My wife and I recently visited a friend who, because of an accident, has no short-term memory. Without getting into the details of the myriad challenges this condition creates, let me focus on just one that we observed today – telephone scams.
During the approximately 90 minutes we were with her, her landline rang no fewer than 18 times. Because she has a wonderful, positive personality and an amazing sense of humor, she encouraged me to answer the phone on each ring. She explained that she can’t remember who spoke to her about what and because of that, she is constantly telephonically harassed.
The first call went something like this: “Hello, a package in your name has been confiscated that contains illegal contraband. You will be facing criminal charges. If you’d like to avoid jail time, please press one to deal with this issue.”
The next one was more fun. “A MacBook computer was purchased in your name, and $1,500 has been charged to your credit card for this purchase. If this was not your purchase, please press one to speak with a representative.” (She’s never owned a computer.)
Then this one came in: “Your Amazon card appears to have been compromised. You will be charged for the amount. Please press one to speak with a representative.” (She doesn’t have an Amazon card or any…
