Ink Tea Stone Leaf

I am embarassed that I spent as much time talking on the phone with somebody who was trying to defraud and scam me as I did. It’s not because I wasn’t suspicious (I was, from the start). It’s not because he managed to wring any amount of money from me in the end (he didn’t). I am embarassed because of how long it took me to pluck up the nerve (the nerve!) to say “this is a scam, and this conversation is over.”

I would like you to read this article, which thoroughly explains the scam that I was targeted with—a series of lies about missing jury duty that escalated to an effort to steal up to $25,000 from me. Whoever was on the line with me tried most of these same tricks on me the other day, and succeeded in making me feel confused and disoriented. I was lucky to finally see through it with nothing lost but about an hour of my time.

Trust your gut. Trust the people around you. Don’t trust cold callers on the phone who try to make you feel afraid, no matter who they claim to be.