Scammers

by Larry Keogh, Hamilton

Whooee! This must be a day for scammers…first thing this morning I get a video call from (they said) Publishers Clearing House Company. My new agent “Morgan James” informed me that I had won $2.9 million PLUS another $5K per week for life. Morgan then gave me the name of my new Lawyer/Attorney Mary Kelly along with my prize confirmation number. Morgan also gave me my prize package number and all the while assuring me that this was legit, no hoax.

When asked how I felt about winning so much money and finally being able to live the American dream? I replied “leery.”

Not impressed by the answer, he patched the call up to his supervisor, Dave Sayers. After repeated assurance that it was all on the up and up. I hung up.

It just didn’t seem likely that I had won a prize that I didn’t sign up for. That was the first attempted scam of the day.

Later, same morning, I answered the door, there was a young woman with a child in a carrier strapped on her back. On the phone when she rang the bell, I didn’t really pay attention to the literature she was dropping off. It had pictures of our Montana Senate District 43 candidates on both sides of the flyer with an AFP stamp in the upper right corner.

A scam with a convincing name. AFP, or Americans for Prosperity is an organization with people dropping off literature promoting candidates that contort themselves into the hoops of the AFP PAC. AFP dumps a lot of money into campaigns. With that money dump they purchase votes that indicate to the world that they have control over candidates. Pretty simple really. Big money PAC’s buying seats in government. Big money then hijacks and skews government regulation towards big money. Big money doesn’t care about Western Montana. Big money PAC’s buy seats in our government that buy assurances that the candidate will vote in their favor. Where does that leave the bought candidate? Beholden to the PAC, of course. What does that mean to us? Transferring our government dollars to big money and taking (stealing?) it from you and me. Who will represent you? Someone in the pocket of a PAC somewhere out of touch with our reality, or someone that comes door to door, asking to work for you?

PAC paid door knockers in contrast to the candidates that have come knocking on doors and asking for our vote. They aren’t scamming, they want to work for us… you, and me. We see their face, we hear their voice. We know who they are and know we can communicate with them. They come to us, they say they can work for us. We can trust that their desire is working for you and I, not for big money.

The 3rd scam this day came (supposedly) from PayPal; a notice that I had purchased an apple iPhone for some person in Maryland. The number to call if I disputed the charge was the 800 number conveniently provided. Well, it was week before last that I fell off the turnip truck-not last week! I reported it direct to PayPal and won’t have to worry about it coming in next statement.

These are the scams I have seen this morning, and I share them in an effort to save my neighbors from being taken in. Publishers Clearing House, AFP and PayPal. Three in one morning. What scam is after your wallet?