TOXIC CALLERS

 

Recently I received that scam phone call with the woman announcing she's on a recorded line and inquiring, "Can you hear me, OK?"

Red flairs began going off in my head immediately. This is an old scam actually. Your "YES" answer is used to gain access into your personal info.

This boggles my mind that they can do it with just that! To view my bank account online I practically have to jump thru flaming hoops followed by a tap-dance and then stand on my head while juggling bowling balls!

When asked if I could hear her OK I shouted "NO!" so loud I hope it blasted her ear drums! Had I been upstairs on the other line I would have topped it off with my police whistle to make sure!

Back in the 1970's I received a call I'll never forget! Back then, answering machines may have been around, however there was no need for one. Unlike now, the phone didn’t ring all day with telemarketers, scammers, & charities. Nine out of ten times you knew the person on the other end.

This particular incident happened on a Friday afternoon when I was alone in the house. A man asked for Mrs. Lininger and I replied that she was out for the day. He then asked is Mr. Lininger there? I told him that he was in West Palm Beach, I was their daughter, and did he want to leave a message?

What he said next, turned things upside down and twisted our conversation side-ways in a whole different direction.

"Do you love your mother?" he inquired.

"No!" I answered loudly with a laugh.

"This is not a joke!" he shot back and repeated the question.

I was silent. Never have I been close to my mother. Mom's love was the strangling kind and I'm rather fond of breathing. And I found the question intrusive! He repeated it again.

"What is this about? Why are you calling?" I wanted to know.

"Your mother is going to be blinded," he declared. "Do you love your mother?'

My initial thought was, who has Mom pissed off now? This was during her fanatical religious period that immediately followed the loss of Dad's high paying job. She dove head first into the bible and it was not unusual for her to tell people they were going to hell for not being church goers.

"Who is this?" I asked.

He just repeated all the above like a parrot!

I demanded to know who he was, plus how he knew, and when this going to happen!

Apparently, he was not expecting all these questions! He became agitated and seamed to freak out while repeating those same things over and over. Finally, he asked "Is there anyone else in the house?"

That was it for me, I hung up! Immediately I called the police!

Soon after, an officer arrived to make a report. He stated the target was not my mother, but me. He explained that sickos feel powerful by getting in your head and messing with you. I knew people like this in high school so that made sense.

He felt the call was probably random. But what disturbed me was that the caller knew the correct pronunciation of our family name, most don't!

When my mother returned, I told her everything that happened. She seemed unconcerned.

Later, my memory was jogged. Just three days before a couple of young guys in their 20's came to repair a cable outage. One behaved creepily! He kept staring at me strangely, then began gazing around our house in an odd manner, and then back to a fixed stare at me.

I can't prove he was the one who phoned, but I'd bet on it!