MUSINGS FROM JOAN #20
I received a lovely e-mail from a gentleman in Peru the other day. He wished to thank me profusely for all the help I gave him recently in securing $2.3 million in funds from his late uncle’s estate and wanted me to know that my share of this bounty. . .I believe it was a nice round $500,000. . . .would be in the mail shortly. I can’t wait. All I have to do is contact his solicitor, etc. etc. I'm already imagining what I will do with all this largesse. . possibly a nice diamond ring????
There must be something about my e-mail address, because today I received an e-mail from a Reverend Johnson in Canada who has a contract with someone in Nigeria and has asked God to help him get paid. Apparently, God gave him my name and somehow, through my good graces, the Nigerian government has come through with his money. He wants to show me how grateful he is for my help by sending me $900,000. You have to admit, this is a better deal than the Peruvian offer, so I guess I am moving up in the world. All I have to do for this wonderful offer is to get in touch with his secretary, a Mr. Robert Denis, and the money, which I have so clearly earned, will be forwarded, post haste (Add a few more carats to the ring!)
I have obviously been very busy helping people secure all sorts of huge payments, simply out of the goodness of my heart. It’s so heartwarming to see how grateful they all are for my phantom efforts. What’s not so heartwarming is the idea that some people actually fall for these scams. That’s a scary thought.
Scams are nothing new, but they seem to be proliferating these days, between Madoff with his billions and Miami’s penchant for Medicare fraud. I have to admit that in the past I have been guilty of only giving a cursory glance to my credit card bills and bank statements. These days I have learned to spend a little more time reading exactly what they say and I never fail to be amazed at what I find that doesn’t belong there. I’ve learned to call Customer Service and ask questions.
Even those of us who consider ourselves too smart to fall for such schemes can find themselves victims to the art of not “opting out”. Twice I’ve had to extricate myself from this little beauty. Once when my Macy’s bill suddenly started charging me for “fraud protection”. . . .a quick call to the accounting office revealed that I had not “opted out” from that new service, meaning that I had unknowingly accepted it. . . .and second when my Master Card billing had a $9.99 charge for something called “Personally Yours” for two months in a row. I couldn’t place the name or match up a bill so I called. Sure enough, it turned out that something I had purchased on the internet had apparently offered an additional service that I didn’t notice. Since I didn’t say I didn’t want it, they decided I did. The good news is that in both cases the charges were reversed.
While those who know me well know that I refuse to think of myself as a senior citizen, I do realize that many of these scams are directed towards those of us of a certain age. I can’t help remembering years ago when I was going over my 90 year old mother’s mail one day and was startled to find that she had recently become an active member of the Sierra Club. If you’re an ardent hiker of mountains, lover of wild life and a lifelong outdoorsman, you will be familiar with that organization. My Mother was afraid of dogs, much less bears and mountain lions, so I can’t imagine her ever indulging in those types of activities even as a young woman. Apparently, she had received something in the mail and voila!, she was a member and they were asking for payment.
That one was easy enough to undo, but bottom line, you gotta watch what you sign these days. As soon as the check comes from Nigeria, you’re all invited to a party. I'll be wearing my ring.
I received a lovely e-mail from a gentleman in Peru the other day. He wished to thank me profusely for all the help I gave him recently in securing $2.3 million in funds from his late uncle’s estate and wanted me to know that my share of this bounty. . .I believe it was a nice round $500,000. . . .would be in the mail shortly. I can’t wait. All I have to do is contact his solicitor, etc. etc. I'm already imagining what I will do with all this largesse. . possibly a nice diamond ring????
There must be something about my e-mail address, because today I received an e-mail from a Reverend Johnson in Canada who has a contract with someone in Nigeria and has asked God to help him get paid. Apparently, God gave him my name and somehow, through my good graces, the Nigerian government has come through with his money. He wants to show me how grateful he is for my help by sending me $900,000. You have to admit, this is a better deal than the Peruvian offer, so I guess I am moving up in the world. All I have to do for this wonderful offer is to get in touch with his secretary, a Mr. Robert Denis, and the money, which I have so clearly earned, will be forwarded, post haste (Add a few more carats to the ring!)
I have obviously been very busy helping people secure all sorts of huge payments, simply out of the goodness of my heart. It’s so heartwarming to see how grateful they all are for my phantom efforts. What’s not so heartwarming is the idea that some people actually fall for these scams. That’s a scary thought.
Scams are nothing new, but they seem to be proliferating these days, between Madoff with his billions and Miami’s penchant for Medicare fraud. I have to admit that in the past I have been guilty of only giving a cursory glance to my credit card bills and bank statements. These days I have learned to spend a little more time reading exactly what they say and I never fail to be amazed at what I find that doesn’t belong there. I’ve learned to call Customer Service and ask questions.
Even those of us who consider ourselves too smart to fall for such schemes can find themselves victims to the art of not “opting out”. Twice I’ve had to extricate myself from this little beauty. Once when my Macy’s bill suddenly started charging me for “fraud protection”. . . .a quick call to the accounting office revealed that I had not “opted out” from that new service, meaning that I had unknowingly accepted it. . . .and second when my Master Card billing had a $9.99 charge for something called “Personally Yours” for two months in a row. I couldn’t place the name or match up a bill so I called. Sure enough, it turned out that something I had purchased on the internet had apparently offered an additional service that I didn’t notice. Since I didn’t say I didn’t want it, they decided I did. The good news is that in both cases the charges were reversed.
While those who know me well know that I refuse to think of myself as a senior citizen, I do realize that many of these scams are directed towards those of us of a certain age. I can’t help remembering years ago when I was going over my 90 year old mother’s mail one day and was startled to find that she had recently become an active member of the Sierra Club. If you’re an ardent hiker of mountains, lover of wild life and a lifelong outdoorsman, you will be familiar with that organization. My Mother was afraid of dogs, much less bears and mountain lions, so I can’t imagine her ever indulging in those types of activities even as a young woman. Apparently, she had received something in the mail and voila!, she was a member and they were asking for payment.
That one was easy enough to undo, but bottom line, you gotta watch what you sign these days. As soon as the check comes from Nigeria, you’re all invited to a party. I'll be wearing my ring.
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Photo caption: What I’m buying as soon as the check from Nigeria arrives.
Photo caption: What I’m buying as soon as the check from Nigeria arrives.
I'm guessing there was some trepidation from the significant other upon opening the blog and seeing that picture. Hopefully he made it past the image without passing out and was able to actually read the blog.
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