Monday, March 4, 2019

How in the World...

Just about everyone runs across a scammer sooner or later in their lives. I myself recently got another phishing mail concerning a game account that I reported to Google. Scams like this are shotgun scams, fire off enough at once and someone might get hit.

Phone scammers are usually more targeted, but in the following story, our wannabe criminal mastermind should have done his research.
Meet our scammer, a 29 year old Jamaican man called Thomas. He called up 94 years old William Webster and told him he had won $15.5 million as well as a brand new Mercedes-Benz. All Webster had to do was pay $50.000 for tax, and the money would be his. There was only one tiny problem, Mr. Webster is the only person ever, who has served as director of both the FBI and the CIA...
Unsurprisingly, Webster smelled a rat and called the feds. Then Thomas, annoyed at not having gotten his 50k called again and threatened Websters wife. Bad idea.
In 2017, Thomas flew to New York unaware that the FBI was waiting, and in the end Thomas got 71 months in prison.
Not all old people are befuddled and easy to scam.


Back in 1995, a Canadian got on the news due to his name; Dick Assman. (pronounced OSS-men). The name is not the whole reason why he got on the news, it was because he wanted a vanity license plate that read ASSMAN, which the authorities refused, as they considered it rude out of context. Not one to give up easily, Dick instead got a huge green decal on the back of his pick-up that says:

    -Saskatchewan-
        ASSMAN
-Land of Living Skies-

The authorities are apparently okay with this, calling it a satisfying resolution, as they have no power over decals. Go Assman!


Also in Canada, a 69 year old woman, Seungae Kim, who owns/runs a convenience store was the subject of an attempted robbery. She was eating a banana as the masked assailant walked in and as he threatened her, she grabbed the nearest thing she could get her hands on, a bunch of bananas, and smacked him in the face. Repeatedly. As he fled the store, she continued to pelt him with more bananas. When the police showed up, she said she was more concerned with protecting her husband than the money in the till.


Finally in Connecticut, USA, a woman was arrested for driving under the influence. No actual drugs or alcohol was found in her car as such, except several bottles of vanilla extract that she had guzzled. The essence of vanilla is suspended in alcohol, and if you drink enough, you get wasted. How she stomached all that strong vanilla, I have no idea, but I suppose she was a sweet person...


That is that, join me again next time and until then, have a safe week!





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