It Could Have Been Very Bad

Social media. That's what this is. Blogging, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, Pintarest, etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum. But do you ever stop to really think about it?

Here's what happened to us. My sister called me. We had a nice chat, conversation perking along fine. Finally, she asks me, "OK. What's the deal with your son?"
"Which one?" I ask, completely puzzled.
"Oh, my gosh. You don't know!" She says.

It turns out that someone called our elderly mother, pretending to be one of my sons. The scammer sounded like he had a cold, and told a very credible story of being in jail and needing $2800 in bail money. He said he had been arrested on a DUI, but "Honestly, I only took some cold medicine!" Could she please wire the money to him?

My Mom, she's nobody's fool. She was not taken in by the scam, fortunately. We were all very lucky. I speak to my mother very frequently, she is sharp and well aware of what is going on with our family. But how might that have turned out if Mom was more easily confused, or if the scammer had been more convincing?

Here's what I found out. These scummy scammers browse social media sites like Facebook, and from that and other sources, they craft a believable story. I heard one story about a girl who posted that she was going to another country. The scammer used that tidbit: they posed as this girl, sick (of course, to disguise a voice I suppose) and stranded in another country. Grandparents wired thousands of dollars to "rescue" the girl and the scammer got away with it.

Our family had a happy ending. The scam didn't work this time. Talk to your young family members about the privacy settings on their profiles, and talk to your elderly family members about the danger.... please!

For more reading on social media sites and some thought-provoking information, click here:
http://blog.central-insurance.com/2011/12/14/whos-really-reading-about-you-on-facebook/

Wishing you a safe internet experience,

Trish


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Crabdree Family

Cris' son is part of the Payson Longhorn marching band. They were invited to perform at the 70th Anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. What a great honor! We are so proud of our band; they were one of only 12 schools invited to perform. Here's a link to watch them

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/18995074

We are all so proud of these young musicians, and we feeled honored as a community to be represented there, commemorating "a day that will live in infamy". With our deepest respects to all our veterans, and especially to those who lost their lives on that fateful day in December of 1941. Bless you all.



We are offering general information and opinions. Talk to your insurance professional for questions and concerns about your insurance policy.