Should Senior Citizens Trust Online Offers? Are We Gullible?

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.

Dumb people at the Gas Pump are ALL Women?

Moral of this story:  Laugh at the idiots scammers...they can't help themselves.

The email was forwarded to me...you know, the email warning about safety at the gas pump.  It seems that women and cell phones and the filling stations just sets people off.  So an idiot someone had the brilliant idea to embellish a safety warning put out by the Petroleum Equipment Industry pertaining to gas pump fires. (In case you are wondering, the key to getting an email like this to go viral is to include just enough truth and include some hate or prejudice.) If the sender of the email had read the message closely, they would have seen that it was written to offend women.  In the case of this woman, she was not offended.  It made her laugh until she was crying.  Honestly!

THE PHONY EMAIL:

We have become so comfortable around gas stations that we forget just how deadly gasoline can be and how easy it is to ignite....

Shell Oil Safety Alert!

Four Rules for Safe Refueling:

1. Don't smoke
2. Turn off the engine
3. Don't use your cell phone - leave it inside the vehicle or turn it off (the false part of the email.)
4. Don't re-enter your vehicle during fueling.

 Bob Renkes of Petroleum Equipment Institute is working on a campaign to try and make people aware of fires as a result of 'static electricity' at gas pumps. His company has researched 150 cases of these fires. His results were very surprising: 

• Out of 150 cases, almost all of them were women. (Not in the original warning) 
• Almost all cases involved the person getting back in their vehicle while the nozzle was still pumping gas. When finished, they went back to pull the nozzle out and the fire started, as a result of static. (This may be true.)
• Most had on rubber-soled shoes.
• Most men never get back in their vehicle until completely finished. (The PEI did not say this.) This is why they are seldom involved in these types of fires....

That is where I quit reading because I was laughing so hard!  I might add they mentioned dribbling gas too. Sigh!

This is the reply published by PEI in response to the email scam. You can read the original report from Bob Renkes. Notice there is NO mention of women being the problem. This is a copy of the whole PEI page along with references replying to the scam...no attempt to mislead here:

Three Rules for Safe Refueling

1. Turn off engine.

2. Don't smoke.
3. Never re-enter your vehicle while refueling.

Are Cell Phones Responsible?No. We have not documented a single incident that was caused by a cellular telephone. Cell phones continue to be cited as causing fires at the pump in e-mails circulating on the Internet. So far, we have been unable to document any incidents that were sparked by a cellular telephone. In fact, many researchers have tried to ignite fuel vapors with a cell phone and failed.  

PEI still advises against using any electronic device that might distract the motorist during the refueling process.

More Information:  The following links offer more information on static electrical discharge— the fact and the fiction.

Snopes.com: Analysis of infamous warning e-mails circulating
Mythbusters: Season One of The Discovery Channel television series includes an episode on the cell phone myth and features our own Robert Renkes
University of Oklahoma: Report on wireless phones at gas stations
ESD Journal: More static-related incidents and safety tips
About.com: Detailing the truth of the urban legend
PEI Forum: Safe refueling questions and answers

Download the video of an actual refueling fire incident: WMV | AVI | MOV                      courtesty of www.PEI.org 

Static electricity yes, cell phones NO!  And silly women...not at all!

As for girls being girls...I will have to admit that in Oregon where I live 6 month a year we do NOT pump our own gas.  I have had to have someone help me here in Arizona more than once...the gas pump mystery confounds me. Even when I am confounded I will not be getting back inside my car while I am pumping the gas and I would urge all men to follow my lead.  I don't like gas pump fires!

Have a wonderful day and laugh at the idiots that fool us all...really, I guess they just can't help it.

b  


Technorati tag:  email scams, scams, snopes, email fraud

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• Gas cards and befuddling self-service gas pumps

Warning! Email Scam on the Move...again!

Don't do that!
Don't re-enter your personal information.

Let me say this again...your email server will not will not will not ask you to re-enter your personal information. If you get an email saying that your server (YAHOO, GOOGLE, fiddleBOMB, DIDDLYWINKS, etc, etc.) wants you to re-enter your information threatening that your service will be terminated, it is a scam!!! Do not re-enter your personal information.

It will look like this:

Gmail Team securitydatainfomation@gmail.com Feb 11 (4 days ago) to Account, bcc: me Dear Valued customer, Kindly complete the fields below to avoid Denial of service. Full Name*: Date of Birth* : E-mail Account*: Recovery Email:* Current Password* : Thanks, ©2012 Google Mail ®.
HTML info

Note that the word "information" is misspelled and says "infomation" in the email address. Your service will not be denied! A friend had this happen this week and actually sent this very official looking address her password, user name etc. That allowed this SCAM to access her email address box. Every person on that list got an email requesting money saying she had been kidnapped in Spain. This is the second friend I have had this happen to.

Do not answer these email, report them as spam. You email server will not ask for this information. If you have responded to this warn, friends, change you password and user name. Sigh!!!

Did I get one of these requests??? Well yes I did and I put it in spam and reported it. I was so tempted to respond saying, "You're kidding...right?" but is resisted the impulse.

FYI

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Scam Alert from a real Grandma!

Please click here --> Fab Grandma tells about her experience.  Please check this link out by clicking..    Scams are all around...READ THE FINE PRINT!  YOU will not GET SOMETHING FOR NOTHING, not ever!!!

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