So, I started chain-smoking yesterday and still am, but beginning to slow down. I’m exhausted, slept for maybe thirty minutes last night, if I’m lucky. So, the explanation for yesterday’s cryptic crap… buckle up, it twists and turns.
The day before yesterday, Oct. 5, 2022, I was contacted on Twitter by a man who said he had won the Virginia lottery, and he was paying select people’s bills, to bring hope back into their lives. I was like, okayyy. He asked how much my credit card debt was and I gave him an amount on the high side. My mama didn’t raise a fool, and I wanted to nip this in the bud. He said it was getting too late in the evening to pay my bills, but he wanted to text me, and, in the morning, he wanted me to send him images of what I owed on my credit cards. He said to be sure and block my information, whatever I needed to do to feel safe sending an image, he simply needed to see the part that said “card balance” with the amount owed. I racked my brains trying to figure out a potential scam. I gave him my phone number, cause I could always block him if he turned out to be an ass, right?
Meanwhile, I had begun a Google search on the name he gave me. A man with the stated name, had actually won the Powerball, for $2m. Okay, but not enough to convince me and I would not share my information. I took pictured of the balances owed on my Discover cards, Chase, PayPal, Amazon, and Merrick Bank cards. I opened my paint program and blacked out the four digits typically shown on a credit card statement, my full name, and charges in my exact city to help keep my area clear. With everything blacked out that might show who I am, where I’m from, or my card numbers, I figured I was ready to see what his game was.
The next morning – yesterday – he contacted me and asked to see my cards and balances. I sent him the images; it was right around $12k debt. He said he wanted to help me, so what he was going to do, was send me the routing number and bank account number. I could add them to my account and make the payment in the amount he was authorizing. Wait, what? He didn’t want my banking info? He didn’t want my credit card info? Got to admit, I was a bit more intrigued, now. He authorized a $450 payment on my Chase card; a $2000 payment on my Merrick Bank card; a $1000 payment on my Amazon card; a $3000 payment on one Discover card and $5500 on the other. PayPal would not allow me to add his routing number and bank account number without his username and password, and he said don’t worry, we’ll just pay that one manually. This all took hours, actually; we stopped around three or four. I had three more credit cards I could add. So he told me to enjoy my evening and that he really hoped he would be able to put more hope and trust in my life. He said he would contact me today, to finish.
I logged into these accounts throughout the evening, but nothing. No changes. I went to bed after I did my blog yesterday, around 11:00-11:15. I was extremely disappointed, ashamed that I might have fallen for something – even though I couldn’t figure out what, yet – and quite honestly, angry. Hence my single, cryptic paragraph last night. I was so angry I was tossing and turning in bed, I couldn’t sleep. I was berating myself for falling for something; I don’t get scammed, dammit! I was ready to shoot him an angry text and block him. But I got up and checked the accounts one more time, before I did that. It was after midnight, so officially, today.
I logged into my Chase account and saw my balance was now $8.29, $450 had been paid. My jaw literally dropped open and I began shaking. I logged out and logged into Merrick Bank account, a $2000 payment had been made. I checked Amazon and Discover and found the same, the payments he had authorized had been applied to my outstanding balances. I was shaking like a leaf. I was thrilled but kept thinking there had to be a goddamn catch somewhere. Was I really this lucky? Was this guy really my fairy godmother, er, father? I tossed and turned, racking my brain, trying to figure out how the other shoe was going to drop; I only caught about a thirty-minute nap before I had to get up for the day. I logged into each account again. Yep, the specified payments had been applied. I had to tell Daughter Mine!
I rode with her to take my granddaughter to work and told them about my fortune. I reassured Daughter that I definitely had not shared any of my personal info. The guy texted me and asked if I could send him pictures showing my new available balances, verifying his payments had been made. Once I did that, we would finish with my other credit cards, and would I mind purchasing some items for local families in need, to pay it forward…? Red flag. While Daughter trusted me, she asked if she could see these accounts, to reassure herself that there was no way this guy could get my info. My daughter is highly protective of me.
Logged into Merrick Bank and it shows a confirmation number that this amount, indeed, had been paid. Discover shows us the name of the bank, and that it had been paid. Daughter is suspicious still and calls the bank. She verified it definitely was/is their routing number, and after explaining everything, asks if we could simply confirm this was a good bank account number and associated to the name given to me. They said they couldn’t give any account information but said the account number was not one of theirs and neither was the person’s name. Well shit. Now what? I told my daughter to call Discover.
Discover is a freaking awesome bank, they always have their customers backs. I also logged into each account that had gotten a payment and froze it for all activity. Discover said that yes, this is a new scam. She said it could take up to six-weeks before a person realizes they’ve been scammed – but we caught it the day of. She said: 1) linking my credit card to my PayPal and charging items for this guy, along with; 2) in about a week his payment info would be pulled off of my cards, A) charging me a fee for the refused payment and B) now I would also owe the extra money for whatever items he had me charge to my own Amazon and PayPal accounts. Discover has my back, they’ve already said they will waive any fee/charge associated with a “bad” payment – Chase said the same, by the way. Amazon and Merrick Bank didn’t make the same offer, but I can dispute any fees associated with this; I have loads of text proof. Discover said that it will take about a week for these payments to “roll off” and my balances will be back to what they were before. On the extremely thin chance he wasn’t fibbing, is why I haven’t said his name in this long-ass post. Update on this shit, between now and the thirteenth, as it rolls in.
Still smoking, hopefully I slow back down sooner than later. And I am so outtie….