Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:03 Hi, and welcome to does this make me local, a podcast about aging as gracefully as possible when you're just not ready for two 40 something year old friends will find themselves kind of straddling that really odd period of time when aging and everything that is associated with is starting to become a much bigger part of our lives. We're definitely curious, but at the same time, rather terrified about aging. I'm Schiff. I'm a health science nerd and pop culture themes, and I'm sin and adult and waiting obsessed with finance and self-help books. We're going to be talking about the stereotypes of aging and how they affect us. And we'll also be doing some deeper dives into some interesting topics, such as what it's like to get old in the society dating when you're older and scientific advancements in anti-aging products and even evolution and scientific thinking around aging and throughout it all we chat rant laugh about or adulting mishaps of which there are so, so, so many. So join us as we navigate our second quarter-life crisis.
Speaker 1 00:01:09 Hi, welcome to this week's episode of does this make me look old? He's he's him. How's it going? How are you?
Speaker 2 00:01:17 Not too bad. I think I'm just, yeah, I'm pretty good. How are you?
Speaker 1 00:01:23 Not, yeah, not bad, not bad. I would just like to say that after last week's episode of us talking about, uh, what you wanna call it, you know, like when we were talking about like morbid things about nursing homes dying at home, um, I came across an article in the CBC about how paramedics are like, like there's this, there's this like town in Ontario where the paramedics were actually like trained to provide like, or at least like, not, not necessarily provide palliative care to people so that they can like, um, die at home, but they, they can like if they get called and they realize that it's not necessarily like, uh, an emergency that requires to go to the hospital in somebody who's terminally ill and they need palliative services. And they'll just kind of like direct them to the right people type thing. And I was like, yeah, I feel like somebody, somebody is looking out for me. There
Speaker 2 00:02:22 Was your phone listening to you. You feel like all warm and cozy recommendation for an article just after we talked about it. I'm like, I know the chances of that.
Speaker 1 00:02:44 I know I was just talking about dying at home and look, there's an article. What's your phone listening to you? I'll probably I'm sure. I'm sure. Or actually this is becoming more and of a, uh, of a need just because, you know, the population is aging. I'm going to think that that's actually what it is. And not that my phone's listening to me, although I think that brings us to the topic that we're going to discuss today. Basically my paranoia and my thinking that I'm going to get scammed like left right. And center you aren't going
Speaker 2 00:03:23 To get scammed left right. And center.
Speaker 1 00:03:27 Oh my God. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny.
Speaker 2 00:03:32 Live, not live, but like two recent examples, like just from the past
Speaker 1 00:03:37 Week. Oh, I know just before, we're about to record, my camera was like on for some unknown reason. And like, I was like trying to log in to my, to like my computer. And he was like, Hey, cannot log in because camera is in use. I'm texting Sam. Cause I'm just like him. I might be hacked, I think. Ha oh my God. I know. And then like, this is just happening to me. I'm like a, well, maybe not a daily basis, but like, you know, every few days something weird happens. Cause like, you know, we all, uh, the other thing that happened was like, I got this text alert on my phone. I'm sure we all get them where they're all like your bank has, there's something wrong with your bank account, please like click this link and you know, whatever, whatever. And so then, um, so I, I got one of those the other day. And then, uh, and then I looked at it and I was like, oh, clearly it's like a phishing scam. And then, uh, I didn't think anything of it. And then, uh, yeah. And then, but then a couple of hours later, I like Mo I, I was just, I picked up my phone to move it and I didn't realize that I had like clicked on the link accidentally. Cause like, I don't think I had closed down the text and then
Speaker 2 00:04:56 Accidentally
Speaker 1 00:04:58 Dude, I don't want to click on those links. I'm like, so I'm so paranoid. My phone's going to get hacked anyways. But then, but then I guess I click on the link and then my screen goes fucking red, the whole screen. And it's just like, this is an unsafe site. Do you want like basically, what do you want to enter
Speaker 2 00:05:19 At least your phone gave you that warning?
Speaker 1 00:05:22 I don't know what it thought was actually the fault. Well, anyway, I think it was the phone because like afterwards I like texted this friend of mine. I was just like, oh my God, I think I accident. I might accidentally clicked on this site. And I don't know if I like now let hackers into my phone. She said I was okay.
Speaker 2 00:05:42 The story that got to meet though is, um, and why I'm pretty sure that you're a prime candidate for being scaled story of you handing over your credit card to a random lady on the street to buy a mask.
Speaker 1 00:06:00 Yeah. Yeah. So she's like, apparently she's this artist in York mill and she's like been working there for like six, no 40 years. And that was it 40 or 50 anyway, it doesn't matter. She's been working there for a long time and she was like telling me stories about back in the day, what like Yorkville was like and whatnot. And uh, yeah. And I like how Margaret Atwood would like visit the area and whatnot. And of course, like I'm a sucker. That's pretty cool. No, I know. I know. So she's getting like, she's sucking me in with her stories, right. I'm like, Ooh, she New York go back when it was cool.
Speaker 1 00:06:35 And then, uh, yeah. And she was basically like, so she was in, she's an artist and she used to sell her art on the, on, on Yorkville, proper, like on the actual avenue. And then, um, uh, oh, so for our listeners who don't know, like that have never been to Toronto, like Yorkville is kind of a very, very rich upscale area in downtown Toronto. Um, but back in the day, apparently was super Bohemian. Like in the sixties, I think it was like filled with a lot of artists and a lot of bands got their start in like little kind of dive bars on the street. But like nowadays you would just never know. Cause it's just like Ermez and you know, like Louis Vuitton and like all sorts of like super Shishi, like stores there. So you'd never ever know. Um, but anyway, so she was giving me like this history lesson and stuff and then, uh, and so, yeah, so she used to sell art on that street and now she can't anymore because, or she claims she can't anymore.
Speaker 1 00:07:32 It's like developed and there's no, actually she's right. Like the don't seem to be very many artists on those streets anymore. And so like, she was like, oh, but you know, I still try to peddle my wares. And so she was like, do you want to buy like a mask from me? Like they're handmade blah-blah-blah. And so then I was like, oh sure. But I'm like, but I have no cash thinking this would get her off my back. Cause I was like, I have no cash. See a lady, but, but no, she's like, oh, I take credit. And I was like, oh, okay.
Speaker 1 00:08:03 And of course I'm too polite. So I'm just like, okay, here you go. And she's I was like, oh, so do you have squares thinking that yeah, if you have credit card cards, you must have square because I get with the program. But then like, but no, it was like one of those old school, like manual, like carbon copy, things that you have, like, which I don't even know if any of our younger listeners would even know what I'm talking about, but basically he used to have this like manual machine where you would put the card in and then you would pass the card over and then it would take an imprint of the card numbers and put it onto a card. Right. Doesn't it take,
Speaker 2 00:08:44 Uh, an imprint of all your information from the card? Like don't even the thing or just the number.
Speaker 1 00:08:49 Well, that's why credit card numbers are raised. Right.
Speaker 2 00:08:52 Well, but isn't it, your name also raised
Speaker 1 00:08:55 The name is raised too, but she didn't take, she didn't so, okay. That's how it's normally done. If you have one of those, that's how it's normally done. You have a machine, you pass it over, you have the name and you have like the card number. She wrote down my credit card information. So she only wrote down my number and then like the expiry date. And so it doesn't
Speaker 2 00:09:18 Actually know how to use a credit card machine thinking anyway, but I also weigh with her mask.
Speaker 1 00:09:28 So anyway, she gave me the mask. I gave her the thing, but then like immediately afterwards I regretted it. Cause I was just like, what is, she's wanting to be scam artists. That's going to like use my card for like nefarious purposes. And then like, and so I promptly locked the card. I feel bad. I'm going to talk to the bank and like figure out whether or not I can unlock the card and let that transaction go through. But it was just like, I don't know what to do. It's going to block the card. I have not used that card since anyway. So yeah, that's my paranoia around scams. I'm
Speaker 2 00:10:00 Obviously teasing you, but it's actually probably a good thing that you're paranoid because you know, I mean, people get scammed a lot. Um, and it's easy now to fall for those games. Cause it's like, especially online scams look more and more real. Um, the phone scams seem more and more authentic, so I wouldn't be surprised, you know? So I think it's good thing that you're S you're actually so paranoid.
Speaker 1 00:10:25 No, for sure. But the thing is, is like, so yes and no, like part of me wonders and like, am I more prone to scams or less prone to them because I'm so paranoid about them. The other day I was listening to the guardian guardian podcast and like they were talking to a woman who got scammed out of like 8,000 pounds. I know. And like, and it was like solely this scam that was run during the pandemic because everyone's online shopping. Right. And so she apparently, um, had like, you know, she had ordered something online and then, um, the, she got some sort of notification that looked pretty legitimate on her phone saying that like her shipping was going to be delayed. And so then, um, that there some problem with her package and that it wouldn't come on time and then like, and so she didn't really think anything of it.
Speaker 1 00:11:15 And then, but then her package came and then she kind of promptly forgot about it. And then a few days later, the, um, somebody who claimed to be from her bank called her and then basically like scammed her out of her money. They told her that like, yeah, I don't know how it related to the shipping thing, but they somehow related it to the shipping. Oh no, no, no, no. Sorry. I'm getting it wrong. So what happened is, yeah, so she, she got this notification saying that her claim was going to be delayed. And then in it, there was a link to like give all her information. And so she gave all the information for this, like, you know, shipping thing to like, come on time, the package came and then like everything, she thought everything was hunky Dory. But then there was like a followup call where this guy took all of that information and then like basically persuaded her to move her money from one account to a totally different account.
Speaker 1 00:12:17 And then she lost all her money. Oh, I now, so I was just like, oh God, like, that's it just that that's just like a nightmare. And then, uh, but you know, like, and she's probably, she's probably not much older than me. Like I think she was like in her fifties or something like that. So, but yeah. And then I think like immediately after it had gone, like immediately after it happened, she realized that she'd made an awful mistake. And then she, then she went down to the bank to like try to figure out, um, like basically try to figure out whether or not she could get her money back or if this was legit or whatever. But then she realized that the people who scammed her knew that her bank was closed, like in the hours that they called her. So then when she got off the phone, there was no one to actually go to. So then she had to wait an entire day before like dealing with her like monetary situation. See,
Speaker 2 00:13:15 They think of everything.
Speaker 1 00:13:17 I know, I know. It's like, it's so frightening. And then like you hear about all these things that can happen, like with your phones, that can be hacked. And like, apparently now they're going to be, now there are these scams that are involving two-step authentication where they actually pretend to have your phone and then they will, they will use the two step authentication in order to get there, like the codes sent to their phones so that they can hack into your accounts. Like it's pretty bad. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway,
Speaker 2 00:13:52 I get quite, quite often, like, I'll get notification that someone's trying to log on to like, you know, my different social media accounts or something. Yeah. Um, and I'm often paranoid, like, but I don't know what to do about it. Yeah. You know, like it's like clearly someone's trying really
Speaker 1 00:14:14 Frightening. Yeah. And then go ahead. No, no, no. Sorry. So sometimes I like, like I, um, so sometimes when I'm like logging into my email or whatever, like I'll get notification that like you're logging on or they'll just notify you and then there'll be like, somebody was trying to access your account at X time, like from an IP address. And then they'll give you the IP address. And then like, they usually say like, is this you? And then I usually just click. Yes. But because it is, but like, yeah. So like with your social media accounts, do they not let you do that? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:14:45 Yeah. Yeah. So, so sometimes it is, I, I, and I can see that, but sometimes it's like an odd times, like I'll wake up and I'll see that there were people like who wanted to reset my password. Um, you know, and I'm like that wasn't me, you know? Um, so I don't know, but I don't actually know what to do about it. Like, so yeah. You know, and it's funny because part of me is actually lazy about it. But then a part of me is also like super paranoid.
Speaker 1 00:15:17 But then, so what, so what do you end up doing? Do you like click that, that wasn't me so that at least the company knows that it wasn't you.
Speaker 2 00:15:22 Yeah. Yeah, I do. But then some of these, some places actually don't have like a two factor authentication and, um, I've had people open accounts, um, using my email address, which is very annoying. Um, and so what, like there was this one person who opened some, um, shopping account or something. And so I actually logged on and changed the password there
Speaker 2 00:15:57 It was like, cause you know, if, when, if you say reset password, it comes straight to my account. I'm like, why are you using my account? So that's a different issue, right? It's not like someone's trying to hack into my account. So this one is more like someone used my email address to sign up for accounts, like, you know, junk email or whatever. Right. How does that work though? Right? It's that's just it, I think there are some, um, some companies which still don't make you go through a two factor authentication to sign up for things. So all you have to do is just put your email address and you're signed up.
Speaker 1 00:16:30 No, no, I get that. So I get that, but the thing is, is, wait a minute. Are they, are they signing up for porn? Is that it?
Speaker 2 00:16:37 No. Uh, well, no, actually I haven't gotten the porn ones.
Speaker 1 00:16:42 What would it serve somebody to not use their own account? I don't understand why you would steal somebody else's email address, right? No, I signed up for shit. I don't know. I have
Speaker 2 00:16:52 Nope, I know. Right.
Speaker 1 00:16:54 Okay. I'm like porn, like the only other thing is it's like, yeah, actually that can, that can be super dangerous. Cause I have read that. Like I have read that if somebody can hack into your account and use your IP address or your, um, or your like email address for things, they can, they can blame. They can basically blame you for things like child pornography and whatnot. No. Yeah. Because I mean, that's what it is. Right. If they use your IP address to actually like download child, child pornography beyond scary. Yeah. Like you could technically lose your job over shit like that.
Speaker 2 00:17:28 Well, God okay. No, that is just ridiculous and scary. I actually don't know. Oh my God. Why would people do stuff like that? Like anyway, cause people are assholes. But anyway, I guess my question though, to you is do you find that you've been getting more paranoid as you've been getting older or has this always been a thing
Speaker 1 00:17:54 I'm just getting more paranoid. I don't know why. And like, and I feel like I'm feeding into it as well, like the other day is okay. Yeah. Thanks. So, um, yeah, like I think you sent me this article about, uh, about like different age groups and whatnot and who gets, who get scammed by what? And my, oh, I look up and correct me if I'm wrong. But you said that like people who were in their forties and forties to sixties, was it whereas we're like most often scammed by like tech scams or, um, romance scams. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. So anyway, like I guess just a feed, my own paranoia. I've been like listening to this podcast. Um, it's called Dr. Death miracle, man. It's quite interesting. So I was like, I first got addicted to Dr. Death the first season. So now they're making it like into a TV series with Joshua Jackson.
Speaker 1 00:18:48 And uh, so then the second one is a romance scam where like this guy, um, is like a cardiac, oh, was he a cardiac? No, no, no. He would think he was like a, uh, he was a thoracic surgeon and he, um, he was like basically doing surgeries on all of these people without there without, uh, ethics approval. And they were kind of experimental surgeries and all these people died. It was kinda, it was really sad, but the, in the meantime he ended up, um, he ended up, uh, fooling one of his, uh, he basically had an affair. He was having an affair with this journalist and like, I think she's, she's actually like gone on TV and stuff like that to like warn people about romance scams. But basically he was having an affair with a journalist without telling her that he was already, he was already married and he had been married to a woman for like 30 years and had kids with her and everything.
Speaker 1 00:19:40 And then like, yeah. And then, because the thing is, is like he traveled all over the world. So he could like easily flip back to like Italy or Spain or wherever he was, um, to like visit his wife and then all under the pretense of like, oh, I have to give a talk or, oh, I have to, you know, like, like, yeah, exactly. So like, so she didn't suspect any like the woman who was having an affair with didn't suspect anything. But then the crazy thing is, is that he like proposed to her. So listen to this craziness. Okay. So, and this is what I don't understand, but then I guess like when you're in it and living it, it's totally different because when you listen to it as like, like a, like a secondhand story, you're kind of like, how could you get scammed by this?
Speaker 1 00:20:23 But so like it's so it's still ongoing. So if you guys actually want to listen to it, like feel free to it's like you only have to catch up on my two to three episodes. But like, so wow. The things that she did was he engaged her. So he, they proposed to her and she said, yes. And then he said, I'm going to take care of the wedding. And then he claimed that he was going to get the Pope to marry them. Yeah. Even though she, even though he claimed he'd been divorced and she was previously divorced, Catholic Pope is not connected, not married, but you wouldn't be here. So, yeah. And then he claimed that thick though bomb was we're going to be at their wedding and all sorts of like all these famous people were going to be at his wedding. So
Speaker 2 00:21:11 Is that when she started to feel like,
Speaker 1 00:21:13 No, no, she didn't. She believed all of it and then, yeah. I'm not even joking. And then she like, literally she, like, she left her job in New York to be with him. And then I think the day that she was like, she left her job. She, um, like she kind of had this like celebratory get together with her girls, like probably like a pseudo bachelorette, like I'm leaving the U S kind of like get together or whatever. And her work, she only cottoned onto it when her work colleague texted her after like, after her spa day and was just like, FYI, the Pope is on a south American tour during your wedding. And then it clicked and then it clicked for her. And I'm just fascinated by all of it. So like, I'm just like, how, how does
Speaker 2 00:22:06 What happened to the guy? So I need to know now what happens
Speaker 1 00:22:10 Next? Well, I haven't, I haven't listened to the rest of the podcast. I'm not really sure exactly how things unfurled, but like, but like the story, the guy is definitely a fraud and he's been, um, yeah. Yeah. So you've been disciplined because like in the background, what was happening was he was like working at the Carolyn's go, which is this really like, um, famous, um, medical school in, uh, Sweden. It's actually where, um, so he was a doctor, he's a doctor, bad doctor. I don't even know what his credentials are, those. So I'm sure that will be like, one of the things that'll show up on the podcast leader, but like I'm yeah. I'm, I'm unclear as to what his credentials are, but like, yeah. Apparently like the people at the Karolinska, which is like where they decide who the Nobel prize winners are, like, they, they, uh, they realized he was like super problematic and they basically like fired him. So, yeah. Anyway, it's very interesting, but like, it just goes, just sit at the seat. This is the stuff I listened to because I'm so paranoid about like getting scammed. I'm like, I don't want it. I don't want this to be me.
Speaker 2 00:23:14 Won't be, you just have to be diligent.
Speaker 1 00:23:19 I think this is also why I listened to cult things. Like I listened to things about cults. Cause I'm just like, I just don't want this to be me. I don't want to be scammed. I know, but I feel like, well, the other thing though, I think is that like, and this was what I found interesting about, um, the woman who ended up the woman in the UK who ended up getting scammed out of her money. Like you can. And when I was listening to the podcast, you could still tell, she felt really ashamed about it all. You don't have to feel ashamed. Like this is what these people do. You know? Like, I know, I know like momentarily, you feel stupid about it, but like at the end of the day, like, I don't know. We should just, we should just like allow us to like let other people come with. Yeah, exactly. Like just come, come forward with your story. And like, let's crack down on this because it's really not fair that people take advantage of others like that. It's not cool. Dudes not cool.
Speaker 2 00:24:15 No, it it's, it's really weird. Like, you know, but you're right. Like, um, sometimes you hear these stories about relationships and people and you're like, is that actually real? Or are you being scammed? So my, um, eyebrow, uh, aesthetics, uh, thank you. She she's, um, she's really lovely. And, um, you know, for, you know, for a couple of months, she was talking about how she had met this great guy, fabulous person, blah, blah, blah. Um, except the last time I went to her, I was like, oh, so how's, you know, um, so-and-so and she's like, ah, and I'm like, what? And she's like, well, I don't know. You know, he just seems to have gone missing. And then he had a conference last weekend and he even called me the entire weekend.
Speaker 1 00:25:06 And I'm thinking, what kind of
Speaker 2 00:25:08 A conference happens on a weekend? Um, do they,
Speaker 1 00:25:14 Yeah. And the, can I like medical conferences that I've gone to, like will often span like a whole week and they
Speaker 2 00:25:20 Span a whole week, but does it only the weekend.
Speaker 1 00:25:23 Sometimes they do. Sometimes what they do is that they actually spent over the weekend. So you're not taking off a lot of work time because the thing is, is that, especially in medicine, because, because you need coverage, you need like medical coverage. And so if you're off, then like your colleagues have to like take up the slack. Right. So you can't really afford to take it off during the workweek makes it. And they try to like, they try to make the conferences like run over the weekend. So you're only losing like one or two days, right. Either side. Yeah. No, that
Speaker 2 00:25:51 Makes sense. Um, so yeah, so anyway, so she was like, starting to like, you know, say like these things where she's like, well, he doesn't seem to call on certain days and then he's just not responding. And I don't know. But then when he shows up, it's like all hunky Dory, but then if I ask him about it, he just laughs it off and, you know, and, but it's taking, taken her a couple of months before it started seeming like a red flag, you know? And so we were just talking about one where I'm like, well, it does sound a little suspicious that a person doesn't, but then, you know, there are people who are not really good at like constantly calling and texting. She's like, no way that, but when you always have, and then all of a sudden you're not kind of a
Speaker 3 00:26:41 Thing I was like, thanks. Don't know. That's interesting.
Speaker 2 00:26:45 Now I'm curious to know who, what happens to that relationship? Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:26:48 Yeah. No for sure. Oh, that's good GOs. Um, no, that's exactly it. I was thinking about it cause like I find those scams like really heinous, cause like you're basically like banking on somebody's trust. Right. In my opinion, love somebody. You most normal people like they are. Yeah. Like you're, you're vulnerable and you just trust somebody. Like I know it, I mean, I'm kind of like, I was kind of laughing about that whole doctor death thing, but like at the same time, like he was a very famous surgeon. It would make sense that he would like, he would travel in very rarefied circles or he could travel in very rarefied circles. So you could potentially like, you know, have Obama's at your wedding. It's possible. Right? Like it depends, like it depends what echelon you're like working in living with whatever. So like, you know, like when you, when you think about it in hindsight, you're like, okay, that sounds a bit crazy. But when you're in it and it's somebody who loves, who says that, they love you saying this, like why would you
Speaker 2 00:27:51 Yeah. And he's mad at her, so it's not. Yeah,
Speaker 1 00:27:55 Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like you wouldn't be like super skeptical. I mean, if that was like a second date thing, then like yeah. Like after several, you know, after yeah, yeah, yeah. After months and months. So like, I mean, and the same thing with your esthetician, right? Like you'd like to believe that this is what the partner is saying is true, but you know, I think she's suspicious though. She sounds now suspicious.
Speaker 2 00:28:22 Yeah. Because she was just like, well, she goes, I don't know. She's like, is he like, you know, has he just gone off for the weekend with his wife and kids? And I'm like, is he married? And she's like, no, at least not that I know of, but Y you know, but now certain things he's done and said, they're all starting to seem like, you know, red flags. And I'm like, well, try and talk to him and find out the truth before, you know, jumping to any conclusions. But
Speaker 1 00:28:53 Yeah. Oh my God, that, yeah. And that's like a conversation you never want to have. Right. I don't, I don't envy her. That sounds really, but it sounds
Speaker 2 00:29:04 Like how do you go to go up to a person that you're dating and kind of go like, you know, actually suspicious.
Speaker 1 00:29:14 Right? Like, I know the other thing is, is like, and I never thought about it, but it can get dangerous too, because I mean, and I never thought about it cause like, I, you know, I was listening to that, uh, Dr. Death pod, and she, I think when she confronted him, she told her girlfriends, she was like, I'm confronting him today. If, if you don't hear back from me, like, you know, at X time and call the police, like she actually had it all. Like, she was like, cause I guess she, she realized if he could lie to her about this, then he could do anything. And so like, her life could technically be in danger. Right. So I didn't even, I didn't think about it either. I was like, she's right. Like she is right. Yeah. Oh, it was, it was very eye opening for me. It was sometimes I think I'm so naive. It could take it from, for the worst. Right. And he got emotional her like, oh God, anywhere
Speaker 2 00:30:12 Too. I do think you need to stop listening to podcasts.
Speaker 1 00:30:20 Oh my God. I'm telling you, I'm just getting more paranoid as I get older. I'm not really sure why it could just be an age thing where you're just like, oh, the world is a really dangerous place out there. Stranger danger, 40 years later. Exactly know at 20 years ago I would never, I never even would have thought about such things,
Speaker 2 00:30:48 You know, it's funny. Right. Like, I, I, like, there are things that I've done in my twenties and thirties where I'm like, looking back now, if someone were to tell me, you know, like, I don't know, like if you've gone home with anyone, if you've, you know, met people like, you know what I mean? Like things that like, which you just set the time was like, yeah, this is cool. And you make instant friends. Um, do you know, you go, go out to a party or, you know, like, and then you just, I don't know, join people for events or whatever, without even knowing who they are. Yeah. And now it's kind of like, wow, that was pretty brave. Just like ignorant.
Speaker 1 00:31:36 Oh my goodness. I know. Sometimes I think to myself, I'm like, I lived a very lucky life. It's kind of gone really bad. Like they could have gone south, like so fast. So like in, in various myriads of way, knock on wood. They didn't so exactly, exactly. And I'm hoping, I don't know. I have a feeling that I like read about these things and like, look for them online because I want to prepare myself for them if it'll happen, like, you know, to prepare myself against it happening. But then I don't think you can though. I feel like you can't really prepare.
Speaker 2 00:32:12 Oh, I don't think you can. And I, gosh, I really hope you never have
Speaker 1 00:32:16 To. I know. Yeah, exactly. Dude, though, you have to figure out what's going on with your email address. I don't understand how that's even happening.
Speaker 2 00:32:25 I don't know. I have to figure that out.
Speaker 1 00:32:28 Yeah. Yeah. That's that's concerning. So wait a minute. I want to go back to that. So like how do you find out? So then like the company sends you emails and say like, oh, you've signed up for X.
Speaker 2 00:32:44 Yeah. Like, like, you know, like think about it, like say you sign up for, um, a website, right. And then they send you a welcome email or they'll say here's your new, but you know, account information or whatever. Right. And then you get the, the, the typical mass marketing emails. Right. Um, like there are a couple of people, there was one person that I kind of, um, like I think it's a legit mistake where, um, their email address and mine are very similar. So we've have actually exchanged emails because there was a couple of emails that I got that looked legit, like from about jobs and stuff. Right. Oh, I actually responded to the person and said, I think you have the wrong person because that's not me. And they're like, oh, I'm so sorry. And it's intended for blah, blah, blah. Right. Yeah. So I think that there are some that I get like that like wrong emails.
Speaker 2 00:33:43 Um, and then, but then there was one person who had signed up for some kind of a delivery service or some food app or something like that. And, um, but it wasn't even from here, it was like from a foreign country and I found the phone number, cause I was like, what is this? And it looked legit. Right. Google separately. So I logged on. Um, and uh, and then I, when I went there, I was like, okay. And I've got the phone number because of the account information, had the phone number and they did, he was my email address. Oh my goodness. So I D deleted the account and I sent them a text and said, please don't use other people's email addresses to sign up. Wow. And the person never responded, but they never, you know, I didn't get it or it's been reopened or anything like that. So yeah. They probably
Speaker 1 00:34:43 Just went off and use somebody. Else's <inaudible> sorry. I don't understand what you would gain from that though.
Speaker 4 00:34:52 Who knows?
Speaker 1 00:34:54 It's strange. Well, I mean, unless they, they wanted to play pranks on somebody, you know, it's like those pizza pranks where you just like order like 10 pizzas and get them to some random toes that you want to piss off. But then like, I guess your name would be on the account. That's why it's good. That you'd like deleted the account. That's a, I
Speaker 2 00:35:16 Was like, yeah. Not taking a risk here.
Speaker 1 00:35:19 No, no, for sure. That's uh, I don't, I don't understand how they got your email address though. No idea.
Speaker 4 00:35:27 That's bizarre.
Speaker 1 00:35:30 Anyway. Well, yeah, so that's my rant on scams. The one that is nice is that, so there's this article from like the federal trade commission that, and like, this is something that I think I had read in another article as well, was that they were saying that older consumers were the least likely of any age group to report losing money to scams, which is really funny because like the way the media reports, these scams, it's often always older adults. And it's like, so you just get this idea that older adults are the ones that are like most prone to these scans, but it turns out that they're like, at least in the us, they're the least likely of any of the age groups to be. Um,
Speaker 2 00:36:11 Yeah, I think, I think what it was, yeah, you're right. And I think what it is is that the amount they lose is higher because they have more to lose. Right. But I think the, so you still have to be vigilant and careful, but I think I remember reading another article where they were talking about the millennials being the most prone to falling for, um, financial scams, you know? So that's interesting.
Speaker 1 00:36:40 Yeah. Yeah. So like in this article it says that consumers who are 60 and above spotted fraud and reported it before losing any money at nearly twice the rate of people between 20 and 59. Wow. That's actually pretty impressive. So, yeah. Yeah. So then, so what kind of scams, when you say financial scams, what do you mean by financial scams? I think
Speaker 2 00:37:02 Like the, you know, the scams are like around the, uh, it make money quickly, you know, like sign up, you know, get a job here or, you know, it's an easy way to make like $20,000 or click this or, um, mystery shopper or, you know, like those kind of, um, uh, things where it's like, you think you're deciding a, for a job or something like that. And I think that those are the kinds of, uh,
Speaker 1 00:37:32 Scams that they fall for. Yeah. Yeah. That's interesting. Yeah. So then, and here they say like on the FTC site, they say that apparently older adults are more likely than younger consumers to report losing money on tech support, scams, prize, sweepstakes, and lottery scams and friend and family impersonation. Yeah. And then apparently phone scams did the most financial damage and gift cards are often the payment of choice, but wire transfers still take top spot for total dollars paid. So that's interesting actually that happened to a work colleague of mine where like he's in. Yeah. Yeah. He was in his twenties, like he was in his mid twenties and he, um, this was really sad, but like his, like he told the heat, I remember it like, this was when I was, uh, working in the U S and like, his grandmother basically called him and she was just like, oh, are you okay?
Speaker 1 00:38:26 And he was like, yeah, I'm fine. I don't understand, like, why are you calling me? Like in the middle of the day, figure out what, yeah. When I'm, when I'm at work, like how, how I am. And she was like, I just got this call from a friend of yours who said that you were in jail and that you needed money. So I basically, she wired like $2,000 to bail him out. And then she realized, wait a minute, why didn't I just call him? And then she did. And he was fine. It was just awful. Well, at least
Speaker 2 00:38:54 He was fine though. Like, you know, that is sad. I know,
Speaker 1 00:38:59 I know. I never figured out whether or not she got the money back, but like yeah. But yeah, they basically scammed his grandmother out of $2,000. See, like, and that's how they scam you. Like out of like, they pick on these, they pick on people like, who like genuinely care about their like family members. And then it's just awful. Yeah. But I've heard that I've heard that. And then they keep you on the line and they make you think it's like super urgent and that you have to give them money right away. Right. But anyway,
Speaker 2 00:39:29 But yeah, no, it is hard to sort of tell, like, I'm always worried that my parents will fall victim to a scam.
Speaker 1 00:39:37 Yeah. Yeah. Well, yeah. And I wonder about that actually like the cultural, if it's different between different cultures cause, or like new immigrants, whether or not they're like more prone to falling for scams like that. Cause I remember, um, and this was also when I was in the U S I would get called about like the IRS wanting, wanting money or something. And like, I was just like, no way, cause I've paid my taxes. I actually was supposed to get a refund. So it was just like, but like the thing is, is like, if you don't know, like if you don't know the stem and you don't know that the IRS doesn't call you like specifically, you know, it's just, yeah. I know it was really funny though, because like my paranoia goes to like a different level. Cause like the CRA actually called me about one of my like TAC, like one of my tax forms that I had submitted.
Speaker 1 00:40:33 And I literally did not answer the phone. I didn't answer the phone, but like, and I even told them about it after the fact, like I answered the phone and then they were like, oh, hi is, you know, and they, they were like, you know, lived there basically. And then like, and I was like, who is this? And then they were like, this is the CRA we have a question about, you know, like X tax form or whatever. And then I was like, um, she can't come to the phone right now. I can get her to call you back. And then I think, I, I think they sent me an email or something. And then I called, like, I called the number in the email and then it was the steam guy. And then I was just like, oh, I'm like, it's you? And I was just like, you know, you should really warn people that you're going to call them because like, this is exactly how all these tax fraud scams happen. I supposed to be calling you about like your taxes. I'm like, um, it was kind of funny.
Speaker 2 00:41:33 Yeah. I w I, I get paranoid about those things as well. I often say that I'm just going to call back. Um, I'll be like, okay, I'm just going to call you back. And then I look up the number four or whatever, and he was like, you know, and then just, yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1 00:41:50 Exactly. No, I think that was a good call. Like you did the right thing there. No, I know. I know it was just bizarre that he decided to call me directly. I was like, what the hell anyway? Or like, without warning, like without saying like, oh, by the way, we're going to be calling you at like noon on the Tuesday or something, you know? Yeah. It was bizarre, but
Speaker 2 00:42:13 Things were finding out. But I guess, I mean, I guess it is one of those things that as we get older, we should probably, you know, um, either figure out a way to keep up with the changes and technologies and the new phishing scams and things like that that are going around, you know, at the time, or just get better with them ahead of time. Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:42:39 I think that there should be more done though, because like I, like, I mean, it's all well and good to say, like the individual <inaudible> for like trying to keep themselves safe, but like, if you have cognitive impairment, that's the other thing, like, they, like, these scammers actually will prey upon people who are cognitively impaired and like, and then build them out of like so much money. Right. And like, and like, that's not on them. That individual can't protect themselves. So like, what's the recourse there, you know, I don't think it is. Yeah. We can all try to be vigilant, but at the end of the day, like it's like there, there should be like systems in place that, in the infrastructure, whether it's banks, the government, something where like there's ways of actually like combating it and, uh, you know, getting financial recompense for like situations like this. Right? Like that bank shouldn't you have had some sort of like number that she could call the, you know, like for the one in the UK you're closed between whatever, like four and 5:00 PM or like whatever, the, whatever, like, you know, there
Speaker 2 00:43:35 Has to be urgency number. Right. Like,
Speaker 1 00:43:40 Exactly. Like, I mean, I know. And then apparently the bank gave her like a big run around before they would give her the money back. Like, it was just ridiculous. Like it's $8,000. You think that just grows on trees? It's ridiculous. They were like, oh no, you, you basically got scammed out of the money that's on you. And it's like, no, it's not really on her. Like, it's just bad luck, you know? Yeah. Anyway, sorry. I could go out and rent it pisses me off. I'm like, I don't know. Like I, I'm fine with individuals being responsible to a certain extent, but at the end of the day, it's actually more like a societal problem. No, I agree. Um,
Speaker 2 00:44:16 But you know, it's just funny, right? Like every thing that we do actually put the accountability on individuals so much versus like, you know, any kind of taking societal responsibility, you kind of like, just sort of like the, I guess the standard sentiment is like, well, I guess we'll put it on the list. Yeah. Initially get to it.
Speaker 1 00:44:42 Yeah. I know. It's like, I don't know. Yeah. And I think that's the problem is that like, there's only so much an individual can do, you know, like at some points, I dunno, it's, at some point it has to, like, it has to fall to a larger umbrella than just the individual. Right. Because certain for sure, because certain people cannot, they cannot protect themselves. And so like in what, like, so what's their recourse just lose the money. Like that makes me
Speaker 2 00:45:09 No, that's true actually. And um, yeah, hopefully there are all already, um, you know, support groups out there that actually help, especially like people with cognitive, um, you know, issues to sort of combat this or take care of the, you know, but you're right. Like, I don't know of offhand of any easy way to sort of deal with things like this.
Speaker 1 00:45:34 Well, I mean, a lot of it's financial, right? So like, so I think it's, it eventually ends up at the banks foot store. Like it ends up at the bank's doorsteps, right? Like what steps are you taking in order to protect your clientele when something like this happens, right? Like actually I'm wondering if that should be like something that people should use in order to choose banks. Like, I'm wondering if, like, if you switch an account, like the first question you should be, you should ask is like, what if I'm the victim of a financial scam? What happens then? What do you do? Because if you don't protect me, why would I go with you? Why would I put my money in your hands? Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:46:12 No, that's, that's, that's legit.
Speaker 1 00:46:14 Yeah. Anyway, something about, I mean, yeah. It's like, uh, yeah, I'm curious. I'm, I'm, I'm interested to see what, uh, what's out there. Cause as far as I know there, isn't very much out there. Like it's up to the banks basically to see whether or not
Speaker 2 00:46:31 Yeah. You know? Yeah. What's, what's quite out there. I imagined that, you know, um, there are like ID theft, uh, software and programs probably in place, but I don't know institutionally what's provided.
Speaker 1 00:46:49 Yeah. I mean, and from my, and from like the, from the articles I've read, it's kind of hit and miss with the banks. Like certain banks will be like, oh yeah, no problem. We'll like recompense you for the, you know, money that you lost. And others are like, sorry, tough luck. It was on you. You're the one who got me. You're the one who fucked up. It's not your, it's not our problem. Right. So like, so then, you know, like, I'm just wondering if, as consumers as a whole, we should just be like, well, if that's your attitude, then you're not getting our business, you know? I don't know. Yeah. And, uh, yeah. And I'd be interested to know what cybersecurity like police officers are doing. That would be kind of cool. I'm interested. Yeah. Actually, it'd be interesting to like interview of those people to see what, see what they, what their ideas are and what they, what they do. They think there are any other solutions that they have.
Speaker 2 00:47:38 Yeah. I'm pretty sure. Cause I know the cybersecurity overall, the industry is just huge now because of all the data leaks and all the, uh, challenges of data hacking issues and stuff that have happened over the past few years. Like I feel like that industry is probably like red hot, you know right now. Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. Looking through different solutions now.
Speaker 1 00:48:03 Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I know. It'd be interesting to see what's out there, but anyway, I think we should call that an episode, I think for sure.
Speaker 2 00:48:19 It's just so funny. Like how, um, we, you know, this, this is like, I didn't even think about scams, um, as, as a topic
Speaker 1 00:48:29 Until
Speaker 2 00:48:30 You started going down the path of like, oh, I, you know, and then I gave this lady my credit card and then he called and there was this link and I'm like, oh my God,
Speaker 1 00:48:41 I have to worry about you now.
Speaker 2 00:48:50 Um, uh, thanks for joining us, everyone. And uh, you know, yes, we'll call this an episode and uh, join us in the conversation. Let us know. Um, uh, through Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you know, are you Uber paranoid about, um, you know, your interactions on the internet and other ways or about, or do you worry about getting scammed in any way or your family members getting scammed in any way? Um, yeah. Share your stories and find us on. Does this make me look old.com and, and see you next week? Sounds good. Bye.
