Hi Jan. These on-line scams have been going on for quite some time; they just seem to evolve to different forms over time. Back when I was still working, I used to get them nearly every day in my business email. So one day I decided to have my own fun. I answered one like this: "First I want to thank you for the kind offer to send me three million U.S. dollars as my reward for helping you get your twenty million dollars safely out of Nigeria. My reputation as a honest person must be wide spread, because in this past month alone, I have received opportunities to help get 4.5 million dollars out of Rwanda, another 1.5 million from Namibia, and a whopping 25 million from Uganda. While I have not yet received any of this money yet, it is obvious that I will have more money than I could possibly ever use. So, I kindly ask that you pass on this opportunity to someone else who could really use the money. Thank you and good luck in your efforts.
Oh, Jan I’ve been there. I certainly have bought some products through Instagram advertisements, and Facebook. My kids always are like, “Mom, how could you have fallen for that!?” I do have to say the rubber vomit made me laugh! 😀
I'm glad the kids liked me & there was nothing worse than rubber vomit. Ha! My daughter said she just ordered something for our age stops. Ah oh, the apple must not have fallen very far from the tree... Hee hee! Been wondering how your book is going?
Jan, another enjoyable read. As a young child my older brothers would tell me silly things all the time, I finally learned to not always believe them. Recently I purchased a shirt from a Facebook ad that said made in USA.....it was not and the sizing was not accurate either, when I tried to send it back, the company would not accept returns even though the ad said it would. I got an $18 refund for a $30 shirt. So no more ordering online from Facebook ads for me!
Oh, Linda -- those older siblings!!! I think my older daughter told my younger one she was adopted. Ha! I am so tempted by those FB ads. I bought some goofy drum for a Christmas present once. It was suppose to send vibrations of peace. I don't know what I was thinking. ha ha! It took 3 months to get here & it was half the size I thought it was. The Chinese company went out of business supposedly when I tried to return it. Have a "keep your eyes" open day. Thanks for sharing! xoxo
Good morning Jan, thank you for your story. I really enjoyed it. Let’s see I was so gullible in school. As the years went on, I did get duped a couple of times. when I got married I saw this a little hand, sewing machine for curtains and pants. Well I bought it got it and it didn’t work. So I took it to my mom being a seamstress I thought maybe she could help me figure it out. She tried it it didn’t work. I remember her saying sometimes things that are are too good to be true really are. I also remember and this is a big one when we bought our first house the house was kind of a mess even though it was updated a little bit. My husband and I needed the roof redone and these people came around and said they could fix our roof for like next to nothing. Well, we went ahead and had the roof done and they didn’t do the job that they were supposed to do and when we went to call them, we couldn’t get a hold of them. Well come to find out they took off. They weren’t even around us where we could contact them. So luckily I had a cousin that could fix our roof right and he didn’t really charge us anything. That was a big lesson learned. I’ve got duped a few times and there’s probably many more and too long of a list to mention. I love the story about the bra because there is so many times I’ve thought about ordering bras over the TV or over the iPhone and I thought oh no I better not do this because they might not fit so I love your blog Jan. Hope you have a good day.
Hi Shari ~ that roof painter scam is a big one around here. Thanks for that reminder. Great share!!! Have a wonderful day. And keep your eyes open. Ha ha! xoxo
Hi Jan. Mine is a funny one (but not for me at the time). One holiday we visited a Water Park. Husband and son went off exploring. Some time later they came back and said I should come and see one of the pools. They got me to stand in a certain spot as wanted to take a pic of me. All of a sudden, a large bucket full of water above me tipped over and drowned me, knocking me off my feet. Let's just say I was not amused at the time. They were in hysterics. I found it funny later,. Let's just say I never take their word again now when asking me to stand in certain spots now. I am always looking around me first. 🤣🤣
Oh, Anna ~ I know just where they conned you into standing. That was a big bucket of water!!! It would have definitely knocked you down. Most pranks are funny -- later! Thanks for sharing!!! xoxo
Dan loved his phone - no one was going to take it away from him and no matter how much we told him not to answer it he did. On one call that we didn't catch, he ordered a new phone service - it took several weeks to get that one straightened out. I totally agree with your point about helping each other be aware.
Janice ~ my stepdad had dementia. Some of the stuff is so funny now, but devastating at the time for my mom. I read her journal after she died & realized how alone & hard a few of those years were. I wish I could have been more helpful, but I was 2000 miles away. Sad! One funny story NOW is the time Don got out of the house during the night and climbed in bed with the neighbors. Of course, they called the police & my mom. Don was still in their bed when my mom arrived. When she went to the bedroom, he refused to leave unless she promised to stop having all those wild parties. Thank heavens, the neighbors were wonderful people. xoxo
Jan - As a memory - your story is hilarious. Thank you for sharing it. We used to live next door to my daughter and her family. So, when we stayed with her, he thought he still lived next door and wanted to go home. He opened the neighbors front door and walked in - but that's all the further he got.
Jan, thank you for sharing your gullibility with us. I am realizing more and more how older folks can get drawn into crap emails so easily. Hoping this will keep me aware as I get older to not open the junk !!(emails) XO
I am a worrier at heart. . . and I worry for many older adults - who are gullible and naive - about the scams now on the Internet and those to come. There seems to be a new one everyday and if Chat GPT and the other A-I inventions can mimic a person's actual voice or put them in backgrounds to create crises that aren't real . How will they know the truth from a scam?
Janice -- it is scary! So far I don’t get scam calls on my iPhone just my landline. My FB page is full of false advertising. I think we have to help each other be aware. Our sheriff’s office does a good job of letting people know about scammers in town. Anti-scammers Unite! 😊 ❤️
Hi Jan. These on-line scams have been going on for quite some time; they just seem to evolve to different forms over time. Back when I was still working, I used to get them nearly every day in my business email. So one day I decided to have my own fun. I answered one like this: "First I want to thank you for the kind offer to send me three million U.S. dollars as my reward for helping you get your twenty million dollars safely out of Nigeria. My reputation as a honest person must be wide spread, because in this past month alone, I have received opportunities to help get 4.5 million dollars out of Rwanda, another 1.5 million from Namibia, and a whopping 25 million from Uganda. While I have not yet received any of this money yet, it is obvious that I will have more money than I could possibly ever use. So, I kindly ask that you pass on this opportunity to someone else who could really use the money. Thank you and good luck in your efforts.
That’s hysterical!!! Thanks for sharing!
Oh, Jan I’ve been there. I certainly have bought some products through Instagram advertisements, and Facebook. My kids always are like, “Mom, how could you have fallen for that!?” I do have to say the rubber vomit made me laugh! 😀
I'm glad the kids liked me & there was nothing worse than rubber vomit. Ha! My daughter said she just ordered something for our age stops. Ah oh, the apple must not have fallen very far from the tree... Hee hee! Been wondering how your book is going?
Jan, another enjoyable read. As a young child my older brothers would tell me silly things all the time, I finally learned to not always believe them. Recently I purchased a shirt from a Facebook ad that said made in USA.....it was not and the sizing was not accurate either, when I tried to send it back, the company would not accept returns even though the ad said it would. I got an $18 refund for a $30 shirt. So no more ordering online from Facebook ads for me!
Oh, Linda -- those older siblings!!! I think my older daughter told my younger one she was adopted. Ha! I am so tempted by those FB ads. I bought some goofy drum for a Christmas present once. It was suppose to send vibrations of peace. I don't know what I was thinking. ha ha! It took 3 months to get here & it was half the size I thought it was. The Chinese company went out of business supposedly when I tried to return it. Have a "keep your eyes" open day. Thanks for sharing! xoxo
Good morning Jan, thank you for your story. I really enjoyed it. Let’s see I was so gullible in school. As the years went on, I did get duped a couple of times. when I got married I saw this a little hand, sewing machine for curtains and pants. Well I bought it got it and it didn’t work. So I took it to my mom being a seamstress I thought maybe she could help me figure it out. She tried it it didn’t work. I remember her saying sometimes things that are are too good to be true really are. I also remember and this is a big one when we bought our first house the house was kind of a mess even though it was updated a little bit. My husband and I needed the roof redone and these people came around and said they could fix our roof for like next to nothing. Well, we went ahead and had the roof done and they didn’t do the job that they were supposed to do and when we went to call them, we couldn’t get a hold of them. Well come to find out they took off. They weren’t even around us where we could contact them. So luckily I had a cousin that could fix our roof right and he didn’t really charge us anything. That was a big lesson learned. I’ve got duped a few times and there’s probably many more and too long of a list to mention. I love the story about the bra because there is so many times I’ve thought about ordering bras over the TV or over the iPhone and I thought oh no I better not do this because they might not fit so I love your blog Jan. Hope you have a good day.
Hi Shari ~ that roof painter scam is a big one around here. Thanks for that reminder. Great share!!! Have a wonderful day. And keep your eyes open. Ha ha! xoxo
Hi Jan. Mine is a funny one (but not for me at the time). One holiday we visited a Water Park. Husband and son went off exploring. Some time later they came back and said I should come and see one of the pools. They got me to stand in a certain spot as wanted to take a pic of me. All of a sudden, a large bucket full of water above me tipped over and drowned me, knocking me off my feet. Let's just say I was not amused at the time. They were in hysterics. I found it funny later,. Let's just say I never take their word again now when asking me to stand in certain spots now. I am always looking around me first. 🤣🤣
Oh, Anna ~ I know just where they conned you into standing. That was a big bucket of water!!! It would have definitely knocked you down. Most pranks are funny -- later! Thanks for sharing!!! xoxo
Dan loved his phone - no one was going to take it away from him and no matter how much we told him not to answer it he did. On one call that we didn't catch, he ordered a new phone service - it took several weeks to get that one straightened out. I totally agree with your point about helping each other be aware.
Janice ~ my stepdad had dementia. Some of the stuff is so funny now, but devastating at the time for my mom. I read her journal after she died & realized how alone & hard a few of those years were. I wish I could have been more helpful, but I was 2000 miles away. Sad! One funny story NOW is the time Don got out of the house during the night and climbed in bed with the neighbors. Of course, they called the police & my mom. Don was still in their bed when my mom arrived. When she went to the bedroom, he refused to leave unless she promised to stop having all those wild parties. Thank heavens, the neighbors were wonderful people. xoxo
Jan - As a memory - your story is hilarious. Thank you for sharing it. We used to live next door to my daughter and her family. So, when we stayed with her, he thought he still lived next door and wanted to go home. He opened the neighbors front door and walked in - but that's all the further he got.
Jan, thank you for sharing your gullibility with us. I am realizing more and more how older folks can get drawn into crap emails so easily. Hoping this will keep me aware as I get older to not open the junk !!(emails) XO
Your dad use to try to fool me all the time. 😂 Hopefully he’s up there looking after us.
I am a worrier at heart. . . and I worry for many older adults - who are gullible and naive - about the scams now on the Internet and those to come. There seems to be a new one everyday and if Chat GPT and the other A-I inventions can mimic a person's actual voice or put them in backgrounds to create crises that aren't real . How will they know the truth from a scam?
Janice -- it is scary! So far I don’t get scam calls on my iPhone just my landline. My FB page is full of false advertising. I think we have to help each other be aware. Our sheriff’s office does a good job of letting people know about scammers in town. Anti-scammers Unite! 😊 ❤️