Beware Of Scammers

I received a letter yesterday from the “Property Records Office,” but with a Tampa return address on the other side of the state. It instructed me to send $89 to receive the deed to my house. Not sure what that was about, I called the Volusia County Records office and was told by a clerk there that it is a scam and not from any official government agency. She also pointed out that in small print on the back, I was giving them authority to “act as my representative in matters related to this property.” I don’t think so!

When we were advertising our motorhome for sale a few years ago, I must have gotten a dozen e-mails from people who were out of the country, usually serving with the military, and were going to send a representative to pick it up. They all wanted to send me a check for more than the asking price and told me to give the excess money to the driver who came to pick up the RV for his expenses. That’s an easy way to lose your motorhome and your money. Thanks, but no thanks.

Another popular scam is an e-mail from a friend saying that it is a relative’s birthday and they are out of the country and unable to send them a gift card, so they want you to do it for them, and they will pay you back. Think about it, if they’re online and able to send you an e-mail, they were able to go online to Amazon or wherever and get a gift card. Don’t fall for it!

A couple of years ago, I wrote about a scam going around where someone would call and say they are holding a loved one hostage and were going to kill them if you didn’t pay a ransom. I got one of those calls, telling me that he was holding a gun to my son’s head and if I didn’t follow their instructions exactly to send them $10,000 they were going to shoot him. I told the caller to go ahead and do it, I never really liked him that much anyway. At first the guy seemed kind of incredulous, then he called me a heartless SOB before he hung up.

Now, just to set the record straight, after it was over with, I did call my son Travis and explained the situation to him. I told him that it was nothing personal, but $10,000 was a lot of money. Being the good guy that he is, Travis understood and said he would do the same thing if he ever got such a call about me. Actually, if I recall correctly, he set his limit at ten bucks. Now that’s a heartless SOB!

There was a story on the news the other night about someone who got a call, allegedly from their grandson, saying he had been arrested for a DUI and needed money for bail. The grandparents were instructed to withdraw cash from their bank account and put it in an envelope and that someone from the bail bondsman’s office would come and pick it up. Granny was no fool. She called the cops, and when the con artist arrived, she handed him a box with an envelope filled with paper, and he was tackled and arrested by police officers as he started to leave.

Another news article about the same time was about the same type of phone call, and the grandfather actually went to the bank and withdrew over $7,000 before his wife thought that they should call their daughter and see if their grandson really was in jail. Nope. He was at work and knew nothing about it.

It seems like every day some lowlife is coming up with a new way to cheat people out of their money. Here’s an idea – get a job, loser!

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us. Somebody at the bookstore has a sense of humor.

Thought For The Day – I started to go to the gym this morning, but I couldn’t find my membership card. A new card is $10. A donut and coffee were $3. Guess who saved $7?