Stay aware of scammer attempts

    I pride myself on being pretty savvy about things. I can program a remote (it may take longer than most) use a computer, cell phone – heck, technology has nothing over me. For an old girl I get along ok.
    As the publisher of the newspaper, I hear all kinds of things. We get the police and sheriff reports, public records, and write articles about criminals in the newspaper. You would think that not much could get by me.
    Well, think again. Because this self-proclaimed smartie and her friend got taken by a scam last week. The crazy thing is, when I explained it to my hubby, Larry, and son, Stephen, they looked at me like I was stupid for falling for it. I told them it was so believable we didn’t even question it. Then, bam, reality set in and we felt like fools.
    I am hoping by sharing this with all of you that one, you will realize it can happen to anybody, and two, there is no shame in falling for it. The best thing to do is report the scam before the situation gets worse and then go on being a smarter person.
    Here’s what happened. Linda Coker (of Linda’s Candles and More fame) and I were in Houston picking up supplies and doing some retail therapy. Never underestimate the power of retail therapy. It can help you leave the troubles of the world behind, or at least give you some time with a compassionate friend to commiserate about things.
    But I digress. We were in Houston and had been there most of the day. It was about 8 p.m. and we were in the dressing room of a store when she got a text on her cell phone. It said it was Prosperity Bank and they had frozen her account. Now, since Linda always shops with a debit card, this sometimes happens when she shops out of town as part of the bank’s fraud protection. She then has to call them and get things going again. That is what she proceeded to do this time. I overheard the call and her frustration while giving them her information (card number, PIN number –EEK!) and before you know it her card was reactivated. Or so we thought.
    As we were paying for our items, she casually mentioned to the clerk about her account being frozen by the bank. The clerk just as casually asked her how she knew it was the bank that called her. The clerk went on to tell us of someone she knew who had something similar happen to them and how it was all a scam.
    Poor Linda. The color just went out of her face as she realized what had happened. All the pieces fell into place. The phone number on the caller ID didn’t say anything about Prosperity Bank. In fact, she never checked to see if her card had been frozen before she gave out her information.
    Panic mode set in. She quickly called her husband, Steve, and told him what happened. I read the phone number on the back of the card to her so she could try to call the bank and let them know. Then I got on the Internet and Googled the bank. Wow. At the top of the search were numerous articles about a phishing scam that was targeted at Prosperity Bank customers.
    Now before I go any further I need to clarify something. Prosperity Bank is one of the victims in this as well. After all, they did not have anything to do with the dirty dogs that were stealing people’s identification information. Identity theft is a huge business and businesses are trying hard to stay ahead of the game.
    Reading the web articles about the scam just verified in our minds that she had, indeed, been the victim of an identity theft scam. Realization hit and she called Steve back. He took over and got the card cancelled quickly. Crisis averted.
    However, that isn’t the end of it. Now they have to wait while the bank issues them a new card. She will have to have a new PIN number, and believe me, no matter how old you are, it is hard to remember all the PIN numbers in our lives. Once again, staying ahead of the bad guys is tough business, but it can be done. We just have to be diligent.
    The moral of this story is it can happen to anyone. With the right circumstances and at the right time, we can all drop our guard long enough to get taken advantage of. There is no shame in that. What is shameful is there are fellow humans that would rather steal from hard working people than go out and get a job and earn their own money. What is shameful is the United States (aka taxpayers) give money to countries all over the world, yet many of these scam artists come from those very countries we help so we can’t catch them and prosecute them.
    So be aware that the sneaky stealers are lurking out there, ready to steal your most precious asset – your identity. But please, don’t let them steal your faith in most of mankind. After all, there are more of us good people out there than there are bad guys.