Remember those days long ago how scary it was to follow a vehicle that was all over the road, speeding up, then slowing down for no apparent reason, plus stopping at green lights along with other erratic behavior? You naturally assumed the driver was drunk or on drugs and looked for the nearest pay phone, pulled off the road and called the police.
We've come a long way since then. Now if you see someone driving in such a manner, you naturally assume they're on their cell phone. Instead of pulling off the road at the nearest pay phone, however, with today's technology, you can simply use your own cell phone to call the police right from your car and report the irresponsible, reckless behavior. Of course, you have to be careful not to end up all over the road and speeding up or slowing down while talking to the police. Otherwise, someone might report you.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
LOST AND LOST-ER
LOST: Elephant. Female, gray, seven feet, ten inches tall. This cuddly animal has two tusks, one slightly longer than the other. Weighs approximately 2,600 pounds. Answers to the name of Claudette. Last seen in neighbor’s garden eating cabbages. If found, please return to 2784 Maple Ave., apartment 3C. Kids are heartbroken. Will consider reward if returned soon.
LOST: Eight hamsters, eleven guinea pigs, six white mice, fourteen rats and a canary named Barbara. If found, call 555-4444 after 8:00PM and ask for Rupert.
LOST: Python. Multicolored, nine and a half feet long. Docile due to possible recent feeding. Goes by the name of Squeeky. Last seen behind couch, chair and bookcase. If found, call 555-4444 after 8:00PM and ask for Rupert. If a woman answers, hang up and call later.
LOST: Eight hamsters, eleven guinea pigs, six white mice, fourteen rats and a canary named Barbara. If found, call 555-4444 after 8:00PM and ask for Rupert.
LOST: Python. Multicolored, nine and a half feet long. Docile due to possible recent feeding. Goes by the name of Squeeky. Last seen behind couch, chair and bookcase. If found, call 555-4444 after 8:00PM and ask for Rupert. If a woman answers, hang up and call later.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
HEY HONEY, GUESS WHO'S ON THE PHONE?
The following e-mail wasn't written by me but fits in with other scams I've written about in this blog, so I'm including it here. The e-mail was verified as true by a couple of web sites that research this type of thing for validity. That, in my opinion, makes it real. Bottom line, if ANYONE calls and asks for personal information such as a social security number, HANG UP. That includes callers who claim to be from a bank, IRS or any other official-sounding agency. Better yet, try to obtain their phone number or location and report them to the police.
"Here's a new twist scammers are using to commit identity theft: the jury duty scam. Here's how it works:
The scammer calls claiming to work for the local court and claims you've failed to report for jury duty. He tells you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.
The victim will often rightly claim they never received the jury duty notification. The scammer then asks the victim for confidential information for "verification" purposes.
Specifically, the scammer asks for the victim's Social Security number, birth date, and sometimes even for credit card numbers and other private information -- exactly what the scammer needs to commit identity theft.
So far, this jury duty scam has been reported in Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington state.
It's easy to see why this works. The victim is clearly caught off guard, and is understandably upset at the prospect of a warrant being issued for his or her arrest. So, the victim is much less likely to be vigilant about protecting their confidential information.
In reality, court workers will never call you to ask for social security numbers and other private information. In fact, most courts follow up via snail mail and rarely, if ever, call prospective jurors.
Action: Never give out your Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information when you receive a telephone call. This jury duty scam is the latest in a series of identity theft scams where scammers use the phone to try to get people to reveal their Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information.
It doesn't matter *why* they are calling -- all the reasons are just different variants of the same scam.
Protecting yourself is simple: Never give this info out when you receive a phone call.
Share this information with a Friend."
"Here's a new twist scammers are using to commit identity theft: the jury duty scam. Here's how it works:
The scammer calls claiming to work for the local court and claims you've failed to report for jury duty. He tells you that a warrant has been issued for your arrest.
The victim will often rightly claim they never received the jury duty notification. The scammer then asks the victim for confidential information for "verification" purposes.
Specifically, the scammer asks for the victim's Social Security number, birth date, and sometimes even for credit card numbers and other private information -- exactly what the scammer needs to commit identity theft.
So far, this jury duty scam has been reported in Michigan, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington state.
It's easy to see why this works. The victim is clearly caught off guard, and is understandably upset at the prospect of a warrant being issued for his or her arrest. So, the victim is much less likely to be vigilant about protecting their confidential information.
In reality, court workers will never call you to ask for social security numbers and other private information. In fact, most courts follow up via snail mail and rarely, if ever, call prospective jurors.
Action: Never give out your Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information when you receive a telephone call. This jury duty scam is the latest in a series of identity theft scams where scammers use the phone to try to get people to reveal their Social Security number, credit card numbers or other personal confidential information.
It doesn't matter *why* they are calling -- all the reasons are just different variants of the same scam.
Protecting yourself is simple: Never give this info out when you receive a phone call.
Share this information with a Friend."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
