ironymaiden: a trash dumpster with a happy face, on a background of sparkly stars. a fire is burning in the dumpster. (dumpster fire)
ironymaiden ([personal profile] ironymaiden) wrote2022-11-29 08:24 pm

this could stop any day now

it's official, i have the plague. it only took 32 months :/
currently it's like a really bad cold. i especially hate the part where i am exhausted and fall sleep and then cough myself awake. fortunately C is doing well now and can pick up my slack.

i'm really out of it; yesterday a scammer nearly got me. the call woke me out of a sound sleep and my first mistake was to actually say that i was ill and the call woke me up. dude must have been thrilled to get someone already disoriented. apparently this is a long-running thing - i didn't get the identity theft version but i did get the "pay a fine" version. in hindsight i can pick apart everything, but the dude was good enough for sick me - he used real information about me and about the local court system mixed in with the bullshit, kept me isolated, made me write down a bunch of info, and was playing ACAB to the hilt. fortunately the whole thing fell apart at the fine payment part, where he wanted a direct payment via Zelle (which is a person-to-person cash transfer service in the US that isn't subject to any chargeback protections) for an amount that was less than the stated fine. at that point i noped out and called the actual sheriff's office who confirmed the scam.

the phone number they tried to use for the transaction was a Georgia state area code; i guessed that the dollar amount was about avoiding a felony charge and i was correct. Georgia law: "theft by deception of any property worth more than $500 committed against a person age 65 or older: five to 10 years' incarceration". (i'm not that old yet but i'm sure many of their successes are.)
annofowlshire: From https://picrew.me/image_maker/626197/ (Default)

[personal profile] annofowlshire 2022-11-30 08:33 am (UTC)(link)
Sorry to hear you've got the plague now. I have found a bit of a wave this year amongst my friends (and, um, my household) who had managed to avoid it before then...

Glad you caught the scam in time!
flexagon: (Default)

[personal profile] flexagon 2022-11-30 02:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh wow, "you've missed jury duty" is pretty convincing actually. I hadn't heard of that one before. Sorry the plague got you, and I hope it passes.
thenerdygirl: A white and tan barn owl peeking around a wall (Default)

[personal profile] thenerdygirl 2022-11-30 05:17 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm sorry you caught the plague and are feeling unwell :( It can be pretty brutal, especially the coughing. Glad C is doing better and wishing you a speedy recovery <3

Also glad to read you were able to catch the scammer in time. It's sickening to read/hear how they target folks. My mom nearly gotten taken in by one after one of her chemo sessions. She was so disoriented that they nearly tricked her into giving away banking information but luckily, because Mom was so disoriented, she gave them the wrong information so it didn't work.
phosfate: Ouroboros painting closeup (Default)

[personal profile] phosfate 2022-11-30 05:20 pm (UTC)(link)
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO scammers!
yourlibrarian: buffy Willow Comfort (BUF-buffyWillowComfort-ruuger)

[personal profile] yourlibrarian 2022-11-30 06:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Sorry you've come down with it. And the particular time they caught you highlights why they are often successful with the scams. Glad it came to nothing.
ckd: two white candles on a dark background (candles)

[personal profile] ckd 2022-12-01 12:06 am (UTC)(link)

Sickness & Scammers would be a really unpopular tabletop RPG.

I hope you're feeling better soon.

varina8: (Default)

[personal profile] varina8 2022-12-01 04:47 am (UTC)(link)
I'm so sorry you are down with the plague and wrestling scammers. Sending lots of healing thoughts.
ivy: Two strands of ivy against a red wall (Default)

[personal profile] ivy 2022-12-01 07:02 am (UTC)(link)
All the plague empathy; I'm so sorry.

Also, dang, fuck those scammers. I really wonder how they live with themselves. (I'm guessing they just don't think about it.)