I have been the victim of a scammer. Years ago when I was looking for a job, because I was desperate, I let my guard down and was scammed. The thieves offered and forwarded me a fake check that I was supposed to deposit in my bank account and the minute that the check was clear, so were my funds.
The bank suspected phishing activity in the account and closed it down. Funny to say the bank suspected, however, not the teller. And even more interestingly, when I went to talk to the branch manager about the situation it was the same manager that cleared it and the same teller that days earlier assisted me. They acted like I was a criminal.
I did file a police report and I filed all-suite and procedures I was supposed to follow, from that day on I became convinced that such scammers weren’t so far overseas as some want us to believe.
My trust was shaken and I am more aware. I no longer answer my phone without checking the caller id. When I am unsure, it goes to my answering machine. When I am not comfortable, I hang up. I never even called back to see what the person wants in order to not have my number registered in their caller id. I also urged our clients and their families to do the same. Don’t share anything, even on social media, I wait a couple of weeks.
