The lure of the Internet is always there. The web knows what I shop for, where I shop for it and how to get my attention.I personally think that Facebook has the most enticing sidebar but even my gmail inbox is filled with "promotions" and "updates" too. Almost every senior that I know is on Facebook A LOT! It is sometimes hard for people like me to figure out what is true and what is not.
All of that plays into the Amazon business model. If I am not sure, I always check on Amazon to see if the offer is a good price and if I can have it delivered tomorrow. Should I be doing that?
Now, I have found that Amazon offers their own coffee pods at such a low price that it not even smart to buy anything else.
In all of this I am reminded of Ma Bell (AT&T), you know that phone company that had a monopoly on all things telephone. The phones were sacred property, never belonged to you and if the repair man came and saw that the phone had been opened, you would be in big trouble. The grip they had on our life was not good and turned out to be illegal. They were prosecuted for being a monopoly!
Amazon is almost there...our groceries, clothing, even the rock wool for the gas fireplace are all being ordered through them. We feel safe from those scammers that are in the sidebar of Facebook when we use Amazon.
But it seems to me that Amazon's reach might not be such a good thing either. Putting everyone out of business does not feel right and letting one online website take everything over is equally as scary.
I really do like to have bricks and mortar stores in my neighborhood. The landscape without them would be very barren. But even some of the bigger stores are struggling to keep ahead of Amazon and their online buddies.
It could be that because seniors are not as suspicious as they could be they get caught up in what appears to be perfectly safe. The big warning sign that appears on your computer saying you have been hacked, the call from the people impersonating Social Security telling you that your account has been closed, the email from a friend in the Ukraine asking you to send money because they are in jail...it is all so confusing and easy to believe.
I have had all those things happen to me. I am so skeptical I do not bite. In fact, I probably have passed up some very good offers. I have always been a skeptic.
Now, I do not know if Amazon is safe but until you write me telling about the big scam, I am going to give them a little bit of my trust.
How about you...what has happened to you lately that scared you because you trusted the wrong person? Oh and believe me you are not alone.
I would like to hear from you.
b+
Note:
I might add that I think that our political situation could even be laid at Facebook's door.
...I yearned for one of these for years but just could not make myself buy one. I even used a rasp from my husband's shop for a while.
I use in my shower. 
reader...this device has made it possible for me to read again.
that belonged to my parents.
Really, I will never own another brand. It is the best.
(4s is coming next)...I even take most of my pictures for this blog with it.
