the tip Julie.