(Since I know a few grammar preservationists, I’ll acknowledge that “Whom do I trust?” might be more grammatically correct. My weak excuse is my grammar checker is allowing it, and it will sound more nearly correct to most.) I will also invoke the wisdom of my much-admired English Teacher, Mr. Russo. “It’s important to learn the rules of grammar so you know when to break them in the interest of communicating.”
If you’re tired of hearing about scams, I get it. I am, too. But you might find this story interesting because of the coincidences and how good the attempt is! The perp gets an “A” for effort.
I have a personal Capital One credit card account. One thing I appreciate about it is that Capital One does an excellent job of spotting questionable transactions. I made a transaction last Saturday that was legitimate but a bit weird (because I split a dinner check, it looked like I had given a 300% tip). I received an email and text message from Capital One asking me if I did make it. The system worked. Quite well, actually.
Today I received another Fraud Alert that looked like it came from Capital One. At first, I thought it was related. The first clue that something was wrong is that it was addressed to me as the webmaster of the Maine State Grange Website. As far as I know, MSG doesn’t have an account, and if it did, I wouldn’t be the contact. But the appearance of the email was almost identical to the one I’d received questioning the huge tip. So, in one respect, it “made sense.”
But in some others, it didn’t. The email address it came from didn’t look right. The links to click didn’t look right. The button to click to sign into my account was huge and bright green. It lacks specifics. (The previous legitimate email included the amounts.) I could go on. The fact the emails arrived close together was sheer coincidence.
There’s been some interesting dialog about the lack of trust we are learning to live with, even though trust is an integral part of our humanity. It’s not limited to financial matters, although scams and phishing attempts are growing geometrically and increasingly sophisticated. What is happening to our society? Yes, it’s an interesting consideration.
But here’s a more important one. We don’t have to live in fear of being scammed.
When I learned to drive (communicate with) oxen this summer, the instructor reminded us that it’s crucial the oxen learn you aren’t trying to kill them. It’s a funny way of understanding that survival instincts are important, and not just for bovines. They are justifiably cautious creatures. We’re teaching them to manage their instincts.
Living in a complex and risk-filled society doesn’t mean we have to live in fear. We do have to be disciplined and learn to trust ourselves when attempts are made. Caution is not fear; it’s brilliant. Caution helps us manage our instincts. Human creatures should be good at it.
When I got that email, I admit, I was tempted to see where this little scam was going. I’m somewhat instinctively curious. Curiosity killed the cat, according to one saying. I suppressed my curiosity and instead, I reported it to Capital One. And now you know about it too. That knowledge should help you trust yourself.
