Another Day of Being Crazy

  I know I have posted before about feeling like I am losing my mind but now it is official.  I got a phone call today from someone saying the insurance information I had on file with their company was not working.  I did change in insurance companies this year but I completed online updates and made phone calls to my providers to make sure they had the new information.  After all, I sure don't want to have to pay more than I am supposed to for my medical expenses.  Anyway, back to the phone call.  I didn't recognize the number that came up on my caller ID but I answered it anyway.  The woman on the other end has a slight drawl and started talking about my bill and how it wasn't going through insurance and she needed my insurance information - then proceeded to name my old insurance company.  Ding, ding, ding, there went the warning bells - Scammer Alert!!

  I told her I would call her right back and she asked if I wanted her number.  I told her I already had it and hung up.  She did mention two of the companies I deal with so I called the first one to see if they were making calls about insurance.  Nobody was in the office, which is typically closed on Fridays, so I left a message telling them that there was possibly someone using their name in a scam.  Then I tried to look up the number for the other company but it wasn't in my contacts list.  That is strange because they have been one of my providers for five years or more.  I decided to dial the "scam" number to talk with this woman again and try get more information.  I called the number and a muffled voice said, " [company name that I couldn't understand] this is Dave".  Silence on my part . . . then I said, "Sorry, I think I have the wrong number".  Interesting that a man answered this time - wait - did he say his name was Dave?  I think that is the dudes name that owns the company.  Yikes!

  I hopped onto Google and put the phone number in.  The name of the company came up and boy, did I feel stupid. I dialed the number again and a different woman answered, "[company name] this is Nancy". I recognized the company once the name was said clearly and I recognized Nancy's voice.  "Hi, Nancy.  This is [me] and I just got a call from your number and some woman said my insurance account wasn't working anymore.  I told her I would call her back because I didn't recognize her or the number and I thought it was a scam {embarrassed giggle}".

  To make a silly story shorter - I got connected to the woman and got everything figured out.  Then I proceeded to go into my contact list and add the provider's phone number to the company name so the next time they called I wouldn't let paranoia set in.  Oh! I also called the other provider and left a message on their machine letting them know the scam wasn't really a scam, that it was just me losing my marbles.  [I am an idiot some days!]

  Ten years ago this probably would not have happened but the age of technology and the waning morals of our society have created people like me.  Technology lovers who have multiple layers of hacking protection put in place because we know the immoral people are out to get us.  When someone calls us, rather than communicating electronically per our preference, we immediately start coming up with scenarios in our minds about all of the scams that could be introduced via the telephone.  In my own defense, several years ago I was a victim of a online banking hacking scam.  The alerts I had in place allowed me to be immediately notified and I was able to shut the hacker down.  However, it still created a sense of violation in my mind made me secure my accounts even more with multiple access layers.

  I think the cyber world is only going to get worse and we all need to learn to use security layering to protect our identities from those individuals that think it is okay to steal anything and everything a person has.  So, do yourself a favor and check your accounts, delete accounts and profiles you no longer use.  Unsubscribe to those e-mails from companies you no longer deal with and stop giving out personal details on social media sites.  Be smart and stay safe onliners!!

Random thought:  When was the last time you received a letter on stationary from a friend or loved one?  Better yet, when was the last time you wrote and sent a letter to someone?

~Daemon