Spidey senses, you’ve heard the term? If you haven’t that’s when, sometimes, for no unexplained reasons, you get those STOP what you are doing right this second, no not later, RIGHT NOW.  JUST STOP AND LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!  Those knots in your stomach that tells you when something isn’t right.   

I have always been told that I have wonderful natural gut instincts.  It’s usually termed something else.  People call it knowing a person without knowing them, amongst other things.  

Being able to read a person just by looking them in the eyes, or even when you never meet them, in person, but you take that extra second to actually listen to them.  Deep down listen. 

If you are a young 20 something, or even teen, first off, thank you for being here (that’s no matter what age you are!) second off, learn to trust your gut.  Even if you think your gut isn’t right, it is!  Even if there is nothing that would usually be common sense telling you to run now.

YOU RUN AND GET THE HELL OUT OF DODGE.

I have done this so many times and not once was I told well you shouldn’t have listened, because, FOR EXAMPLE, you should stay and finish cleaning the store.  No Ma’am.  I stayed as long as those Spidey senses would let me and I got out.  That was at age 17 working at a yogurt store. Back in the days of the TCBY’S.  Completely showing my age with you, and that’s ok. 

Getting back to why I decided to write this blog post. I want to tell you all about this incident that could have turned oh so wrong yesterday. 

Someone I was with yesterday gets this phone call.  I was busy, and trying not to be nosy. But, I hear her go WHAT, WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE IS A WARRANT FOR MY ARREST?

While that alone made me start listening, the next line, the smooth operator throws this out, comforts her.  He says something that almost makes sense. He says, well we noticed that you haven’t had an arrest record at all, so we wanted to give you a courtesy call, first, before coming to arrest you.  NOPE, SECOND RED FLAG GOES UP. SPIDEY SENSES ON FULL ALERT NOW. 

Why, you might ask. This is a form of a popular phone scam these days. 

He was also starting to go in different tangents at this point in the conversation.  And that’s just it, she was having a conversation with unknown dude. 

Then, he tells her again, I am Lieutenant Peterson with such and such police department, my badge number is. He did call from am 813-640 number. I tell her to write it down.  

She’s getting ready to leave to go MEET him, at the police station. I’m like no, your not he doesn’t work there.

I KNEW I HAD TO STOP HER FROM LEAVING THE BUILDING.  HAD TO.  MY MIND IS RACING.  HOW DO I STOP HER? Show her proof.  Already attempted by looking her name up in the warrant part of your local police website.  Still, she shakes her head. He has scared her at this point.  She will do anything to not to go to jail.  

I already knew it was a scam.  THEY DO NOT CALL YOU IF THEY ARE GOING TO SERVE A WARRANT.  Never, ever do they do this.  No courtesy call, nothing.  They simply show up.  Then he tells her, oh we attempted to at your other location.  This makes me stop for only half a second.  But he is building her trust, and scaring her, at the same time, so now she is confused.  

Ya’ll, just typing those words sends shivers up and down my entire body. I text my friend that works at a lawyers office.  She said call me, put her on the phone.  I tell my friend mute him. He then says, you need to stay on the phone with me until you get here.  THIRD RED FLAG.  My friend at the lawyers’ office says call me.  She tells her the district attorney says this is a scam, hang up, he’s trying to download your info from your phone.  This just confuses her even more.  How?  Don’t worry about it.  Now dude is saying, okay meet me at the police station, with your ID and checkbook.  4th red flag, hold the phone ya’ll.  Then I do what anyone reading this should do, early on.  

CALL THAT POLICE DEPARTMENT AND VERIFY THAT HE WORKS THERE AND IF THERE IS INDEED A WARRANT FOR YOUR ARREST. 

THE LADY ON THE PHONE WAS NICE ENOUGH TO LOOK HER UP AND SAY NO, IT’S A SCAM, MAKE SURE YOUR FRIEND DOESN’T LEAVE TO MEET HIM.  THERE IS NO WARRANT, AND HE DOESN’T WORK HERE.

I MAKE MY FRIEND TAKE THE PHONE AND LISTEN TO THE POLICE WOMAN.  SHE STARTS ASKING THIS POLICE WOMAN WHAT DEPARTMENT SHE WAS IN, GIVES HER INFO AND SHE SAYS THERE IS NO WARRANT, IT IS ALL A SCAM!!!!

THEN, MAKE SURE TO REPORT HIS NUMBER TO THEM, BLOCK HIM, CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS, CALL YOUR CELL PHONE PROVIDER. HIS GAME WAS, A, TO KEEP HER ON THE PHONE, LONG ENOUGH TO GET HER INFO, POSSIBLY CLONE HER PHONE, TRACK HER, AND SEE IF SHE WAS TRUSTING ENOUGH TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH ANYTHING. THIS COULD HAVE LED TO A KIDNAPPING, HIT AND RUN, EVEN HER MURDER!