Scamming never ends, does it? You think people would learn not to click on misleading, crazy introductions or statements that come through email (or increasingly) text messaging (and who knows where else?).
Scamming people goes back a long way. The phone is still a major avenue where some anonymous individual attempts to suck your savings account dry.
But it you can go back in history to the snake oil salesman at the traveling carnival. Selling you crap that doesn’t work. Getting you to believe something that’s not true or possible.
I’ve come close at times to following up on something that is well written and appears real, but held back each time and sent the inviting message to someone else to get their opinion. Invariably, we have agreed, the special offer was BS. Delete it. Ignore it.
Not everyone does. That’s why the scammers stay after you.
There’s someone I know and respect who took it in the shorts. They chose to follow through on some sites that preyed on the elderly and he dove right in. He believed the junk. He swallowed the package of lies whole. His bank account took a hit. It was very sad to see.
If you live in a modern economy, you know what many of the scams look like. If you’re vigilant, you block or delete. Still, they keep coming, keep thinking you’ll get soft and bow to their pressure.
The attempts are multi-pronged. They try to break you down in many ways. They grab you with the headline. They mislead you with the greeting.
For the sake of humor and enlightenment, here are a few I’ve captured for the reader to file away with knowledge that you can’t trust what comes next. You know it’s spam and a scam when it starts out with:
“Hello.”
“Good Day.” Must be from Australia. Who do you know there?
“My Dearest.” No one talks like that.
“Now’s the time.” For what?
“Hi.” Self-evident.
“Please. May I talk with you?” No.
“Your account.” Hey, dude, you know nothing about my account.
“My greetings.” Huh?
“Your order is ready.” No it’s not, I haven’t ordered anything from you.
“Don’t let bad credit.” I won’t.
“Unshackle yourself.” I’m not in jail.
“Empower your finances.” They’re already empowered.
"Your account has been." No it hasn't.
"Having trouble." Nope.
Feel free to add your own. Stay vigilant. Keep your hand on your wallet.
Scamming people goes back a long way. The phone is still a major avenue where some anonymous individual attempts to suck your savings account dry.
But it you can go back in history to the snake oil salesman at the traveling carnival. Selling you crap that doesn’t work. Getting you to believe something that’s not true or possible.
I’ve come close at times to following up on something that is well written and appears real, but held back each time and sent the inviting message to someone else to get their opinion. Invariably, we have agreed, the special offer was BS. Delete it. Ignore it.
Not everyone does. That’s why the scammers stay after you.
There’s someone I know and respect who took it in the shorts. They chose to follow through on some sites that preyed on the elderly and he dove right in. He believed the junk. He swallowed the package of lies whole. His bank account took a hit. It was very sad to see.
If you live in a modern economy, you know what many of the scams look like. If you’re vigilant, you block or delete. Still, they keep coming, keep thinking you’ll get soft and bow to their pressure.
The attempts are multi-pronged. They try to break you down in many ways. They grab you with the headline. They mislead you with the greeting.
For the sake of humor and enlightenment, here are a few I’ve captured for the reader to file away with knowledge that you can’t trust what comes next. You know it’s spam and a scam when it starts out with:
“Hello.”
“Good Day.” Must be from Australia. Who do you know there?
“My Dearest.” No one talks like that.
“Now’s the time.” For what?
“Hi.” Self-evident.
“Please. May I talk with you?” No.
“Your account.” Hey, dude, you know nothing about my account.
“My greetings.” Huh?
“Your order is ready.” No it’s not, I haven’t ordered anything from you.
“Don’t let bad credit.” I won’t.
“Unshackle yourself.” I’m not in jail.
“Empower your finances.” They’re already empowered.
"Your account has been." No it hasn't.
"Having trouble." Nope.
Feel free to add your own. Stay vigilant. Keep your hand on your wallet.