Not fooled THIS time...

"You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time." --Abraham Lincoln

I received a call from LLM SVCS just a little bit ago. The number was 801-820-4210 I was informed in very bad and broken English that I had won a $500 shopping spree from Wal Mart as part of their customer appreciation.

I asked what the catch was and was assured that there was no catch. And (lucky me) I was also informed that I would get a restaurant discount card good for any restaurant. I figured that was the catch - a trial membership in a discount card. I never accept those because I never remember to cancel them and it's more trouble than it's worth. After another minute of the woman attempting to explain things to me, and my continued skepticism, and I was informed that the only charge was a shipping fee of $4 (which was later mentioned as $4.40.) I politely informed "Karen" that I would not give personal information over the phone to someone who called me. She rather glossed over it by saying I could use a debt card and I didn't have to use a credit card? (That makes a difference? LOL) And she proceeded to spell her name one letter at a time, K-A-R-E-N A-N-D-E-R-S-O-N. Then she gave me Wal Mart's corporate address. I got a really big chuckle out of the corporate address since anyone could look it up online. She completely mangled the pronunciation of Arkansas (It came out closer to R can Sass.) While I was on the phone, I did look up Wal Mart's site.

Still not convincing me, she gave me the package ID # as VKO125, and finally her employee ID # as 10051005KA. It didn't work.

Finally, she said her goodbyes to me, and I called Wal Mart Corporate offices. I was transferred to someone who confirmed my suspicions. IT was indeed a scam. He referred me to the FTC and the number for the FTC is 1-877-4357 for future reference. :)

Finally, I went to caller ID and looked up the call from LLM SVCS.
It came up with a site called, "Who Calls Me" and there were a number of posts, but one of the posts in the thread said this:
"LLM Services is a fake name using a fake caller ID number. They use Skype (untraceable internet phone service) to call you wanting personal info. They use cons like they are the IRS and you have a refund yet they want your name, address, SSN number, etc. They also use cons like offering to refinance your home but again they want personal info (name, address, SSN). They are not a legitimate business anywhere you can trace. Not the LLM Services (plumbing) in Miami, not the LLM Services in Oregon, etc. You can't complain to the do not call list (they're overseas), you can't complain to the BBB, and you can't find them on the web. Just plain old overseas con artists wanting personal info to fleece you. Hang up on them or give them false info is about all you can do or get number blocking. Warn all your family members about them. You'll never track them down since they use Skype to avoid any tracing. They could be anywhere on the planet."

So now you are armed with just a little more information. Phishing isn't just for the internet. Be careful out there! :)

Spidermania

No, this is not a Spiderman review. I haven't seen the movie yet, although it's definitely in my plans in the near future. I'm waiting for things to slow a little in the theaters. I'm thinking an early matinee on a weekday might work. :)

What really caught my attention was at Wal Mart, also affectionately known as "Wally World" to some of us. Last week I walked into Wal Mart and Spiderman was everywhere. First and most obvious, of course, were all of the Spiderman toys, kids chairs, kids tees, bath towels and pretty much anything that advertised Spiderman that would interest a child (and sometimes young men in their late teens and twenties, which aren't so different from children generally speaking.) If that had been all, I don't think it would have been so notable, however.

What really caught my attention was that it seemed nearly everything had Spiderman on it. I saw Spiderman Trix, Spiderman orange soda, and of course Spidey boxer shorts. It would be really funny to give those to someone, but I think I'd be too embarassed to actually try it. ;)

Today, I was at Wal Mart again, and the Spiderman bonanza was still ongoing. I'm sure I missed a few items, like the one that caught my husband's eye, Spiderman cheese nips. Now there is one snack I cannot go without!

On the way out of Wally World, my husband quipped, "I'm surprised they don't have Spiderman toilet paper." Now there's a grand idea. You could call it Spidey wipes. (O.K. You can stop groaning now.) To be honest, perhaps there is Spiderman toilet paper. I was almost afraid to check that aisle, so it will have to wait until next time.

In the words of Dr. Otto Octavius: "Ladies and gentlemen, fasten your seat belts." Spider mania is here.