Bibles, law Dictionaries and Wrong Numbers
When I worked for Borders (I left the company in 2007), we used to get faxes all the time from questionable sources, asking us to please sell them XX numbers of Law Dictionaries or Bibles. The reason I used two X's is because they always asked for double-digit quantities. They always offered to pay using a credit card number, and listed an address in another country as the shipping address.
Scam? Obviously. I even had one call me on the phone (I got the call because I was the manager on duty). I gave my apologies and said that we didn't ship outside the country. Really, scammers, why would anybody take you seriously when you are calling a store in OKLAHOMA for all your U.S. Law Dictionary needs? From outside the country, no less!
Today, I got a text on my cell, assuring me that I'd won a gift card from a popular electronics store. My entry was selected, it said, and all I had to do was log onto their website and enter a code supplied in the text. REALLY? I DIDN'T ENTER ANYTHING. I seldom do. I'm not the winning kind of person, generally.
That brings me to wrong numbers. Curiously enough, my cell number is one digit away from the local Attorney General's phone number. I get calls frequently that are meant for the AG's office, usually from another cell phone, because it's easy to substitute one number for the other. A couple of times, the caller ends up telling me their story, even after I've explained that (A) I'm not the Attorney General, and (B) I'm not qualified to help them with anything, unless they want a recommendation for my favorite tea (It's Earl Grey, usually decaf).
One caller told me about a scam that she'd inadvertently participated in, and was now seeking legal recourse. I told her the AG's number. She kept talking. I sat down to listen (it was a long story) and she ended up saying that she was buying a gun in case these people (the scammers) came to her door. (Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!) I did my best to convince her to call the police AND the AG's office after that. I think I even looked up the police department's non-emergency number for her in the phone book, and really hoped that I didn't see a homicide on the evening news after she hung up.
That was a couple of years ago. If there was a homicide, it didn't make the news. I will say this, though. I've already considered this as a potential plot/subplot for a book. As for the message in this blog post, well, there's not much of one. All I can say is that if you text me, call me, email me or send me printed material involving a scam, or text me, call me, email me or send me printed material involving your (possible) intention to shoot, stab, hang, torture or otherwise do away with a scammer, bear in mind all of that may end up in a book.
With the following disclaimer, of course:
"All rights reserved. Void where prohibited. Only one offer per customer. For external use only. May contain nuts or nut products. Not meant to be used as a flotation device. If erection lasts more than four hours, for Pete's sake don't freak. Walk (if you can) to the nearest phone and call your physician. Outside Physician's business hours, please visit your local emergency room. After they stop laughing, you'll probably get treatment. If the problem still persists, well, fly proud.
Scam? Obviously. I even had one call me on the phone (I got the call because I was the manager on duty). I gave my apologies and said that we didn't ship outside the country. Really, scammers, why would anybody take you seriously when you are calling a store in OKLAHOMA for all your U.S. Law Dictionary needs? From outside the country, no less!
Today, I got a text on my cell, assuring me that I'd won a gift card from a popular electronics store. My entry was selected, it said, and all I had to do was log onto their website and enter a code supplied in the text. REALLY? I DIDN'T ENTER ANYTHING. I seldom do. I'm not the winning kind of person, generally.
That brings me to wrong numbers. Curiously enough, my cell number is one digit away from the local Attorney General's phone number. I get calls frequently that are meant for the AG's office, usually from another cell phone, because it's easy to substitute one number for the other. A couple of times, the caller ends up telling me their story, even after I've explained that (A) I'm not the Attorney General, and (B) I'm not qualified to help them with anything, unless they want a recommendation for my favorite tea (It's Earl Grey, usually decaf).
One caller told me about a scam that she'd inadvertently participated in, and was now seeking legal recourse. I told her the AG's number. She kept talking. I sat down to listen (it was a long story) and she ended up saying that she was buying a gun in case these people (the scammers) came to her door. (Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!) I did my best to convince her to call the police AND the AG's office after that. I think I even looked up the police department's non-emergency number for her in the phone book, and really hoped that I didn't see a homicide on the evening news after she hung up.
That was a couple of years ago. If there was a homicide, it didn't make the news. I will say this, though. I've already considered this as a potential plot/subplot for a book. As for the message in this blog post, well, there's not much of one. All I can say is that if you text me, call me, email me or send me printed material involving a scam, or text me, call me, email me or send me printed material involving your (possible) intention to shoot, stab, hang, torture or otherwise do away with a scammer, bear in mind all of that may end up in a book.
With the following disclaimer, of course:
"All rights reserved. Void where prohibited. Only one offer per customer. For external use only. May contain nuts or nut products. Not meant to be used as a flotation device. If erection lasts more than four hours, for Pete's sake don't freak. Walk (if you can) to the nearest phone and call your physician. Outside Physician's business hours, please visit your local emergency room. After they stop laughing, you'll probably get treatment. If the problem still persists, well, fly proud.
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Debbie's Spurts (D.A.)
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Aug 04, 2013 01:54PM
In pre-cell phone, pre-voicemail, pre-internet days I briefly had an office number one digit away from AAA -- stranded motorists calling all the time. Finally convinced the owner they were not paying for that number, just main "xxx-x000" number and switchboard system assigned extensions free so that no one had that number (it just rang endlessly so no stranded motorist lost their last quarter in pay phone and without redial features either dialed again with better chance to get right or called operator). Still cannot believe how long it took me to get a new extension they were so stubbornly sure it would cost them another monthly fee.
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In terms of scams -- if a country U.S. Post Office doesn't ship to, U.S. residents/businesses should not do business with. Ditto if MasterCard, VISA, Amex, ... credit card companies will not issue credit cards to a resident of that country (big red flag that their credit cards laws are wonky).Canada, U.K., Australia, ECC countries ... all have similar credit card laws. Other countries = no credit cards. Particularly some of the money transfers from credit card laws that China has setup almost perfectly to aid scammers (Chinese companies can charge as a cash advance to your credit card and you cannot call your credit card company to do a chargeback to a Chinese company if dissatisfied). Make a buyer send international money order with understanding shipment is made after clears your bank account and that recipient is responsible for their country's customs office accepting that category of merchandise including any addition fees.
Darn! And the best I got here in the UK was a late-night beer delivery company having a phone number one digit away from mine. And let's face it, the fellas using this service were probably best NOT left in charge of a telecommunication device! I had quite a few 2am calls from somewhat worse-for-wear guys asking for "a crate of Stella ASAP" No amount of talking would convince them that they had a wrong number and I was in fact a rather tired housewife with 6 kids who had no alcohol for them! Luckily they went out of business eventually, probably as they were calling me instead of the real place! Hope it gives you a small chuckle though, that will make my sleep-disturbed nights worthwhile! :)
Sarah wrote: "Darn! And the best I got here in the UK was a late-night beer delivery company having a phone number one digit away from mine. And let's face it, the fellas using this service were probably best NO..."LOL!
As a college freshman, that last four digits to the telephone in my dorm room spelled out LOVE. For the first couple of weeks into the semester, my roommate and I received a steady stream of late-night calls from curious and inebriated college guys. It got to the point where my roommate, Laura, would answer the phone "Laura's Love Lounge." I was not so brave, plus my name did not lend itself to any sort of alliteration. (Diana's Den of Love? Diana's Darkroom of Love? See? Rubbish.) Anyway, the novelty wore off soon enough.
Diana wrote: "As a college freshman, that last four digits to the telephone in my dorm room spelled out LOVE. For the first couple of weeks into the semester, my roommate and I received a steady stream of late-..."Lol. If I was you I'd probably be using the line "Diana's Dominatrix Dungeon. The first flogging is free!"
