At the best of times, I'm annoyed by scammers and exploiters... and not only online, but also *off*line, using anything from the phone to mail to defraud people... by preying on fears.
And goodness know, fears are running higher than normal these days, with the pandemic, economic meltdowns, job insecurity and more.
It used to annoy me that we'd get these *"robocalls"* from individuals posing as the IRS *(the income tax governing body here in the US),* claiming that we are *"being sued"* by the IRS for back taxes.
No, I never took any of these seriously... *but* there are undoubtedly those who are struck with such *fear* at the mention of the IRS that they fall into some trap that will liberate them of $1000's.
***PSA Announcement: The IRS will NEVER call you on the phone concerning taxes owed!***
## *The US Government Stimulus Check Scam*
Anyway, the latest one showed up today... relating to the so-called *"stimulus checks"* we will supposedly be getting from the US government sometime during the weeks ahead.
Since many people have lost their jobs and perhaps have used up their savings already... they are *depending* somewhat on these $1,200 payments, and many are what you might call *anxiously awaiting* the arrival of the money.
Thus, suddenly getting a robocall that states *"Attention! The IRS has determined that you may not qualify for the Economic Stimulus Payment! Please call this number: 1-800-YouLose!"* will probably cause a few people to lose their marbles.
Of course, this is *not* a legitimate call... it's designed to get people to pay someone to *"make sure"* they DO get their payment, which — of course — isn't in question, in the first place.
I'm just *tired* of the underlying attitude of *"Let's rip someone off,"* as a means to making money.
## *eBay Scams...*
Meanwhile, I am a pretty active seller on eBay, and I have many international customers. Most of them are great people who happen to live far away.
But there are also some scams there... currently, there is a loophole being exploited, based on longer shipping times due to Covid-19.
The buyer (typically somewhere in Asia that has sketchy customs/import duty laws) *gets* their item, waits a couple of weeks... and then makes a *"return request"* using eBay's *"item received is not as described"* feature. By that feature, it's the *seller's* responsibility to have the item picked up from the buyer and returned to source for a refund. Even from overseas.
Of course, the buyer doesn't actually *want* to return the item... but they *know* that the cost to me, as a seller, to have an item picked up and returned postpaid from somewhere in Asia via FedEx or UPS will cost some $100+... so then you get a message *"Well, I can also keep the product, but you must give me a lower price!"*
Essentially, you're hosed either way. Accept the return, and you lose $100 on the shipping, or give the discount, and you lose $100 anyway. Of course, this wasn't really an *issue* till cross-border shipping slowed to a crawl.
I don't like scammers *at the best of times,* but it really takes a *special kind of bottom-feeding lowlife* to exploit a potentially life-threatening situation for personal gain.
Thanks for reading, and stay healthy!
*Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment-- share your experiences-- be part of the conversation!*
***(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200403 13:50 PDT
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