Speaking of Scams
I have had it with junk phone calls. About 3 in the afternoon every day all this week, I’ve been hit by a barrage of robocalls, one after another.
I don’t even have time to click them off or turn off the ringer. Two or three in quick succession, claiming to be from everywhere – but what are the chances of three people from everywhere calling me within one minute?
I really want to answer and tell them off, but what good would that do? “Kindly take me off your call list.” Right. They’ll jump on that. I’m already at the top of their call list, so I’m not getting off that easy.
I think my record was 10 or 11 on Monday. Lost count, especially after the numbers got blocked and the calls deleted.
These are calls from spoofed numbers. One, labeled “MENORAH MC,” didn’t have the right area code for Menorah Medical Center. One did leave a message: “This is ____ from the pharmacy. We have a question about your prescription.” As I recall, the area code was someplace in New Jersey. Where I fill all my prescriptions.
There must be money in this somewhere. Speaking of scams…
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Channel flipping on TV the other day, I came across a commercial that had former game show host Chuck Woolery shilling for gold coins.
Gold, the pitch goes, is the answer to economic uncertainty. How? The pitch never quite says. But, you know, it’s gold. GOLD! What can be more secure than gold?
Like so many TV commercials, this one plays on fear – in this case, fear of future economic collapse. First, buy gold. Then buy guns to keep away gold thieves. Then buy a bunker to keep you and your gold and your guns safe. You know how it goes.
They never tell you that the price of gold goes up and down, just like everything else. You can lose your shirt on gold just as easily as in the stock market or the casino.
They also never tell you that we’ve heard the same sad pitch for gold for – well, how long? Maybe a couple hundred years?
The gold standard is illusory, though I guess our currencies have to be backed up by something.
I have an idea. Instead of basing our currency on gold, I think we should base it on first edition Batman comic books.
They’re a bit more destructible than gold but, hey, even gold melts. And instead of sitting around and admiring your gold coins (seen one, seen ’em all), you could at least read the Batman comic books.
It’ll probably never catch on because too many people have a vested interest in gold. But if the idea does catch fire, remember that you read it here first.
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On second thought, maybe Superman comics. How about Archie?
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“Hawaii is a warning,” the Atlantic headline says. Yeah. What happens when we don’t have a sea to jump in to escape the flames?
