Ladies and gentlemen, I was scammed this week.
Out of over $400.
Yeah, I know. Made me want to vomit as well. That hurt. A lot. I think eventually I might get it back, but I'm not holding my breath for it. Bigger and badder beasts than I are handling that. Things have been bad lately, financially, and I thought that was the final straw in the chaos that is my life. As it turns out, it was a blessing in disguise. This scam happened on Wednesday, and I was an emotional wreck over what happened. Today, I got another phone call and when those odd little things cropped up in conversation, I knew it was happening again. The caller informed me that I was being sued for check fraud and theft by deception. I know, I was stunned! I live on a tight budget, I know exactly what money is coming in and going out of my account. I asked for information, which he could not provide, and then I asked for time to trace this supposed transaction via my bank records. He acquiesced and I agreed to return his call at 5 pm. Here is where it gets tricksy, little hobbits, because yours truly has an iPhone. With caller ID. The man said "No problem, I am in the central time zone also, I will be in the office."
He called from New Jersey.
Now, boys and girls, this is why the previous scam is a blessing. I did not hesitate for a moment to search for every piece of information that I could connect to any information I had on this person calling. He had given me the name of his "client", and I began to trace them. Turns out, there is exactly one personal loan company with the name that he gave, and they're in Tennessee. I place a phone call.
"Yes, hello, I received a phone call earlier today about..." (lady very politely interrupts)
"Ma'am, I already know what you're calling about. It's a scam. Please file a complaint on our behalf with the Federal Trade Commission."
"Wow, you guys must be getting lots of calls about this!"
"Yes ma'am, we get at least a dozen calls a day."
A DOZEN calls a day about this ONE scam, children. Lesson learned. There are bad, bad people out there and they don't care if they ruin your life. Don't let them win.
