#TrueStory: I fell for a scam

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @JenSquard

This is one of the most embarrassing things that has ever happened to me, and I hate sharing it.  But some spam reminded me of it today, so I decided to share.  

A few years ago we had a litter of boxer puppies.  They were registered and pure, and worth $600 each.  We advertised locally and all that jazz, and got a call one day from a communication company that spoke for hearing disabled people.  She said she would read to me what the deaf person on the other end typed in, and act as a go-between for us.  This person was interested in purchasing a puppy, but lived a few hours away.  We communicated several times, and their English wasn’t great - but I had never really interacted with a hearing disabled person, so I didn’t have anything to go off of.  

They explained to me that they wanted to pay to ship the puppy to them.  They wanted to just send me a check, have me take out enough to pay for the puppy and my time, and have me Western Union the rest of the money to the shipping company.  Looking back it is so obvious, but at the time it seemed legit.  Even when they did some strange and shady stuff, I honestly just figured it was because *cringe* the person was disabled, so communications were strained.  Don’t judge me.

One day I even got a knock on the door in the morning - it was my neighbor, and they had contacted them to tell them to come tell me to talk to them, as I hadn’t responded the night before.  Freaky deaky stuff, but again, I was just super psyched to be selling a puppy.  We got the check from them for way more than the amount, cashed it, and Western Unioned the money on to them.  Then I was contacted by another deaf person wanting to do the same thing, through the same translator service....um, okay, no.

I finally got wary after red flag number 87...or was it 88?  A week later the bank called to let us know that the check we deposited and took the Western Union money out of didn’t clear.  We got bent over in a serious way.  We were lucky, in a sense, that we didn’t lose a puppy on top of it.  This is a super common scam, and people are not only losing thousands of dollars, but they are selling their merchandise to these people, so they are losing out on that, too.  

I’m not a dumb person.  My hubbard isn’t a dumb person.  Our real life skills and experience are totally up to par....and we still got dooped.  Or duped.  I don’t know, but it sure did suck.  The fact that someone tricked us so completely is embarrassing, like sooooo embarrassing!  Looking back it’s as dumb as falling for the Nigerian prince crap, but it is what it is.  

*sigh*

Wanna hear more?  Then find me on Twitter: @JenSquard

A Very Angry #Nerd

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @maniacalmorgan

Fuck fuck fuck. I'm pretty fucking upset. Let me tell you why.

Today, someone called my grandma and grandpa saying that they were me and that they needed money. I don't want to go into details of the scam, but they knew my family nick name and my grandparents' nick names. My 95 year old grandma and grandpa grabbed their walkers, took a taxi to Western Union, and were preparted to wire the money. The clerk at Western Union reasoned with my grandparents and opened up their minds to the possibility of a scam. I got a call from my grandpa around noon (which is weird because they never call me) asking if I had called them from out of state asking for money. I told them no and that I was at work. I didn't have much time to think about the whole ordeal until I talked to my dad after work. He filled me in on the details. This wasn't just a few bucks, this was thousands of dollars that almost got sent. My mom was hysterical from the events, and my dad like me, is pissed. I love my grandparents to death. The last thing they need at 95 years old is to think that I'm in some kind of trouble on the other side of the country. You could call me a pacifist, but you don't fuck with my friends or my family. Especially my grandparents. I would break every bone in this person's body if I knew who it was. My parents seem to be conviced it's someone I know due to their knowledge of nick names and such. I don't know though. The only people who know that information are friends I've had from before highschool and honestly, there aren't too many friends from back then. There are only two people who have that information, but I would rule them out. Plus, they wouldn't know my grandpaents' real names. They only go by nick names. Anyway, I just had to get this off my chest. Maybe I'm overreacting from working 8 days straight. I think not. I'm upset, but I'll be okay.

Has anyone had anything like this happen to friends or family? I don't know if there's a scam going around or if there's any other way to get that information. Very weird. Let me know.

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