I am having another hate the world day today. As I type this I think I am being scammed. The world isn't as bad as it seems... is it?
First of all an update on a previous post - one you and I HAD to be expecting - I didn't get the job as a teacher assistant in the local school system here. While I was sitting in the office of the school where the interview took place I got some interesting looks from the principal, vice principal, and all the OTHER gals working there. One dude walked in. He was a guy with Down Syndrome who had a full plastic garbage can of trash he'd picked up around the school. The ladies were all congratulating him on his good work. Their reactions to me on the other hand, I think I explained that in my previous post, like Manson applying for parole. Some seemed amused at my token appearance to keep up the facade that equity promotes equality. The two females who interviewed me actually showed fascination at some points at the experiences and the experience I had and most likely at my massive overqualification for the position. Sympathy? Did I see some, "Awww... you poor, poor, shelter dog."? Possibly, but it wasn't enough for them to break down and hire me.
This comes close to how I felt after absolutely NAILING the interview:
But that's not what has me hating the world today. I got the Korean university job offered to me and I'm filling out the contract and other immigration paperwork and sending it to them now. They have postponed the start date from the original March 17th to May 1st because they want me. It's nice to feel wanted! Especially at my age and with the legislation that currently governs racial and gender limitations on hiring in Canada, I feel happy to be relevant in the job market of SOME country.
No, aside from THOSE fugazi practices that are a well entrenched part of my home and native land, there is something happening as I type this that has incurred my daily rage at the disingenuous behavior with which we conduct business that even extends beyond our professional personae. I started advertising my Mom's furniture today. Online. If you read the blog you know how the online hockey card market has been contaminated. I told my Mom that I was expecting much the same once I started advertising her stuff online. She doesn't get the whole magic of the internet yet so I figured I'd give her an example of the scamming that goes on. I was pretty confident there would be some of it eventually but I hadn't even finished posting my second piece of furniture when the first scammer tried his luck. I am still not convinced he was a scammer but I think so. He asked if the furniture was still available and I posted yes. IMMEDIATELY I got the long message that "I won't be able to go there myself to pick it up but I will send you a check you can deposit with your online banking app." All this guys' messages were instantaneous like it was a bot! I said okay and he said he'd sent the check. Sure enough there it was. I tried to deposit the check in my account but couldn't. Luckily I do my online banking on my computer, not on the app. The app doesn't even work on my phone. Never has. I think HIS scam was for me to deposit the check and it would show on my bank balance even though the check would not clear for 5 business days. By then they would have picked up the furniture. OR maybe he just wanted my email or was phishing for other personal info. Isn't it sad we actually have the word "phishing" for that?
Anyway, I soon got some other responses. One said he was buying it for his mother. I told him I was selling it for my mother. He didn't get back to me. Scruples? I doubt it. He got my name and email too and said his mom would contact me later.
The best one was from the old and frail "Ella Rose." Doesn't that just sound like a sweet old lady? It's supposed to. "She" said she was unable to pick it up too because she is currently in the US. Yeah I'm guessing a large U.S. city like Mumbai, Beijing, Manila, or Delhi. She told me her "cousin" will come to pick it up and she'd need my name and email. Then this sweet old lady said she'd like to add something as a gift since her cousin is so dear to her. She asked me to help her purchase a $500 Apple gift card for her dear cousin and wish her a happy birthday when she came to pick up the furniture and the card. For this favor she was willing to add a bonus of $100 to the deal that I could keep for myself. I agreed and said absolutely! Just deposit 1600 bux into my account and I'll even help with the lifting when her dear cousin comes to collect. I told my Mom at lunchtime that it was probably just an elaborate way to sell Apple gift cards. Probably some slave laborer in China who couldn't get on at the Apple iPhone assembly plant for a dollar an hour.
After lunch I got the message that the payment was made. I checked my account. Surprise, surprise - no payment. She said there would be an official verification of payment in my email inbox. Surprise, surprise, no verification. Then she said to check my spam. Well surprise, surprise part III, there it was!
Well I'll be! So I went out and bought a $500 Apple card and sent the card details but Ella Rose hasn't gotten back to me. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. Just kidding. I texted "No thanks." I received a reply of "I don't get." So I responded, "Right. You don't get your sale." And I haven't heard back from Ella Rose. Poor Ella. I hope she finds a nice gift for her dear cousin's birthday.
I was thinking about posting the check that was sent to me by a guy named Jeffery Martins that was signed by someone NOT named Jeffery Martins, but I'll check it out when I go to the bank on Monday. If it's bogus, I'll post it Monday. The reason I'm going to the bank Monday is - you guessed it - yet another scam.
THIS one has been going on for a while and I haven't noticed. It's only because of the reduced activity in my bank account that I noticed this month a withdrawal of about 30 bucks. I checked a few months back and there it was again. Same entity, same amount. I stopped after 4 months because I don't want to even think of how much I've pissed away to whatever this entity is but I hope it's not more than $120.00! I looked up the entity, I found their webpage, I even found a contact online who I could chat with in real time who told me they represent thousands of companies so there is no way of knowing which one it was. But the person said that if it isn't something I have purchased then my account has been compromised. I think of my many friends who buy things online ALL THE TIME and never have this happen. It happens to me so often I've lost count. It happened with Christmas presents, books, and I think this time it might be the resume website.
You may know THIS scam. You search for a free resume builder site and get one. You plug in all your information which takes an hour then they tell you that if you want to download your beautiful new resume that will SURELY get you a job, you need to provide them with a card they can keep on file. Not to worry, there will only be a one-time-charge of 2 bucks or some shit like that for "processing" or some shit like THAT. We only do this in case you want to take advantage of our various services in the future. Right. If your resume works, I won't be needing your services in the future. But you say, What the hell," and you pay. You don't notice that somewhere hidden deep in the fine print is the TOTALLY LEGAL hidden fee of the 30-dollar a month membership to the site you didn't order and they told you you wouldn't be paying. There are no legal restrictions on this kind of crap believe it or not. Convict # 47 even famously added hidden monthly charges to his supporters' campaign contributions that some paid for years! This is one of few things His Orangeness calls "business" that he is NOT on trial for!
According to this article, basically everybody gets dinged by these and we all hate them. For all I know it could be something from the site where I bought my recent air ticket. Maybe my bank account or debit card. Maybe a hotel or telecommunication provider. That wouldn't surprise me. The nightmares I've had with Telus, Kudos, Bell... it could be one of THEM who keeps finding me. Evidently these types of scumbag businesses regularly add hidden charges.
The upshot of it all is that I am going to have to change my bank account and tell everybody that deducts monthly charges the new card number. Come to think of it I only have TWO monthly charges, Chatr - my phone I'll be abandoning when I go to Korea. They're fine cuz I only pay month to month. I will DEFINITELY be looking for Chatr when I get to Korea because they don't lock you into lengthy contracts, another practice that shouldn't be allowed. I also pay storage fees every month for my locker in Victoria where I have my worldly belongings 90% of which I'll probably throw in the trash if I ever empty it out and take it somewhere. Yeah, it's possible that they are attaching extra fees but I doubt it.
The shittiest thing about this is whoever is scamming me out of I don't know how much money is completely untouchable because of this anonymous online payment middleman. That's exactly WHY thousands of companies use them! Even if these practices WERE illegal, how could you catch them? The article above says that a lot of people who fight these charges are successful but they're the ones who know who they're fighting. I always run up against these agencies in Holland or New Zealand or some countries that have no regulations on shit like this and I have to cancel my card. It has happened half a dozen times probably. Not going to disappear under Trump, he uses them himself to flog his worthless crap. Canada? It's under the purview of the Competition Act and some other consumer protection law enforcers and we've seen how they are disappearing and being de-funded.
Junk fees, drip pricing, hidden charges, and other deceptive sales tactics are another way our countries keep things fake for us.
I'm probably STILL not finished with this folks.
