don't believe it

I can't stand scammers

     Yes, I do make fun of their offers.  A Nigerian cousin who left me $1 million.  A former government official who has gold he wants to take out of the country but he needs my help.  A grandson lost in London who needs money.
     You have read about them, just like I have read about them;
     They are the lowest of the low, because they prey on elderly folks, people who have worked hard all their lives and maybe don't have the good judgement they had in the past.
     The other night a friend showed me a letter he received from Old Mutual Financial Incorporated.       The letter had a $3,500 check attached and said this was his share of a $250,000 prize he had won in a contest.
     The directions said to call a number before cashing the check to receive instructions.
     The instructions were probably something like wire us $3,000 to process your claim, or something like that.
     When the target cashes the check, he may get the $3,500..... but two weeks later he will be notified by the bank that the check bounced and he has to pay back the $3,500 plus any fees.
     My friend recognized it as a scam and did nothing.
     But I talked to someone in the banking industry in town and he said there are people that believe the letter and send thousands of dollars to these scam artists.  No, they never receive a prize. They are out the money.
     I got phished the other day.  My investment company sent me an e-mail with the instructions to log on to review my account.  I clicked on the link on, and went to a fraudulent site.  I called my investment company and told them about it and I forwarded the e mail to their fraud department.    Thank heavens my computer detected the fraud before I could actually visit the site.
     So a message to people my age, and maybe a little younger.
     If you have elderly parents, keep an eye on their finances!  If you see them making withdrawals of large sums of money, stop them.
     The bank person I talked to said they can discourage someone from withdrawing a lot of money.  But the money is theirs to withdraw.
     And they have stalled a couple of withdrawals, contacting family members and advising them of the withdrawal attempt.  Family members can then intervene and stop the fraud.
     I also gave a copy of the letter to the post office people.....hopefully they can track down the fraudsters and jail them for life, feeding them nothing but soft tapioca and Metamucil.