Why Are Retirees/Elderly So Easily Taken Advantage Of (state, relative, grandmother)
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I frequently get calls telling me my windows 98 is outdated and need to be up graded. I tell them that I now have windows 14, that I replaced them last year (2014) with the triple pane feature and the savings on my utility bill is about 50%, can you top that. Hang up, bzzzzzz.
I frequently get calls telling me my windows 98 is outdated and need to be up graded. I tell them that I now have windows 14, that I replaced them last year (2014) with the triple pane feature and the savings on my utility bill is about 50%, can you top that. Hang up, bzzzzzz.
I tell 'em that I am currently rlogged into their systems and file destruction will commence in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!
Speaking of dark ... as I noted on a different similarly themed thread a while back, if in a truly dark mood regarding phone spam ... here's a treatment.
1) Let the spammmer start blabbering and getting into their rhythm.
2) Don ear protection
3) Grasp marine single use distress horn (e.g. the type that uses compressed air in a can)
4) Place distress horn near mic
5) Depress trigger on horn
My dad, who was always a very intelligent person, started to fall for the various health supplement ads he got bombarded with in the mail as he grew older. He had a recurring order for vitamins that cost over $100 a month because the ads told him that they were superior to ones sold in stores. He took them for years. After his stroke, when I began caring for him, I was able to check them out. When I looked at the ingredients on the bottle I was shocked at how low the mgs were for even the most common vitamins. He had spent thousands of dollars on vitamins that were inferior to even basic one-a-days. I hate when the elderly are conned into buying what I consider "snake oil".
Let's face it, it isn't just the elderly. People tend to feel sorry for them more than your average middle-aged schlock and, therefore, you hear about it more. However, the 'con game' (in many forms) is alive and well among all demographic groups. It all comes down to a combination of education, naivety, and how trusting the person happens to be. I know young people who trust nearly everyone they meet until they are given a reason not to. The best practice is to trust nobody until they earn it. Most quick-scheme sales people won't spend the time to try and do that. They'll just find someone who gives them the benefit of the doubt.
Speaking of dark ... as I noted on a different similarly themed thread a while back, if in a truly dark mood regarding phone spam ... here's a treatment.
1) Let the spammmer start blabbering and getting into their rhythm.
2) Don ear protection
3) Grasp marine single use distress horn (e.g. the type that uses compressed air in a can)
4) Place distress horn near mic
5) Depress trigger on horn
Ha ha ha! For us, many car salesmen wished that my husband had kept me away from them. I drive a hard bargain. One time, a car salesman blew his top and screamed at me for trying to bargain down few hundreds bucks. He babbled something about how hard it was to make a living as car salesman and I wasted his precious time with my haggling.
We left his place, went to another dealer and got the car at the price we wanted without any bargaining! I always do my research ahead of time to find out the true dealer cost, manufacturer's rebates, hidden incentives etc.
Scammers call my Father in Laws house almost twice a week.
We get the microsoft scammer alot. Various people. I called the Sheriffs Dept to see if they could trace the call if I kept them on the phone. They said no then told me to report it somewhere, Ive forgotten now.
We get frequently get a call from a law office trying to sell my Father in Law Long Term Care insurance except he isn't going to live that long. I hate handing him the phone but it's his house. This Scammer keeps calling even after I've asked him to stop
There are others...I cannot think of them all offhand. But they hardly ever call our house
It can help to have an unlisted number, as we did with my mother-in-law at about age 82. It costs a little more but worth it. Scammers and telemarketers know that the elderly are more likely to fall for their line, so they are preyed upon. They are also well aware of zip codes with relation to incomes, so they will target elderly in affluent areas. I don't think the politeness has anything to do with the generation, but is just how she is. My late father in law, for example, got the same "wrong number" call 3 days in a row asking for some woman he'd never heard of. The 4th time they called, he said "We done buried her this morning."
I wish that having an unlisted number helps---but sadly, it doesn't. Sometimes, callers even know our names---and we're careful about giving out our number.
If the phone rings and we don't recognize the number, we don't answer it. You can never know who is calling because some scammers spoof their number. I remember one day the phone rang and caller ID said that it was us calling ourselves. Geez! If they're going to spoof a number, at least don't use the number you are calling
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