He gets on Facebook and wants to use my walmart card to “win” a Les Paul guitar … twice. I call the company the post is claiming is giving away the very expensive guitar and guess what it’s fake. Who knew! Me! I knew! Gah he won’t listen to me. Tonight he is determined to get sucked in by a version of the Nigerian scam. It’s all in broken English. Tells him to not tell anyone about it. Something about using a card and buying prepaid cards. Supposedly this person inherited money yadda yadda yadda. I didn’t read it our son did. He told hubster that it was definitely a scam. I told hubster I’d already had to cancel and replace one card because hubster caught me off guard. At least they only got me for 20 bucks. I clued into what was going on and reported the thing stolen oh add the 5 dollar replacement fee. He asked if I couldn’t just get another card. I asked him WHY they are not going to send you money. Now he’s asking how much to get his own Wallycard When I try to explain versions of that scam have been around for almost as long as the internet, he shakes his head and tells me to stop. He is not a stupid man or suffering from dementia. He’s just incredibly stubborn, thinks we’re wrong, it sounds legit to him, and he has a gambling problem when given the option. This is soo, frustrating.
It applies to all the made up Ai stories, and fake pictures. Example: a picture of Charles Bronson that was supposed to be a picture of him and his 101st. Birthday cake. The man’s been dead for a long time … decades, and the picture was obviously of Charles Bronson from when he was in his late 50s. I keep telling him rule of thumb: if it’s on Facebook it’s FAKE. Falls on deaf ears every time.
I don’t know. I think it’s related to his tendency to gamble. He can’t seem to see that it isn’t a gamble when there is no chance of winning. But he persists in thinking maybe this time it’s real. Also, he doesn’t get online much and when he does it’s “gambling” with fake money or fb.
Not really, and frankly he isn’t great with cards or online payments. The way I caught on the second guitar “giveaway” he asked me what a cvs was (he meant cvc). That time he actually said he was going to take a chance. This is after I’d already called Guitar Center once. So I called them again, and at least that one hasn’t come up again. And really he’s better at credit cards than I am. It’s like he’s Fred Flintstone trying to get rich quick.
Ha! He gets that about every 6 months. He sees neurologist/movement specialist because he has Parkinson’s. He has no issues with the tests. You might say he “aces” them. seriously, he is no more impaired than any other 73 yo man. He’s just positive I’m wrong and it’s worth a shot. So stubborn.
Yeah, I know all of those ‘drawings’ are fake. But I did order a product on the 18th, that looked legitimate. I downloaded the Shop app to track it. I saw ‘Delivered two hours ago.’ Nope. I emailed the vendor, and my email was rejected as ‘potential spam’. I left a VM, and haven’t heard anything back. I sent a message on Facebook, and received no reply. I commented on one of their FB posts that this may be a scam. No reply, and no deleting-of-my-comment. If I don’t hear anything in a week, I’ll initiate a chargeback.
Yeah, he has a low limit card that these scammers decline. I’m not blowing another 5 bucks for him to get scammed out of 20 dollars here and there. He really needs to learn if it sounds too good etc. etc. He just wants this crap to be true and doesn’t want to hear anything different.
If he’s unwilling to change, and if @Sylvanz is willing to put up with it to keep the peace, then the prepaid Visa card option suggested above may be the worst-best option. If he must gamble by your evaluation, and apparently won’t listen to you, your son, or anyone else that it’s a scam, then adding a small sum ($20 a month?) to a prepaid card is an acceptable risk. I still wouldn’t do it, because then all of his other shared contact info is going to go online as “easy prey” and the targeting is likely to be far worse.
I’d technically be less worried if it was just related to Gambling @Sylvanz, but you said that it applied to all other sorts of information targeted at the incurious, such as the Bronson stuff. And the fact that he isn’t willing to listen to anyone else… that could get dangerous very quickly, if someone gets ahold of him and tries to turn him against the rest of you.
I completely sympathize with your frustrations and worries, but at some point you’re putting your financials and identities at substantial risk.
When I try to explain versions of that scam have been around for almost as long as the internet, he shakes his head and tells me to stop. He is not a stupid man or suffering from dementia. He’s just incredibly stubborn, thinks we’re wrong, it sounds legit to him, and he has a gambling problem when given the option. This is soo, frustrating.
seriously, he is no more impaired than any other 73 yo man. He’s just positive I’m wrong and it’s worth a shot. So stubborn.