Just a Note. Warning!

Last Wednesday, I got a call from 203-911-0000. I was enjoying a lovely evening watching America’s Got Talent with my neighbor.  Got chill bumps listening to Landau Murphy, Jr. and Patti La Belle. Wished I could sing like that and win a million dollars. Oh well, back to reality.

I was sitting in the dark with my cell phone on the arm of the chair. I answered the phone, “Hello. Calls from this number? No, I didn’t call 911. Huh. Oh, 911 Coordinator. No, not Verizon, it’s T-Mobile. My address? “

“Don’t you give them your address,” said my surrogate mom, Eileen.

“I don’t think I… feel… comfortable with that,” I told the pretender on the other end.

“Well, I need to know what area you are in so that we can clear the problem,” the caller urged.

“Um, I guess. Ok. Sure. It’s Imsostupid Lane. Ok. Thank you. Sorry. Have a nice evening.”

Later I came back in to my place and realized what I did. Was I safe? Was someone gonna be after me? Frantically I looked around. It was late. Who could I call?

I called the cell phone company. They checked the number and told me that they were unsure what company the number belonged to. They didn’t know what I should do, besides maybe to add a feature to my bill that would cost me another $3.99 a month. More money that I don’t have. Let me see? NOT.

I called my sister and she tells me to call the police, my FRIEND, my banks and credit card companies. Ok, maybe I won’t do all that, but the thoughts are sincere. I could have just been overreacting. Either way, I decided that the next day I would go by the CPD.

I rechecked all my windows and doors. And I began to wonder if I would sleep at all that night. So, I grabbed the remote, clicked the television on and kept an eye out for the boogie man.

The next day, I awoke and immediately searched the house. Just had to be sure I was alone. And after doing my errands, I went by the CPD. They told me that there are no prefixes with that number. And, unfortunately, people can call from all kinds of numbers that aren’t the actually number that they own. I was also reminded that I shouldn’t be giving out any personal information over the phone. “When you get calls from institutions and companies that you have accounts with, they will usually ask you to verify your information,” someone behind the counter said.

I was caught off guard by the ubiquitous efforts of these busy scammers. And I’m just tired of it. Aren’t things bad enough? After paying a few bills, putting gas in the car and buying a few dollars of food, should I really have to worry about someone trying to scam my last dime from me? No.

So, I’m sharing my ‘brain freeze’ moment with you -- for you to share with your loved ones. And I hope that we can all beware and stay safe. The swindlers are out there.

Just the other day, I got a call and the number on the phone was my number. Huh? Yeah, I don’t get it either. And now when I hear beeps and sounds on my phone, I wonder if it means something.

I’ve also been getting a lot of hang-ups, unknown numbers and private calls on my phone. What does this mean? Who knows?

But one thing that I have learned over the last few years is that life happens whether you are paying attention or not.