A Gila Woodpecker in our backyard. This photo has nothing to do with my story today, but I thought you might enjoy it.

I received a strange envelope in the mail with a black and white flyer inside. It said, “Thank you! Thank you so much for your purchase! We truly appreciate your support and hope you enjoy your product.” Then there was a logo and the company name, which I didn’t recognize.

I looked through my Amazon orders to see if I purchased anything from them. I did not.

I went to their website and didn’t recognize it. It had a variety of tabs across the top for products, shopping, etc. I wanted to know what products they sold, so I clicked a tab and nothing happened. Then I clicked on another. A scary thought dawned on me. Maybe they sent me the strange envelope and flyer to get me to visit their website and click! I used my map app to look at their address. It didn’t exist.

I called my brilliant son and thankfully he answered in the middle of his work day. I explained, while freaking out, what I had done. He googled the company and said it came up as a known hacker site.

I told my son I had purchased Malwarebytes to scan for malware. He said I also needed to use a password manager, which he has been telling me for years. He did set one up for me years ago but I must have made a typo in the master password and I was never able to use it.

By using Facetime, my son accessed my computer and took over. We spent the next three hours on my computer updating passwords. He had me practice the last hour and I’ve spent the better part of the weekend working on this tedious but well-needed project. Next, he’s going to take over hubby’s computer and help him through the same project.

I read a page on USPS.com about scams. Usually the scammer mails merchandise to the unsuspecting victim. The person who receives the package knows they didn’t order whatever is in the package and wants to return it to the sender. The scammer uses the recipient’s name and address to create a fake “verified buyer” account, posting glowing reviews to boost their product ratings. USPS says to throw the stuff away or keep it. Buy do not engage with the sender. They call this scam “brushing.”

My husband said he’s so thankful he’s not the one to click on a potential dangerous site, but that it was me. That’s because we’ve always been wary that he would click on an email or link that he shouldn’t. It’s been a running joke in the family.

My son says AI is going to bring scams to a new level and that as boomers we are targets.

Needless to say, I’m behind in my reading and commenting on blogs. But as this project winds down, I’ll catch up!

Have you heard of my scam or been scammed yourself? If so, what did you do?

The Curve-Billed Thrasher at the bird bath.

I thought of this song when I wrote my title for today.