salt-sass-and-lyrium:

Sometimes I wonder how Boomers are so susceptible to literal fake news, then I remember this story about my mother

So, maybe a year or so ago, my mom calls me all in a huff. She’s angry because she just ‘got into it’ with a ‘customer service rep’. Weird, CSRs are really known for fighting, so I press her for more info

So mom was trying to call Walmart’s customer service line. I think she was inquiring about a return or something of that nature. She accidentally transposed 2 of the numbers and dialed the wrong number.

Now, as the phone is ringing, Mom knows full well that she’s dialed the wrong number, and has in fact not dialed Walmart, but “Customer Service” (no company name stated) answers, so, like a fucking idiot, Mom proceeds to talk to them.

They tell her that, guess what?! She’s eligible for a $500 Walmart giftcard! All she has to do is do a phone survey.

Mind you. The entire time my mother is fully aware she’s dialed the wrong number.

They tell my mother that she has to fully complete the survey and “cannot give any negative responses”, as in, she has to say yes/agree with everything.

Again, for some reason, this does not raise a red flag to my mother, who continues on talking TO THE PEOPLE SHE KNOWS IS NOT WALMART.

As scammers are wont to do, they ask for her credit card information. Mom, knowing she’s not talking to Walmart, gives it. JFC why? So they get her credit card information, and start the ‘phone survey’, which is really ‘get you recorded agreeing to numerous things so we can charge your card’. Anyway, Mom starts doing this survey and agreeing with everything they’re asking and she admits she’s not entirely sure what it means, but they said she’d get a giftcard at the end, so it’s worth it, right?

Anyway, eventually they get to a part about agreeing to a 3.99 fee or something to that effect. THAT’S what finally snaps my  mom out of whatever stupor she was in and she says no to the fee. They insist she has to say yes to everything, otherwise she won’t get the card, and tell her they’ve already been charging her (because she’s been blindly agreeing to everything they say). Mom freaks out and demands the charges be refunded, yada yada yada, gets into a huge fight with whoever these scammers are, but eventually I guess they agree to cancel the charge and do.

Mom calls me to tell me about it, and I go:

Me: … so, you meant to call Walmart, but messed up the number
Mom: Right
Me: And you realized you messed up the number after you dialed it
Mom: Yeah
Me: So, you know you weren’t talking to Walmart?
Mom: …. well… they said Walmart giftcard
Me: But, you didn’t call Walmart, right?
Mom: … well, no.
Me: Ok. So you didn’t call Walmart, the person you spoke to couldn’t have been with Walmart, as you didn’t call Walmart, but you kept talking to them anyway?
Mom: … yeah.
Me: And these people, the non-Walmart people, asked for your credit card information?
Mom: Yeah
Me: … and you gave it to them?
Mom: Yeah, but the giftcard–
Me: And then they told you that you’d have to complete a ‘survey’, but you were not allowed to give any answer that wasn’t yes.
Mom: Right
Me: … does that sound like any sort of legitimate survey to you? Where you’re only allowed to give one answer?
Mom: Well, I guess not… but–
Me: And the non-Walmart people, they were asking questions about non-Walmart things, right?
Mom: Yeah, like some sort of subscription and–
Me: And you still knew you weren’t on the phone with Walmart?
Mom: … yes
Me: Mom… why would you give them your card information? Were you calling Walmart about your card?
Mom: No?
Me: So why … look Mom you got scammed
Mom: NO I DIDN’T *launches into a tirade*
Me: Yeah, you did. These people now have your credit card, whether they refunded the charge or not. They still have it. You need to go to your bank and cancel it immediately and try and get a new one. Or at least put a freeze on it
Mom: But… why? They said it was for a giftcard..
Me: Mom. The non-Walmart people who gave you a ‘survey’ that you could only agree to and asked for your credit card information promised you a $500 giftcard
Mom: Right
Me: … and that didn’t sound strange to you?
Mom: Uhhh… no?

JFC

We ended up going back and forth for a few more minutes, Mom getting angry because I “made her feel stupid” (you did something very stupid, so…) how “no one would’ve thought that was a scam”

And like… yes… yes they would have?

I know it’s largely a generational thing, Millenials grew up with technology, boomers really didn’t. Malware and Spyware and pop ups and spam phone calls are kinda common place.

But holy shit, there’s ‘being tech savvy’ and ‘having basic common sense and critical thinking skills’. But, that doesn’t occur to Boomers in the same ways it occurs to Millenials. Probably most anyone who sees this post is going to immediately recognize the scam. But, among Boomers in particular, there seems to be this… hive mind-esque level of suspension of disbelief. “Doesn’t matter if there’s zero sources and the article is from the Onion and written by Assy McButtFace. It fits my beliefs so it must be true.” “Doesn’t matter if I dialed the wrong number and had no reason to provide my card information, I believe this random stranger is going to give me $500 so I gave them my credit card info”