In the digital age we find ourselves in, while it creates a wealth of good, it has at least one downside…scamming.
This week I received a call from my bank. The identified number showed up on my screen, Regions Fraud. A heavily accented voice, struggling with English and good manners, informed me through a broken connection that they were with the Fraud Department. Had I made a $1,200 charge to Delta Airlines? they asked.
“I’m sorry, you are breaking up. What did you say?”
They repeated themselves.
Suspicion mounted. How could someone in Customer Service be this poor in their English?
The voice crackled again.
“Are you saying that I have a charge of $1,200 on my debit card?”
“Yes. I need you to confirm this transaction. If it is authorized, your account will be charged.”
I told the guy it was hard to understand him. I told him he had a bad connection. I asked if I could call him back. He said “Yes” and gave me a number.
I then checked my account. Nothing unexpected. I then redialed the number. This was the bank’s fraud department. I talked to a supervisor. “No, Mr. Daugherty, there are no flags on your account. We have no record of a suspected fraudulent charge.”
I was told that scammers/thieves could steal a phone number, in this case an 800 number.
I was shocked at the brazenness, though not completely surprised.
The attempt to get personal information had failed. Something in me told me the caller was not legitimate. I was right.
On another front, I made political donations earlier this year. Now I have donor fatigue. Not with the candidates themselves, but with the incessant asking! I have been insulted, applauded, and pestered. I have received about 30 texts and 20 emails a day for months now! They are all intended to raise money. There is no relief, rescue or end to it. Sending “Stop” doesn’t work. Some don’t acknowledge it. Blocking doesn’t work. They just change the number. I have seriously thought about changing my number. Even when I have communicated with leadership, one thing may stop, but like Hydra, they grow another head.
Even when the election was over, there was no end to it. I still get stupid asks for donations. At the very least this is annoying and time-consuming. I resent it.
What organization in their right mind would send 50 asks a day for months on end? No responsible person or organization would. You can blame this on the system, but, in part, I blame it on the anonymity of the ask.
There are times when we want anonymity, like when we vote. We also want our privacy. But this is a whole new level. This is an offspring or Orwell’s Big Brother cloaked with digital anonymity.
Lastly, anonymity does not serve us well when our representatives make an important vote when they are in session. The election of the new Republican Senate Leader, John Thune of South Dakota, is a case in point. No one knows who voted for whom. This anonymity speaks of a brazenness, perhaps, arrogance, or lack of courage.
Important information, when shielded or by anonymity in the Information Age, leads to an ever-growing suspicion. That suspicion is something we must, sadly, learn to live with and use. Be vigilant. The minions are out there. In the oft repeated advice from 1852, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.”
Doug Daugherty