The man on the line had an East Indian accent. He told me his name was Ryan Wilson and rattled off his government ID number. When I asked for the details of my "case", he gave me another phone number. Though it was all unlikely my adrenaline was triggered, leaving me feeling I better attend to something. So, I called just in case. This man also sounded Indian. Apparently I had committed tax fraud.
Now, I start to play and ask what will happen to me. He tells me I will go to jail. I suggest this is a scam.
He says, “What do you mean a scam? I am a government official!”
I am curious about where the conversation will go. How will he ease into asking for my credit card? He warns again that I will go to jail.
“When?” I ask.
“Today.”
“So, you’re just calling to let me know the police are coming for me?”
“Yes."
“When will they come?”
“In forty-five minutes.”
“Really - they’re coming in forty-five minutes” I say, “And when will they be coming for you?”
He thanked me, I thanked him, and we hung up.
What interested me was how he hooked me in with a scary story even though I knew better. The thought that I’d possibly done something wrong was compelling. By the time I’d finished engaging with that thinking, I was a bit shaken even though none of it was real.
We all run scams on ourselves, sometimes we question them and sometimes we buy in. Often we think it’s reality - we’re not making the news, we’re reporting it. There are many stories playing in our heads throughout a day and we determine which ones we let run and effect us and which we put an end to, finally calling a scam a scam.
It's good to put an end to scary stories. Why waste our time?
Love,
Jen