So Candid About Money

So Candid About Money - At times I'm really thankful how life unfolds even tough often in the most mysterious ways. Once more it has played a situation into my hands which is just too good to let go by. Was I still not quite sure what to specifically write about this week, I certainly am now. Two days ago, as I was routinely scrolling down my Facebook page, I suddenly received a friend request after having posted a single line on the PCH (Publishers Clearing House) page clearly questioning the honesty of their alleged mega wins. Of course, I was taken by surprise to see that it was the senior executive, Mr. Dave Sayer himself, but I left it at that. About a minute later or so, I heard the familiar ping of an incoming FB message. What, Dave Sayer had just texted me for real? Our little chat started rather harmlessly with him asking me how I was, if I knew who he was, and why I thought he was contacting me. Okay, I said, and yes, I knew who I was dealing with, and no idea why he was texting me, but I would surely find out right away. And boy did I find out, after minutes that was. He claimed that I had in fact won $100 K which tickled out a big WOW on my part. Then I inquired what time they were going to just pop in. I need not explain that I was more than suspicious right from the get- go, but I really wanted to see how far that con artist would take his little shabby charade. Around 3 pm they were going to show up at my house, but before they needed to verify a few things. Sure, you are, I replied. He then asked for my phone number which I found an excuse for why he couldn't have it. Between our conversation lines going back and forth lay minutes, enough time to go and check out everything about that type of scam which has been around for a while. And just as I came across that part about the mysterious Pay Pal Money Pack cards, I was sent a photo of just that! This I call synchronicity par excellence or divine timing allowing no chance for coincidences. I kept pretending to be utterly naive, dumb, gullible, whatever was preferred in my case and continued to ask more idiotic questions. He, pseudo Dave, honestly suggested that I go to the nearest CVS (a US drugstore chain) and purchase one of those miraculous prepaid cards in order to bank hundreds of dollars on it if I wanted to accept my $100 K win. RIGHT! - Well, it was time to finally let the cat out of the sack and put an end to my intelligence being so ruthlessly insulted. "It's real" was the last of lines he dropped before he quickly shut down his fake page with his by then still only dear friend, ME. Ha, LOL, LMAO, and whatever else. If the whole matter weren't so darn troublesome and above all so wickedly planned through and well staged, believe me, I might still be rolling on the floor and perhaps even mentally pat those scammers on the shoulder. However, just as I said, this rapidly sky- rocketing tendency of coning innocent people on such an increasingly sophisticated level is anything but hilarious or otherwise entertaining. - Only a week ago, I found an email in my inbox which looked eerily real as it carried the Apple logo. I was requested to check my account ASAP if I did not want it to be deleted immediately for reasons of security. My butt! After having been sent tons of fraudulent offers, orders and requests online, I knew there was nothing to worry about. However, there are thousands of vulnerable folks out there - preferably women and seniors - that need to be protected for they don't know any better. That's why I wanted to send the email I'd got right to the copied source, Apple itself. Take a guess, what happened next. Right, nothing. It seems to be easier to find a cheap one way flight around the globe than to be granted access to the big cheeses in times of turmoil and fraud. Just incredible! So what, I thought and sent the message off anyway whereupon I immediately got a generic reply which pointed out that I had the wrong address. Duh! Laughable, if you ask me. Anyhow, I'm going to give it a shot with the Facebook customer service after that surprising news about my great PCH win. Let's hope, I won't get caught up in another bureaucratic or should I say logistic nightmare all over again. By the way, who's responsible for newly set up pages on Facebook? I remember having to go through quite a few steps of authentication those two times that I created my FB pages. How come, those scam artists entirely fall through the grid and can operate unnoticedly without being traced through their IP finger prints? And as usual, when you need the police the most, where the freak are they? Who is actually in charge to make sure that those reckless and highly sophisticated aggressors are stopped in their tracks before more harm is caused? Please, show some empathy and spread the word! Every single person we can save from being victimized, is a step closer to the bad guys' overall defeat. Together we can do it for together we are strong.