Swindling My Mom

    When listening to stories or reading about swindlers like Parker, Lustig, Abagnale, or Ponzi, I immediately roll my eyes at their actions. I ask why would someone do such things? Or Who in their right mind would fall for things like that? However, as I read other classmates' blogs and heard their stories in class, I realized that we are all subject to swindling or being swindled. In addition, upon self reflection, I realize that I myself may have been subject to swindles or have “swindled” others. Maybe not in extreme manners like the characters that we talked about, but rather in a fun light-hearted manner of “tricking” others.

    I remember one particular instance in which I attempted to swindle my mom back when I was in middle school. I remember my mom receiving a scam call from the IRS one Saturday evening stating something about her taxes although they had obviously been taken care of. I watched her listen to the message and panic out of confusion. I quickly reassured her that this was a scam call, and if it was real, they would have at least mentioned your name when leaving the voice message. I don’t know what got into me after this, but I thought it would be hilarious to impersonate the IRS, leave her another message, and mention her name just to see her reaction. At the time, I was in 6th grade and I had just gotten my first phone. My friend had recently taught me that if I type *67 in front of a number it will show up as “No Caller ID.” Knowing this, I typed *67 followed by my mom’s number and left her a message that was an exact copy of the scam call she received, but this time, with her full name. I tried my hardest to sound as grown up as possible and somehow managed to pull it off. I remember the fear in my mom’s eyes and the utter confusion when she heard the message as I listened from behind the door. I felt really bad when I saw her panic, so I turned myself in almost instantly. Although this was not funny to her at the time, we now look back and laugh. Now being in this class, I am able to relate this to the swindlers that we learned about and the possible rush they feel to trick people for entertainment like I did with my mom.

    Sharing this experience is to say, the act of swindling has not subsided and there are still many around us that use different methods to trick people. Swindles may come from people who are genuinely trying to have fun (like I was) or people that may have bad intentions. That is why it is important to learn about historical figures and be vigilant of modern day swindles that may lead to harmful effects in our lives.


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