Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Tis the season for a good scam

Oxygenated air-breathers beware. A scam will find you whether you want it to or not.

People are desperate. You need to be super-aware of strangers in parking lots, the street, in the mall lines snaking for miles...

Last night my husband and a co-worker got in their cars to leave. The back of John's work place is in an alley way. Both cars back out and a man approached John as he let his co-worker pull ahead. The guy wanted him to roll down the window.

John did. The guy started yelling, accusing John of running over his foot. He wanted John's personal information, SSN, insurance policy #'s etc. Skeptical, John and his co-worker (who saw the whole thing) told the man to prove his injury and take off his shoe and sock. Nothing. Not a scratch, not a bruise, not a sign of swelling. Co-worker said the man was no where near John's car.

Man was threatening and demanding the info. John said, "Okay, then why don't I call the police and we file a police report?" While he punched in the number for the Denver Police Department, the man took off running.

The police knew who the man was. He apparently was making the rounds of Denver, accusing people of hitting him with their cars in parking lots. Insurance fraud. Make false claims and sue in civil court.

Goes to show how desperate people are in these hard times. Make sure you are keenly aware of your surroundings at all times. Don't walk alone in dark parking lots if you can help it. Park in lighted areas. Have your keyes in your fingers. Don't trust people you don't know.

Don't fall for internet scams either. They work by selling your personal information to advertising companies from weight-loss electrodes to porn dating sites. You'll get spam like you never imagined! Trust me. I signed up for "paid survyes". What a freakin' joke.

Don't.

If the work-from-home business promises lots of cash for little effort yet fails to publish a clear business plan - flee. If you don't know what the "business" is, don't fall for it.

Have a Merry Christmas! Stay safe out there.

I'll have to post on the Psalm 42 concerts at the prison. God moved in huge ways.

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