HALLIE EPHRON: The other day I went to see the movie THELMA at my local senior center. I’d been wanting to see it since it opened, inspired by the rave New York Times review (entitled “Granny Get Your Gun”) of June Squibb, the 90-something actress who plays Thelma.
In the movie, Thelma gets a call, supposedly from a lawyer, saying her beloved grandson has been arrested and she has to immediately send big bucks in cash to a PO box.
She panics and does as she’s told. Later, when local law enforcement says there’s no way to get the money back, she takes matters into her own hands with a“borrowed” mobility scooter and pilfered gun and a little help from a friend.
I enjoyed the movie, despite the plot being utterly ridiculous. And there was the subtext of all the older women and men sitting in the room with me and laughing as many of the jokes about aging struck (too?) close to home.
Before the movie began we listened to a talk given by an expert on scams that target the elderly.
Almost everyone I know has experienced attempted scams. Weekly, if not daily. A few weeks ago, many of us got an email saying our EZ-pass accounts were overspent and we needed to click a link and replenish. Scam.
Our security expert’s advice: NEVER CLICK! HANG UP!
It happens to even smart, savvy people. A dear (and tech savvy) friend ended up nearly transferring a thousand dollars to rectify a “credit card issue” that “the bank” called to tell her about. Fortunately she hung up and just in time, called the bank directly to see if there was a problem with her credit card. There was not.
Most writers have experienced a scam where we get an email from a supposed celebrity blogger inviting us to be featured on their blog, offering to pay us thousands for the honor. In my dreams this would be legit, but not in the real world.
I already knew most of the bits of advice that the security expert shared, but one surprised me.
WHEN YOU GET A CALL WITH A CALLER ID YOU DON’T RECOGNIZE (OR NO CALLER ID), IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO ANSWER THE PHONE, PICK UP BUT DON’T SAY ANYTHING.
This is because even if the caller never convinces you to do something stupid with your money, they can record your voice and spoof it with a scam call to your loved one.
So what’s your experience been with scammers and what advice are you heeding?
(If you want concise advice about avoiding scams, see this article in U. S. News.)
This whole thing about scams and using Artificial Intelligence to make recordings that sound like your loved ones is downright scary.
ReplyDeleteWe get scam phone calls all the time; often they come up on the Caller ID tagged as spam. We just ignore them . . . unless it's a name or a phone number we recognize, we don't answer the phone at all, we simply let it go to "leave a message" . . . .
Scary indeed! More like a work of fiction. And then... I got a call from a number I didn't recognize, did not pick up, and it turned out to be my doctor's office. Thank goodness for voice mail. (remember the old day when you camehome and first thing, looked at your answering machine to see if it was blinking?
DeleteI recently got scammed and quickly made the adjustments I needed to avoid any future usage by the scammer.
ReplyDeleteI let all my calls go to voice mail if I don't recognize the number.
It's a good practice... but then there are the spoofers who can make it look like the call is coming from a known person or place.
DeleteWhere can we get this movie? I'd like to get my Red Hat ladies together & show it to them.
DeleteMany scams by phone and email. Was momentarily engaged with the 'auntie I need money' scam until my brain clicked in, at which point I swore -- LOUDLY -- and hung up with a flourish (was on the old fashioned landline where I can still slam the receiver down). That taught me to be ever vigilant and to NEVER say 'Hello' or 'Yes' to a stranger on the phone; just stay silent. AI voice fakes are beyond scary.
ReplyDeleteSo many crooks in the world, and the absolute worst are those who prey on the elderly. Musk having access to all our Social Security numbers and accounts is an absolute nightmare.
ReplyDeleteMy grandson just moved to Cincinnati, and I took him out to dinner the other night. Our first night out together in his adulthood! We talked about the granny scam, and decided on some code words only he and I would know. He doesn't anticipate ever needing to call me, but just in case.
How sweet to have him nearby! Good idea about the code words.
DeleteIt really is, and you know the feeling, Edith. He is the first of the kids (he's the only grandkid) to move back to the area in 17 years. Bliss.
DeleteCode word... a good idea.
DeleteI have received several phone calls from "grandchildren" in trouble. When I got the first one, my oldest grandson was about 7 years old. I laughed and hung up. In the most recent one, the caller had a slight Hispanic accent. Uh, no. And the kids are still young.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a land line and the phone in the kitchen is on the wall with no caller ID. We pick up the phone all the time. I'll tell Irwin about the voice spoofing.
I did have to cancel a credit card because of a contest on Facebook to win a book, and close a bank account (twice) because of a check stolen from a contractor's' car, and a fake credit card reader at a gas station,. But luckily, we have not been hurt, just annoyed. Thanks for the info, Hallie.
So scary, Judy! It's as if you can trust no one these days.
DeleteMy particular favorite scam attempt was when someone from "Microsoft" would call the house and tell my mother that her computer was infected. Not only did my mother not have a computer, she didn't even use one. She was paranoid that she would hit the wrong key and it would quite literally blow up. If she needed something done on or looked up on the computer, I'd be the one tapping away at the keys or what have you.
ReplyDeleteI also love the spam scam emails I got a few years back telling me they'd hacked my webcam and they had recorded my actions while I was supposedly on a porn website and that they were going to release the recordings unless I paid them money. The catch here being, I wasn't on said porn site AND I don't have a webcam. Not added on to the computer or built in. When I got my computer I was very specific that I wanted no webcam capability.
Just last week, I walked into work and my co-worker was on the phone with someone. They'd called him and offered him some kind of deal. And he was actually going through with it. Well, until they asked him for his social security number. That's when he hung up on them. Of course, it never should've gotten that far but what can you do. If a number comes up on my phone and I don't recognize it. I don't answer it.
Webcams are like Alexa--they can be taken over by someone offsite. My desktop computer has one, but it slides down into the top of the screen when it's not being used. But I get attempts to use it all the time! It flashes on the screen, but because it is encased it can't be accessed.
DeleteThanks for the reminder. I've forgotten to cover the camera on this new laptop. Now it is!
DeleteCovering my camera now, too.
DeleteOver the weekend, I started receiving text messages concerning an Amazon shipment from Mumbai. Sent them to spam, changed my password, activated two factor authentication. My daughter gave me a tutorial during her Christmas visit.
ReplyDeletefrom MUMBAI?!?
DeleteI ignore, block and delete the spam texts and phone calls. They get old. I too got the EZ pass one--we have very few pay bridges and no pay roads here in Oregon, and definitely no one has an EZ pass.
ReplyDeleteThe most common scams are romance scams, where the criminal creates fake on-line profiles and tries to romance the victim over weeks or months before he (or she) asks for money. There are groups in Asia that traffic English speakers to remote locations where they are forced to work on these romance scams and not allowed to leave. I shut down my FB to new friend requests if we didn't have friends in common, because I was so tired of the fairly obvious scammers. They also will approach women if we make comments on public pages. "I really like what you said and you have a fascinating (whatever), would you consider sending me a friend request?" I always tell them that I worked in law enforcement so I'm suspicious :)
"I tell them that work in law enforcement..." That's a great line. Should cut the conversation short.
DeleteWhen I'd only published PESTICIDE, my first book, I got scammed by a woman who offered to review my book on her blog for $100. There were several back-and-forth emails that still didn't completely convince me that she was legitimate, but I was so eager for reviews that I went along. I sent her the money and an ebook version of my book that I paid for. How could I have been so stupid? Months after hearing nothing, I wrote her to ask where my review was, and she sent me a piece about my book. It was very poorly written, overflowing with fulsome praise, and completely generic: it could have been about any book. If she'd sent me that "review" at the beginning as an example of her work, I'd never have hired her. I consider this a $109.99 lesson in avoiding gullibility and being savvy about scams!
ReplyDeleteI feel your pain, Kim. Not me, but someone I know--looking for a publisher for her first book (a YA mystery). The publishing company she found charged her $1500--inserting typos and generally making a mess of her manuscript. It's now at the point where the company is not responding to phone calls, emails, etc. So many scams out there!
Deletewriters are desperate - we ALL are! And easy prey.
DeleteSeveral years ago I got an email from a favorite author whose newsletters i received. The email was asking for my help because she was travelling in a foreign country and in some sort of trouble and needed me to send money. I was a little annoyed that she thought she could ask me for money - certainly she must have had other friends or family that she could ask. I ignored the request but felt bad that I had. Of course as it turned out she was not travelling, not in any trouble and had no idea that someone had used her newsletter list to scam others.
ReplyDeleteRecently I had two different calls asking about my medicare card. I told them I didn't have the card they were asking about but they insisted I must have. They kept telling me they would wait while I went to get it. I finally hung up both times. I'm sure it must have been a scam but I can't figure out how it would work.
I got the movie Thelma from my library. Is everyone aware that you can do that? A great service. I really enjoy the actress, June Squibb, who often plays the part of a very foul-mouthed character. A book with a similar theme - elderly person being conned with the grandchild scheme is Mrs. Plansky's Revenge by Spencer Quinn. The sequel, to come out in July is Mrs. Plansky Goes Rogue.
We often get movies from the library, Judi!
DeleteThanks Judi - I just put a hold on the movie. I didn't even think of seeing the movie that way. I loved the Mrs Plansky books.
DeleteI'm a HUGE Spencer Quinn/Mrs. Plansky fan!
DeleteJudi, if you give anyone your medicare card number, with a little additional information, they could potentially use it to pay for drugs or other charges. All those government issued numbers are not for sharing.
DeleteThank you, Judy. I couldn't come up with a reason but knew there must be one. Good thing I gave him nothing.
DeleteJudi, Susan has better reasons for not sharing Medicare numbers below. I hope everyone takes a look.
DeleteWe get the usual – fill in the blank for Visa, Mastercard, Amazon, Bell – account is overdrawn. Especially funny as we don’t have a lot of those accounts. The strange thing is that scam calls make our land line ring funny. I ignore them, but some other idiot (not mentioning names) listens to the spiel especially during lunch when they always call which annoys me no end (both the call, and the answerer…).
ReplyDeleteWhat I don’t understand is how they got my cell-phone number. They ALWAYS call when we are somewhere we would rather not be bothered – store, hospital, etc. This is an emergency phone only, and other than my kids and the vet, no one knows it. They are always surveys or political calls. If I look to see if it might be important (usually not) and should actually be answered, the call always originates out of province. No, not opening that!
Now as for UPS – they often send a spam ‘need to pick-up, call here’ for an Amazon order. How do they know? Since we rarely get anything from UPS, the call never occurs. This always comes on email, not the phone.
I get scam emails and phone calls. I just ignore them.
ReplyDeleteOh, such a perfect blog.
ReplyDeleteYes, even the smartest people fall for these, it is so frustrating.
This has been my life for 40 years, fighting these for consumers, I have to say, and it’s enraging.
It’s very very difficult to actually catch the perpetrators, and they spread such a wide net that if they get even the tiniest percentage of people to fall for them, they win. And it can be incredibly devastating.
And once you fall for one of these , you are on their suckers list, and you will be bombarded with them forever. Thank you, Hallie, for this!
Thank YOU, Hank!
DeleteI get the usual emails from "Amazon" telling me my Prime account has been suspended and payment is necessary. The thing is, I don't have a Prime account. One of the more interesting phone scams I received was from someone stating they were with Publisher's Clearing House prizes, and I had won a substantial prize, but first they just needed some banking and personal information. I asked why they didn't just show up at my address as they show on TV. They said this wasn't the big prize, but a very large one. I then asked why they didn't just mail me the forms so I could fill them out myself. Nope - they needed the info first. Finally, I hung up on them because PCH doesn't have my phone number. Address, yes, phone number no. Must admit I was a bit sad because I could have used a hefty cash infusion. -- Victoria
ReplyDeleteHa ha ha! Yes, indeed, Victoria. You missed that boat.
DeleteI've received the texts about the USPO. Newsflash: The USPO doesn't work by text. I've also gotten the EZPass scam. There was one that almost got me, but I hung up in time.
ReplyDeleteI don't click links in texts or emails, and I don't answer phone calls from numbers I don't recognize. They can leave a voicemail if they are legit.
I am humiliated to admit that during the time we were knee deep in downsizing, I actually succumbed to one scam. (I think I literally had service providers in the house distracting me as I took the call.) I divulged my full Medicare number over the phone to what I have come to realize was a scammer. I realized by the time I got off the call, but too late to take back the information.
ReplyDeleteI have had no unexplained bills or explanations of benefits because of it, but I HAVE had a lot of scam calls claiming to be providers of medical services wanting to "help with my pain." As I understand this scam, that's what they do -- get your Medicare number first, then get you to agree to some treatment and they bill it to Medicare. You receive nothing and the government pays for fake services. I screen my calls 95% of the time and on those rare occasions I do pick up one of those calls from a purported service provider, I now simply hang up without explanation. I am in excellent health so this is easy, but I can see where it would be harder to sort the wheat from the chaff if you were actually seeking help with pain, or a bit confused.
Thanks for expaining how the medicare number scamming works... I did not know. (MY doctor's office called me once and asked me for my medicare and SS number and I told them I would not give it to them over the phone. It was a legit call, but really they could wait until I either called THEM back or was in the office and could give it to them i person. It doesn't always have to be "right this second."
DeleteThis is the trailer for the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFAFsDEM0j4
ReplyDeleteIt looks quite good.
For about 20+ years (maybe longer) I've been getting a weird call where I answer the phone and the caller says "Marsha?" I just hang up. I am not sure what to do about it.
I got a grandmother call from my "grandson" which was an obvious scam. It was funny because when the caller said I'm not doing too good grandma, I responded OH BILLY! I'm so soooorry in a mocking voice. And the caller actually hung up on me! LOL.
I should add I generally just hang up especially if there is a long pause between when I say hello (in a mumbled voice). Our landline phone and cell phones will have SPAM RISK and the caller's phone number. on the screen.
Delete"Marsha...?" That sounds like the beginning of a novel. Maybe there IS a Marsha who had your phone number and what if....
DeleteCoincidentally, The Guardian has this article on their site this morning, about turning the tables on scammers, using AI:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/feb/04/ai-granny-scammers-phone-fraud
Thanks for the link - fascinating.
DeleteI just listened to it Karen and it's pretty funny! The AI voice sounds very real - that's the scary part.
ReplyDeleteJust saw something about not saying Yes or No when a scammer calls you. I already warned hearing family members not to say anything when picking up the phone because of this issue. I suspected something like spoofing voices from responses.
ReplyDeleteThere is a scam that I need to warn everyone about. An elderly relative ordered something from a catalog based in Wisconsin (if it is really there) on the phone and they tried to sign them up for a credit card. They refused the credit card offer. They sent the wrong stuff and charged 4 x more money. Finally resolved these issues and decided Never to order anything from that company again. They were selling things for elderly people like household items and underwear. The company name was something like EASY COMFORTS.
Seems that there was a guest author here on JRW who wrote a novel based on real life experience of an elderly relative being scammed out of their money. I think the author or the title was something like Plansky?
The story about the grandson in distress is so familiar to me. I remember an elderly relative receiving a similar call and that relative had the same response as Anon above!
Oh, your oor relative! That's a great point about never saying YES or NO.
DeleteI get calls from Florida all the time. Sometimes I answer with a little girl's voice , sometimes I say nothing, sometimes I just let it hang up on it's own. They never leave a message. I get texts too. Offering to buy my property in Florida. I never been to Florida. I block the numbers, the texts stop for a while. For some reason it is harder to block the phone calls' numbers. Very irritating.
ReplyDeleteYou'd think with all the technologies scammers use to get through to us, the phone company could equip us with weapons to combat it. I wonder if there's some way the phone company profits by letting it happen...
DeleteThere are 7 states that have a Deana Dale listed, Not many with your name, but enough to keep the scam going. I was able to find this information quickly. Think what a criminal can do.
DeleteMy mother received a phone call from someone claiming to be her grandson once. Luckily a caregiver was with her at the time and contacted me to ask about it. Because if some rather estranged extended family dynamics it could have been a legit grandson calling out of the blue, but it was not.
ReplyDeleteI have had the EZ Pass text which is ridiculous because the whole account is set up with my husband’s information.
I hope I never fall for one of these things. I am quite suspicious by nature, perhaps it comes from reading mysteries and thrillers.
I think the truth is it could happen to ANY of us.
DeleteYears of working in a law firm and hearing these tragic stories first hand have made me very wary. My dad was targeted by a "charity" that operates in Florida and claims to be collecting funds for the State police. I handled my dad's finances at the time. He called me at 2 AM telling me I had to send a check for $100 immediately. The scammer told him if he didn't they wouldn't respond to any calls from his house for police, fire, or medical aid. I was working with a police agency at the time and assured my dad that 1) cops don't call to solicit funds; and 2) it was a scam. Took a number of calls and a visit from one of the cops I was working with to convince my dad the threat was bogus. That "charity" it still solicits. It's like playing whack-a-mole to get rid of it. They do give funds to the police benevolent society, just enough to keep their legally charity active. 99% of the money goes to administrative expenses (paying the callers who are usually college students). They don't usually make threats so they are able to skirt the law. Despicable children of female dogs!
ReplyDeleteFascinating, Kait - terrifying for your dad. It's horrifying that this is even legal.
DeleteMostly I am contacted by these 'charming men' claim to be overwhelmed by my brilliant posts. Oddly, they are all white males who were military officers. and live near the water. They just want to talk to me, and they are so lonely..... and poor dears, unless they are transitioning, the wrong gender.
ReplyDeleteCoralee, LOL.
DeleteI had the EZ pass text message a couple of weeks ago. I don’t have an EZ pass account.
ReplyDeleteSeveral months back, when I checked my text messages in the morning, there was one from my credit card company informing me that they shut down my account, and that I needed to call them ASAP. They said that someone had tried to use my card to pay for a spa service in the amount of ninety cents! It sounded like a scam, and I ignored it. Later in the day I received either a text or an email from them, stating that it was important for me to call them about my suspended account. I decided I would call, but I would call the number on the back of my card, NOT the number in the letter. It turned out to be true! They sent me a new card immediately. I have no idea how my credit card number got “out there” for some scammer to use. The bank told me that the “spa service” charge was done in a foreign country.
A long time ago I received one of those scam emails about a friend being stranded in Paris after being robbed, and that she needed money, etc. Well, that friend was home in the US, undergoing radiation treatments. She was not in Paris.
I no longer answer the phone. I let everything go to voicemail or to the answering machine for my landline. I have a suspicious mind; callers will need to prove to me that they’re legitimate.
DebRo
Deb, you were so smart to call the phone number ON your credit card. I have my credit card set up so I get pinged WHENEVER it's used. That way I know immediately when it's used for something I didn't authorize.
DeleteWe have a friend who used to love to annoy the hell out of the spammers when they would call him on his landline and the caller ID # was suspect. After the first ring he would pick up the phone and say "Homicide Division...What's your emergency?" Or "911...What's your emergency?" The instantaneous hang up on the other end of the line was music to his ears. Before I had caller I.D. on my landline phone and I was forced to answer the calls I kept a whistle nearby and used it when it was obvious there was a scammer on the other end of the line. I started doing that when one of those knuckleheads became so persistent and would not stop calling. And how about when they start your day (or end it) by calling at some outrageous hour. I immediately think there's an emergency in the family. All of them... "Evil smart" Dingleberries.
ReplyDeleteOh, Evelyn - keep an eye on your blood pressure!
DeleteGosh, my comment from 5:30 this morning (just after Dru Ann) disappeared! Hallie, can you check the Spam folder, please? Thx.
ReplyDeleteHere is what I wrote: I recently got a text message purporting to be from the US post office about a problem with some piece of mail coming to me. The USPO doesn't have my phone number. I did NOT click.
DeleteIf I might say, though, right now the biggest scam of ever is going on right in front of our eyes with a billionaire and his little hackers dismantling our government. I'm terrified.
Also, we LOVED Thelma. What a delightful movie.
We're watching a series on Netflix that has a romance scam subplot, and I'm also (finally) reading Richard Osman's THE LAST DEVIL TO DIE which also has a romance scam subplot. You wouldn't think that people you know actually fall for these things, but we know someone who has, repeatedly. And I don't mean just repeatedly sending money to the same "woman", but falling for the scam multiple times. It's human gullibilty that keeps these spammers in business.
ReplyDeleteRick, by the way, having been a dispatcher, loves to answer the spam calls with "911, what is your emergency?" He likes to wind the callers up, but I either don't answer or just hang up.
I came thisclose to falling for an Amazon scam. We had a landline with an answering machine at the time and a message was left about a questionable charge. I checked with my husband and son (who was living in San Jose at the time which is where the supposed charge took place) and neither had bought anything from Amazon recently. I called the number that was left on the machine. My first clue should have been that the man answered, “Yeah?” But no, I stupidly said I was calling about a call I’d received about my Amazon account. He immediately became much more professional sounding. He explained that he needed to have his colleague get into my computer to look for I don’t remember what. This was post-lockdown. At work we’d had to have our tech person “take control” of our computers to fix something or other so I guess I was still in that frame of mind. I could see the cursor moving around on the screen. The first man was still talking to me and it all seemed to make sense - until he asked for my banking information! I told him I wouldn’t give it to him and he said, “But you called us!” (which technically I had because I responded to the voice mail message). I hung up on him, turned off my computer, and immediately called my bank to put a lock on my account, in case they’d gotten anything from my computer. My landline rang repeatedly for about an hour as the scammers tried to get me to pick up. I took my computer to our computer guy and explained what had happened. He kept it for a day and proclaimed it “clean”. A couple of days later, I got a prompt to install a software update. I didn’t recognize the software so Googled it and, sure enough, it was something that allowed remote access to my computer. I called my computer guy and he said he’d missed it because it was a legitimate software program. He removed it and I never used that computer for banking or bill paying again. I was very fortunate that my gullibility didn’t cost me anything except a valuable “schooling”. — Pat S
ReplyDeleteAND fortunate that you have a "computer guy" at your beck and call! You were really being terrified.
DeleteWell, he was a friend which helped!
DeleteYears ago, I received a call saying I had missed Grand Jury duty and there was a warrant for my arrest (and, of course, a fine.) As I was already sitting at my computer, I checked the info the caller was giving. The dates he said, the judge on the bench for jury selection...all of it lined up with information on the County website. To say I was unnerved would be an understatement. Thankfully, my head cleared enough to ask for a case number (as I truly was going to call a neighbor who is an attorney so I could figure what I was suppose to do.) As soon as I requested the case number, the line went dead. Although I was (at that point) convinced it was a scam, I jumped out of my skin every time there was a knock at the door for about a month.
ReplyDeleteThe alarms ring if any caller asks for ANY personal information. Even if the caller might be legit, she or he shouldn't be asking for ANY numbers.And never call them back at the number they give you, which is part of the scam. I recently had a call from a mortgage broker within the investment company I use. I declined to speak with him. I called my investment company directly, used its system to find this broker, called him directly once I knew he was for real.
ReplyDeleteSusan, you are absolutely correct. The good thing, besides the passage of time, is that we’ve moved and gave up the landline. — Pat S
DeleteFor some reason I received this blog post at almost 2:15 PM. Usually they are delivered at 5:00 AM!
ReplyDeleteI'm fairly alert to scams but I think I might have fallen for the EZPass scam if it had come to my email. (I don't do anything on my phone; I'm too fumble-fingered and paranoid.) Anyway, since my the EZPass account is still connected to one on our daughter's car -- she is a political activist in Portland, ME and does lots of traveling -- I would simply have assumed she had gone through many tolls. Yikes! I think it may be time to transfer that EZPass to her! Thanks, Hallie! (Selden)
I seldom answer a call if it's a number I don't know, but if I'm expecting a call from a doctor or think the area code might be important, I do. They always say, "hello, is this Kathy?" I reply, "Who is this calling?" They finally give in and tell me what they're calling about. However, now I just won't say anything, due to your advice, Hallie. I do mostly let calls go to voice mail because if it's important enough, they will leave a message.
ReplyDeleteLast year I came very close to getting scammed out of $40,000. It all started with a refund they needed to give me from Paypal. I had no idea I was due a refund on anything, but I went along for the scam ride (stupid, stupid, stupid). When it got to the point where the amount was $40,000 I needed to send them in order for them to put it back in my account and get things straightened out, we got in touch with our bank, changed passwords and set up an alert system. It really can happen to just about anybody.
A friend got scammed out of $5,ooo.oo . After that everyone on her friends list on FB started getting all kinds of crazy scam calls and text. About IRS agents , government grants. You worked hard for your money be smart about these scams.
ReplyDeleteOnce my law firm gave me a newly-activated Blackberry and the phone number had previously belonged to someone the FBI was trying to find. Once a month, someone would call, clearly not expecting to reach anyone, and would get incredibly excited when I answered. The man would sternly announce he was with the FBI and demand my whereabouts. The first time I thought it was my brother playing a joke on me. The FBI agent did not like being told to be more mature. He invited me to call FBI's Boston office. Eventually I persuaded him the number of his perp now belonged to innocent me. He would grudgingly hang up but then a month or so later, I'd have to go through the whole thing again. (I, "I'm not the person you're looking for." Them: "I'll be the judge of that!") I often thought it should be the beginning of a book or I should offer to go meet this guy at midnight in a secluded part of Boston but without a way of reaching the woman they really wanted, I thought it would be hard to advance the plot!
ReplyDeleteI have had a few near misses with scammers but fortunately I only had to cancel a credit card or two. Now I don’t answer any calls from numbers I don’t recognize. BTW it was lovely to meet you last night!
ReplyDelete