Are You as Sick of Scammers as I Am?

Those of us in the ‘older American’ demographic are prime targets

It’s a jungle out there. Several months ago, we turned off the answering machine on our home phone to stop (or at least slow down) the barrage of robocalls and telephone solicitors working all sorts of con games. Has it helped? Well, it hasn’t hurt. We still get stung now and then when we answer spoof phone calls that appear to be from people we know.

I attempt to protect my personal CVCTX email by using a Hotmail address for online shopping, memberships, etc.

Every day, that inbox downloads a list of new scammers intent on convincing me that they offer legitimate requests and authentic links that I should click on right now. An oldie but goodie is the notification I’ve inherited a huge sum of money in some faraway land that I can claim by simply supplying my banking information. There are also women looking for ‘new friends,’ and, daily, for the past two weeks, a fake Microsoft message warns that an unidentified computer from Russia has logged onto my account. One of the latest threats by multiple despicable con artists informs me that they’ve gained access to my PC and will destroy all its files if I don’t respond with a huge bitcoin payment within a stipulated time period.

Despite my ongoing attempts to block this junk, the number of swindlers and their threats continues to swell and get nastier.

On my website, the counter indicates that more than 3,900 attempted log-ins have been blocked. That represents a lot of effort to break into my website to either destroy or hold the site hostage until I pay a ransom for its return.

A while ago, we started getting information in our mailbox from companies like Mutual of Omaha and Home Depot addressed to some guy we didn’t know. When I Googled that name, all I found was an obituary for a Florida man who died more than a decade ago. I scrawled ‘unknown’ on the envelopes and returned them to the box. Our conscientious mail carrier agreed that the repetition sounded like groundwork for a scam, so she had us fill out a form indicating who lives here. Mail that’s not addressed to Emil or me is no longer delivered to us.

A thief accessed our Amazon account’s financial information several years ago. The credit card company sent a new card – five times, but that didn’t slow the swindler down. Within hours of keying in a new set of credit card numbers, the thug gained access to it and (supposedly) ordered Amazon merchandise. I bought a Visa gift card at Walmart, hoping the hacker couldn’t access that payment information. Wrong. He, although it could have been a she, was so clever that they followed the gift card’s credit card number and used that new card, too Credit card companies advertise they will cover unauthorized charges on customer accounts. After the third replacement card arrived, a rep from VISA called to accuse me, or someone in our household, of operating this scam. I assured the investigator that neither Emil nor I knew how to do that.

That year just before Christmas, unexpected packages of Amazon merchandise started arriving. But they weren’t legitimate gifts or orders I’d placed. The scammer seemed to be taunting me, an alarming development.

I refused later packages unopened and the post office returned them. However, I had opened envelopes containing a baby’s burp towel, an iPhone 11 cover and a digital thermometer, all mailed by the same Amazon seller. That company refused to share any information with me because I couldn’t access the account that sent it and would not allow me to return the items. I eventually donated the stuff to Second Chance. However, VISA decreed that since I had the merchandise I didn’t order or want, I was liable for those charges. That means we were out of pocket more than $100, but I can’t put a price tag on the anxiety and frustration this scammer cost me.

So why hadn’t I just set up a new account and moved on? My books are linked to my Amazon account through its KDP imprint and I dreaded attempting to move all those files. If they were lost, I would face recreating a decade’s worth of work. It could be done, but it would be expensive and time-consuming.

That’s when I called Sergeant Angela Lala at the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. After hearing my tale of woe, Angela prodded me to open a new Amazon account. Neither she nor I could see any other alternative.

There’s a happy ending to this story, though, thanks to the efficiency of Amazon’s fraud department. Although it took the better part of a Saturday afternoon, reps with increasing levels of Amazon security living in different parts of the country helped me set up a new account and move my book files. At the end of the ordeal, my hand was trembling when I clicked to see if my books had made the trip. There they were!

The last Amazon rep I worked with assured me that the thief could not access this new account because no financial information was being transferred. However, I wasn’t convinced, and every month I go through my credit card statement with a fine tooth comb.

I still think it’s a jungle out there, but what’s reassuring to Emil and me is that in our community, professionals like Sgt. Lala are working to address and safeguard us against scams as best they can.

In the next issue of The Record, I’ll introduce you to several of them.