Scams are on the rise. 

I know I have been the target multiple times since March.  I now suspect I may have been on even more occasions.  In the last two weeks, I heard of several members of our WES community targeted and a few captured by scammers.

Here’s how I think I’ve been targeted.  Just last week, I only learned about this type of scam where you unsubscribe from an email list and it turns out you have begun to waive the flag that “Hey, I read these emails and click your links!”.  The week before I learned the word “smishing”.  It’s the text message equivalent of “phishing” where essentially a text message is looking to either get you to reveal some identify information or get you to move to share money with them because they are in “an emergency!!”. Often time there is a link in the text they are looking for you to hit. Don’t do it.

One of the smishing scams used my name.  The only way I knew about this is that a colleague received the smish and told me it came from me.  Me, I like to have a certain level of fun at times, and decided to text the person myself.  It was quite strange that each of their messages was signed “Maceo Thomas”.  They tried very hard for me to buy Walmart gift cards and send to them.  Clearly, they don’t know I don’t step foot in Walmart.  They should’ve tried Target.

Anyway, we are ALL targets of scams constantly.  Since I have been at WES, there has been no less than four emails that have gone out to membership purported to be from Amanda or Lyn “asking for help” or “need of gift cards”.  The recent one sent in Lyn’s name signed off, “God bless” or something like that.  We all have technology at our fingertips that we have the ability to wake up with and go to sleep next to.  Many of these technologies are attached to really important things… facebook, tik tok… our work products… oh and our banks.  Getting attacked can lead us to be extremely vulnerable and can be a financial cost.  When you get these emails that raise your curiosity verify email addresses and know that WES staff won’t be sending out emails for help and clearly won’t send out a mass email to WES community with the “G-word”.

I decided to take on this topic as the membership coordinator because we know we live in a world where people will always look to take advantage of the vulnerable.  There are times where WE may be “the vulnerable”. There are times when we have the resources to pre-empt others’ vulnerability.  I’d imagine by the year 2020, we have all been targeted by phone, email, text scammers.  Everyday they are working hard to come up with something new. Everyday, as communities, how do we protect each other?  We have the power of community.  The power of connection.  The power of sharing.  Our individual experience can be our community experience.  This is also the time where we don’t see each other and connect in ways we have been comfortable with.  Let’s make sure that we understand that we all can be vulnerable at different times for many different circumstances and strengthen our connections to each other.  

Let’s write more letters.  Lol.  

Or we can just pick up the phone.  Think, today, who you haven’t been in touch with and reach out.  “How have you been doing?”  Also, examine the WES calendar and connect with members on already organized events. Join coffee hour after platform. Be connected.

In the meantime, be on the look-out for scams. Here’s ten things you can do to avoid fraud.

Excelsior!

Maceo, Membership Coordinator

You can reach me at maceot@ethicalsociety.org