The number that showed on caller ID had a Washington state area code, but the thick accent of the woman calling suggested she lived a lot farther away than the other side of the Juan de Fuca Strait.
Our computer was having problems with its Windows operating system, she said, and she had the solution. She was a bit perplexed when told none of our computers used Windows, but she kept trying anyway.
I wasn’t the one who took the call, but I wish I had been — those calls can be the source of much entertainment.
Such as the time, while being offered a business service that was quite obviously a scam, I interrupted the caller.
“Don’t say anything, just listen,” I whispered intensely. “Mannie says the police are going to be there in six minutes. Wipe all the hard drives and shred everything!”
It’s highly unlikely anyone at the other end followed my instruction, but I can have my little fantasy, can’t I?
You could try this one: “Sorry — using the telephone is a violation of my parole.”
Another response: “Careful what you say. This phone is tapped.”
We were having a family discussion on responses to unsolicited phone calls, when my daughter-in-law said: “I just hang up.”
Where’s the fun in that?
But for many, telephone and computer scams are not funny. I can’t feel sorry for someone who loses out in trying to be part of a multimillion-dollar transfer from a Nigerian bank account — that’s the price you pay for being greedy — but for too many, the penalty comes from being trusting.
“That’s exactly why scammers are so successful,” says Mike Russell, spokesman for the Victoria Police Department. “They prey on people’s trust.”
As Russell spoke of scams, he showed one that had just come in on his own cellphone. It was a message telling him to access an Internet address to remove restrictions on his bank account. He doesn’t have an account with the bank mentioned.
He was getting ready to publicize information about a scam involving rental properties in Victoria. A prospective renter answering an online ad is asked to send a money order for the property, after which someone will show up with a key. Which, of course, doesn’t happen.
Rental arrangements should usually be done face to face, says Russell, and a request for a money order is an almost certain clue that something shifty is afoot.
By all means, report a scam to the police, but most frauds done by phone or computer are done anonymously or from another country, and police can’t do much, except urge people to be wise.
“Don’t get involved in the first place,” said Russell.
The bushes are crawling with predators out to get your money. Some of the methods are laughably clumsy, but people still seem to fall for them. A former colleague told me her ex-husband fell for the money-transfer scam, draining the family bank account to send an up-front fee that would result in his receiving a huge payment for handling the transfer.
He got burned twice that way. It’s one of the reasons he’s her ex-husband.
As police and the public get wise to the fraudsters, the schemes get more sophisticated. Digital technology allows for convincing impersonations: police, banks, Internet service providers, government departments, charities, courier companies … Can you trust anyone anymore?
Maybe not. In the news business, there’s this advice about verifying information: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.”
While that’s a trifle on the cynical side, it’s not far off the mark. If your grandson calls and says he’s stranded in London, or locked up in jail in San Francisco, or stuck at the airport in Toronto because someone has stolen his wallet, check it out. You would think people would recognize the voices of their grandchildren, but too many people fall for this ruse to the tune of thousands of dollars.
Be a little suspicious if someone wants to get some money from you. Be even more suspicious if someone wants to give you money.
When that wonderful offer shows up on your computer, delete it without opening it. When that unsolicited phone call comes, reeking of fraud, follow my daughter-in-law’s advice: just hang up.
It might not be much fun, but it’s the wisest thing to do.
