1209blog

Step Right This Way

I’m a cynic but every once in a while I fall for a scam and one time it was to get $100 in cash, 100 percent guaranteed, absolutely free, no purchase necessary and no strings attached, if I just visited the Subaru dealer which I did and soon found myself nearly strangled with the strings.

I won’t bore you with the details but, surprise, I didn’t get the $100 and I left disappointed because the idea of free money is so attractive, angry because the ad promised the dough and guilty that I didn’t listen to my own inner voice which says that nobody every gives anything to anyone for free, except for diseases.

While locked up during the pandemic and nestling into my computer more than ever, I have found there are more ways than ever to get scammed, ripped off, taken for a ride, bamboozled, hoodwinked, tricked, deluded, confounded or otherwise gamed.

It’s hard these days with the ongoing hurricane of “free offers” that keep popping up on Facebook. There’s even an offer for a pop-up to stop pop-ups but the pop-up stopper just keeps popping up.

There’s one that keeps popping up with a photo of a scantily-clad (does anyone even say that anymore) young, attractive blonde haired woman offering me five new friends although I have to wonder who those special new friends might be and what they would want from me if I just clicked her.

The “(1) Odd Trick Restores Your Eyes to Perfect 20/20 Vision” is certainly interesting and I have to let my eye doctor know that he will soon be going out of business. Another ad is a bit less grandiose and offers a secret way to improve your vision by 25 percent. I like that.

If I had any, I could get my moles and skin tags corrected with the “Skincell Pro Skin Tag Removal, the fast and easy solution for unwanted moles & pesky skin tags.” On a related note, “Healthgrades has 8 Ways To Manage Eczema Itch.” A check of the Healthgrades website reminds that “the content on Healthgrades does not provide medical advice. Always consult a medical provider for diagnosis and treatment.” So can you help me with my itch or not?

This one sounds tantalizing, “You have been chosen! (as a Jew, I know what that means), do you have a doppelganger?” I wonder if there is someone just like me somewhere in the universe and should I check out the offer. I hope not.

Could there be a catch to “you won a new (not used) Playstation 5 for free.” I’m amazed that the company stays in business while giving so much stuff away for free. I checked it out and the PlayStation 5, which launched last month, starts at $399 for PS5 Digital Edition and $499 for PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive. Cool and it’s totally free and can I get some snowshoes or swamp land in Florida?

Here’s one that is really out of this world. “Proud Patriots Limited Edition $2 Space Force Bill On Sale Now.” It’s offered through something called the “National Collector’s Mint” and the website has the photos of Barry Goldwater Jr. and Angela Marie (Bay) Buchanan, a conservative political commentator who is the sister of conservative political commentator Pat Buchanan. The site includes a disclaimer that the mint is an independent, private corporation not affiliated with, endorsed or licensed by the U.S. Government or the U.S. Mint.

“Supplies are limited. Don’t wait … order yours today!” it says, meaning that there are probably only a jillion of these bills printed and up for sale to honor the Space Force which was created by Trump last year to protect us from alien invaders.

Something that I always need help with is how to install my fishfinding gear. And my prayers were answered with an alert for “Crutchfield.com How to install and connect fishfinding gear,” offered by a Virginia company that was formed in 1974 by Bill Crutchley.

One warning that is sure to scare the dickens out of you or make you run for cover to avoid imminent obliteration is “System Alert! Click here to fix the error. Virus detected (5). Your computer is infected with a dangerous virus. Click “Clean the computer” to remove all viruses.” This one may actually be legit as it sends you to Norton.com antivirus. Whether your computer really is infected is another story.

And who could not be drawn in to “Claim a FREE $500 Amazon Gift Card Now!” which also includes an “Amazon (1) message Important! Your package is ready” even though I haven’t ordered anything from Amazon but hey, who doesn’t want a free $500 gift card.

Most of these infernal ads are sponsored by something called Findmedia.biz, although a search turns up no such domain.

A lot of the ads also come from www.videomuzic.eu , which is powered by The Agency Roma, located at Umile/Beata Vergine Del Carmelo, Rome, Italy (translates to Humble / Blessed Virgin of Carmel). Videomuzic.eu is actually a publication that specializes in musica/viaggi/ food and beverage (viaggi means the visiting of foreign countries in Italian).

Help, the algorithms are trying to kill me.