I got a letter today encouraging me to join “Nextdoor”, an online network for jes’ good ol’ neighborinos to chat about what’s going on in our neck of the woods. Isn’t that dandy? The letter also promised lots of info on the site regarding “crime and safety issues.” The irony is delicious. No….no, the irony pisses me off. Yep, that’s more like it.
Our company’s local news website, panhandlepost.com, did an article about “Nextdoor” earlier this year after we were contacted by local police. If you don’t trust your local media or police (and if you don’t, shame on you!), articles all over the web are warning of the various ways one can get scammed (or have their identity stolen) by engaging with people on the site.
Now, I have not used this site myself, so I can’t say for certain what is or isn’t dangerous about it. But the red flags are many. I would go by the old “better safe than sorry” policy.
This is not the kind of thing I plan to write a lot about on my blog, but I do have a sore spot for people being scammed. We’ve done a lot of news stories about all kinds of heinous telephone scams preying on the elderly and, honestly, anyone who answers their phone. The “Grandma! You have to bail me out of jail!”; the “I don’t know who you are but I know your computer is broken”; the “IRS is going to come to your house and eat your food and use your bath towels”; and on and on. In full disclosure, these things really grind my gears because I almost fell prey to one.
Many years ago, in a moment of financial desperation, I took out what is hilariously referred to as an “installment loan”. I paid it off in full, and then a year or more later, I received a phone call–at my f***king job, no less–from “American Legal Services”. An Indian-voiced operator informed me that I had not paid the loan and they would be turning me over to local authorities–UNLESS! Unless I paid the supposed amount due plus a nice hefty legal fee.
This was a scam, of course. But I was on the phone with that bastard for well over 20 minutes, asking questions and getting threats and evasion. Finally, I conjured up what is quite possibly the only genuine stroke of genius I’ve ever had: I Googled “American Legal Services.” Literally thousands of results popped up marking it as a scam. So I ended the call. But they kept calling, at home and at work. Eventually, when they realized I wasn’t scared, they stopped calling.
If you get a phone call that seems fishy, Google the name of the business or organization they give you. These cretinous scammers rarely change up their pitch, because so many people get scared and buckle under. Don’t give them any information more personal than your favorite flavor of Pop-Tart. And don’t be afraid to hang up. Anyone attempting to collect a debt from you MUST inform you in writing. The IRS never makes phone calls to collect. And if someone calls pretending to be your grandchild, ask them what you gave them for Christmas last year. Or, again, just hang up.