A Moment in My Life – May 23, 2024
Jeannie Yee Davis
Do you ever get those days where you wake up with a thought, but before you can act on it, poof, dust in the wind, gone? That’s me today. They were emotional thoughts that made me want to write a column about it, but what was it? Isn’t that annoying? I’m mulling around here, hoping those thoughts will resurface. Let’s go for this ride and see where it takes me, shall we?
So, yesterday, I met this guy through LinkedIn. He sent me a connection request. LinkedIn is the only place I accept all connection requests because it’s a business networking platform, which means it should be safe and free of social media trolls. Now, I stand corrected. The trolls are everywhere. It takes only one troll to ruin everything and destroy my trust in that platform. Usually, I accept a connection, and that’s that. They become a number in the numbers game, and I never hear from them again. To my surprise, this new connection immediately messaged me. That should’ve been a red flag right there. I almost ignored him, but I was curious, so I responded. As I pondered whether to answer, I wondered why he reached out. It had to be a job opportunity, but based on his job title, Regional Director of Jewelry@Bulgari, what would he want with me.? I was never in the jewelry business. Although, the first question he asked was if I were still at Schwab. So far, it sounds legit, right?
We ended up having an excellent dialogue until he asked for my phone number so we could talk more. What? Why? I never understood why a troll would insist on moving to another platform “so we could talk more.” We’re talking just fine right where we are in LinkedIn messaging. He shot up a red flag right at that moment. Scammers always want me to go to another platform “to talk more” or want my phone number. I just thought of something. Wouldn’t it be funny if I gave them my landline number? They wouldn’t know right away. They didn’t ask for a “cell” number per se—it was implied.
I declined to give him my phone number, explaining that I used to hand out my personal contact info to strangers I met on the street until I met my stalker. It takes only one person to ruin everything, and after that, I am selective with whom gets my contact info. He did not push like the previous trolls I met on FB. I am unfamiliar with LinkedIn as I am not actively on that platform, so I wondered if his request was valid. Maybe I was wishful that he wasn’t a troll? So, I asked if he had a FB account instead. He said to give him my username, and he will find me. That didn’t sound so bad. I gave him my FB username link, meaning he had to only click on it. Viola, and there I am, and he could send me a friend request. It took him about an hour to send the request. That alone was suspicious.
The plot thickened when I accepted his friend request and saw that he had created a brand-new FB account to send me a friend request. All the alarms in my head blared. I immediately messaged him, “You opened a new account just for me?” He quickly explained that the same people were on FB and LinkedIn, so he had previously deleted his account. Wow! Really? I can’t say that comforted me. I paused everything. He continued to message me, calling me on it, saying that I found it strange that he created a new account and noted that I was uncomfortable with it, so I avoided him. I laughed, people, because the more he spoke, the more the smooth-talking, engaging man I met became just another troll that I used to turn in to the FB police. When I did not respond to him, he suggested that we call and talk. I concluded with, “No, thank you. You’ll have to meet your quota with someone else.” He sank deeper when he knew what I meant precisely by my comment and gave me an earful about how if I thought he was one of them, I did not know him, and so on.
It was time for me to get off the bus. I unfriended him from FB and deleted his LinkedIn connection. I have never stayed in the troll’s game long enough to figure out their end game, but I understood why they wanted our phone number. Our cell phone is the easiest way to assume our identity, intercept security protocols sent to our phones, and gain access to our financial and social media accounts. (According to FCC.gov.)
They often invite me to “talk more” with them on WhatsApp, and now I know why. Once you’re “inside an app like WhatsApp, correspondence can feel more familiar than on email or even text message – scammers take advantage of this. Broadly, scammers usually want to do one of three things: Steal your money or cryptocurrency. Obtain your personally identifiable information.” (According to tech.co.)
It’s annoying and disappointing when someone tries to scam you, but sometimes they keep you on your toes, reminding you never to drop your guard. Trolls are everywhere, especially when you least expect them. It’s sad that we can’t trust people the way we would like, but don’t give up hope that there is good in people. But exercise discernment when things seem too good to be true or suspicious, listen to your instinct, pause, and not get suckered, especially when there’s today.
