By Al Litman

As long as there have been people around, there have probably been scams to deprive someone out of something. It can be money, property, or identity, and it’s just getting worse.

Mayor Al Litman

I still have a landline at home.  Don’t ask me why? It’s not my idea.  Toss in the computer, smart phone and the I-Pad, and the scams never seem to end. Being a senior only makes it worse as we seem to be the target of the majority of scam attempts. 

I just read a very important article in the Atlantic Monthly on how serious this problem is. I know many of you have heard about many of these scams, but I want to comment on some of these anyway. 

It might keep you from falling for what so many do.  I looked up some numbers and it will astound you as to how much money is lost yearly to scammers.

Last year it was reported at $2.9 billion.  I would guess it’s probably double that as many people are too embarrassed to report the fact they were taken advantage of.  I just want to mention a few of the common, but frequently used scams, starting with your smart phone. 

I like the texts I get on the phone telling me I have a package that cannot be delivered until I go to a link and give them more information.  If the U.S. Postal Service, Fed Ex, UPS, or Amazon has my number they could deliver my package. 

Do not go to any link provided, but call the source directly, and never give out any information unless you know you are actually talking to the legitimate source. According to the Federal trade Commission, Americans reported $330 million last year in text scams. 

You can imagine how much was not reported.  Recently our police have arrested a number of people selling fake gold jewelry in various parking lots in Mesquite.  If it sounds to good to be true, you get the point, always walk away from any “great deal.”

I personally like the Grandparent scam.  In this scenario, a person will pretend to be the grandchild of the person who answers the phone and asks for money.  The caller might claim they are having an emergency, such as a car accident or problem with the law, and need bail money or something similar. 

I got one of these this past year.  Interesting as the person, who sounded young, said,”grandpa, I need help.” I don’t have grand children.  Another one I received just the other day was from Publishers Clearing House. This is a scam that just won’t quit as it has been reported to the news media many times over the past few years. 

I got a call the other day on the landline informing me that I just won $2.5 million, and of course, knowing I never entered their sweepstakes or whatever they call it, I thanked them and just asked them to send a cashiers check, and have a nice day.  I wonder why they hung up on me so quickly?  I did a little checking, and not the money kind.  This company never notifies their winners with a phone call, or a text.  The fake call wants to have you send a fee to cover taxes or whatever.  I though people would never fall for this, but they sure do, to the tune of several million dollars a year.  I haven’t even touched on the number and types of scams that are out there.  I don’t want to get into legal trouble on the next one, but it has to do with sore feet and TV advertising.  I’ll let the reader figure this one out, but beware and read the complaints before you invest a thousand dollars or more in a product that you can buy most anywhere for a few dollars. 

Speaking of scams, a number of local businesses recently were scammed out of thousands of dollars by someone from California selling advertising.  Never pay by check and demand to see a current business license, otherwise, slam the door. I’ll finish today with a scam I just saw today in a Facebook ad. 

Did you know you can lose more than 50 pounds in a month with out any exercise or special diet?  Just buy a “miracle pill” developed by a college student.  Sure, right.  The ad didn’t even spell “weight” correctly.

I think next month I might just talk about additional scams.  New ones are popping up each day.

Al Litman is mayor of the city of Mesquite.