Shoe by Gary Brookins and Susie MacNelly for February 04, 2021

Oh, those hateful mattress tags…..

With all the phone calls I’ve gotten accusing me of various felonies including cheating the IRS, I would be one bad dude if even a third of them were true.

Didn’t they re-word those tags, like, several decades ago?

Now, who’s up for a joke about airline food?

This could be the future. 1984 may be coming true a few decades late with “Big Brother”.

“…coming true a few decades late…”?! 1984 only works because few see/saw Big Brother coming.

LOL. A long time ago the Show strip did one about either Shoe or Professer tearing the tag off a mattress and was immediately surrounded by the police. (A young lady friend of mine painted a copy of the strip on her dorm room wall at LAjes AB in the Azores.)

A few pointers – for phone calls: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-avoid-scam and https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0208-phone-scams and for emails: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams

With ‘Loon’, you never know—it isn’t just because of the type of bird he is that they call him ‘Loon’ ! ! ! !

When the “IRS” told me I would be arrested if I didn’t pay my dues and fine immediately I told them “send the police, I need the vacation!” I don’t know why they hung up on me.

I wish I could find those robot dialing servers. I would change the message to something creative that would have federal agencies go SWAT on their asses.

It doesn’t take many to fall for this scam to make it worthwhile. I know of one guy (good second hand info) who was on his way to hand over his savings. What saved him was a phone call to his ex, who’s a lot less gullible than he is.

Some kind of fraudulent spam. Don’t fall for vague threats that demand you pay “the government” in gift cards. Really.

And NO, do not send them your bank account number or any other personal information.

I kept one of these guys on the phone for 5 minutes talking in circles. He hung up on me after shouting “I f%$% your mother!!!!” Life’s little victories. Had one guy, hopefully running all over Bombay. My 85 year old invalid friend somehow lost her wallet while on vacation in India and e-mailed me to get cash to help out. After she told me that Trish, her infant daughter, was indeed ok I told her I wired money but to the wrong Western Union office. I had looked up the number given and picked another that was a mile away. Then another. After three different Western Union offices did not have the money they replied with a desultory “Get back to me when you figure it out.” It brightens my heart.

We need to scam the scammers.

How cold-hearted do you have to be to call up seniors and tell them their Social Security is suspended?

Did you think it a coincidence that Social Security can be abbreviated SS?

Welcome to China where the world’s most powerful artificial intelligence monitors every aspect of everyone’s life

How the heck do you violate social security? Defraud them, perhaps.

Sounds like one of those junk calls that folks are getting these days.

I always ask them if their mother knows what they are doing and are they proud of you!

My wife had her computer freeze up and a ‘Microsoft’ phone number popped up on the screen. → She phoned it. I was rather annoyed that she, as per their instructions, was not discussing the situation! She was on her way to clean out her bank account by buying some $500 gift cards at ‘Sephora’. Fortunately the clerk realized it was a scam and explained it to my wife. I got them some flowers as a thank you. If your computer screen freezes in a similar manner, just do a Hard Shut Down, by pressing and holding the power button. Then restart it.

I’m a little surprised as the number of you talking about getting these calls. Don’t you use a spam blocker app or even the features of your phone to ignore these calls? My iPhone SE silences all calls from anyone NOT in my contact list.

The REAL annoying spams are now coming over by text messages. So far I haven’t found a way to block them.

It’s a scam…

You removed a mattress tag? How did they find out? Did the mattress people come to the house? Awful. Maybe call Mike Lindel will bail you out if you buy a pillow.

This cannot be said often enough. The IRS, Social Security, your bank, your credit card company or any other entity with which you have an account will not call you and ask for your account information because THEY ALREADY HAVE IT! And they will not threaten you with prison over the phone or ask you to pay a fine with gift cards. Please wake up and think. I work for a bank and it breaks my heart to see people scammed by these crooks. It’s not just seniors either.

When I get calls like that I tell them to come get me.

I’ve gotten a few of those calls. It’s part of the reason that I keep a taxi horn, a boat horn, and a police whistle in my home office.