Many years back, in a simpler time, I left my garage door open one night.  When I awoke the next day, I found that my my bright red Craftsman 55 gallon air compressor had been stolen from my garage…surprisingly the night fairy that lifted my compressor left a nice pair of shoes.  Huh???  Later that week while my neighbors and I waited for the school bus to pick up our kids, I relayed this story to my neighbors at the bus stop.  I found out that the night fairy had also visited my neighbors.  The shoes I had received came from my neighbors car.

I had reported the theft the day I realized my compressor was gone.  The nice police officer mentioned to me that as we get closer to the holidays the thieves get more active.  

Fast forward to today.  I cannot say that scammers are more active as we approach the holidays but I can sincerely say that they are not taking a holiday.  In the past few weeks I’ve seen a couple attempts of scammers to make off with holiday cheer that doesn’t belong to them.  In both cases the scammers came to their potential victims via the telephone.  

I know that the next few weeks are going to be busy for us all.  Here are some tips to remember.

Searches via Google do not always result in the correct phone numbers.  Some scammers have made a recent habit of getting their phone numbers posted for such queries as AOL support, Yahoo Support, Amazon Support.  Some will answer the phone in a very convincing way and will be very happy to assist you.  In most cases they want you to allow them to remote control your machine.  They will also ask for passwords for accounts and other personal information.  If you allow them access to your personal computer or give them any of your personal information, you are not in for a good day.

Some scammers are more direct and will continue to peddle themselves as Microsoft support, the IRS, Medicare, The Lottery, The Social Security Office, debt relief company or a credit repair company, a Charity or Extended car warranty.  I would like to tell you that all of these scams are easy to spot but in reality, some are better than others and if they catch you on the right day, you might be vulnerable.  That said, if you think it is a scam, hang up. 

Scammers don’t have scruples.  They will prey on anyone who answers the phone.  That said, I have seen the senior community attacked in multiple instances.  If  you know folks that might be vulnerable to these sort of calls, talk to them to remind them of these threats.  If you have to…role play a call or show them one of the many examples of scam calls documented on Youtube.  

So my point here is to encourage you to raise your guard and look out for your family and friends.  Scammers are out there.  The more we talk about them and their habits, the more likely we will prevent folks we know from being scammed. 

Wally