Suckered

Well, they got me. I got suckered into playing along with an internet scam. And yeah, I'm embarrassed.

Received an email a few days ago from a family member (who also got suckered apparently) about a missing boy from Ontario. Looked to be about 16 or so and the email included a plea from his mother for help to find the lost lad. It was a little sparse in the detail department, lacking info as to where he went missing, what he was doing at the time and what he was last seen wearing.

Nevertheless, the line that made me send it to a bunch of people in my address book was "If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get!!"

Yes, yes I would. I would want everyone to send it out in hopes of finding my lost boy.

And so I sent the damn thing off to 23 people all over North America, hoping to help out. For the record, I rarely forward things unless they are really freakin' funny or have really cool pictures. If I get one that threatens my good fortune or threatens my religious eternal destination, it goes straight in the trash.

It didn't take long for the responses to come back, most directing me to the Snopes web site that showed it to be a hoax. You can find it here.

I was embarrassed. I think the fact that I used to work in newspapers, as a reporter, made it worse for me. I didn't check facts, I didn't read it close enough to realize that next to no details were offered. Just a plea. A quick google of the name, Evan Tremblay, would have revealed the truth. But I didn't do it. I just forwarded the damn thing and perpetuated the scam.

Who does this crap and why? What possible pleasure is there in it?

Think positive, think positive . . .

Well, at least I got in touch with a couple of friends that I haven't heard from in a while. Several sent back emails to let me know I'd been scammed. They were kind enough not to include the words "dumb ass" in their replies, as this particular scam is already more than 2 years old. And, they asked how I was doing. I was able to update them on my life and get the same from them. Which is kinda cool.

A buddy from the Niagara area, who I haven't swapped emails with in probably at least a year, wrote back. He's got a new job he loves and things are going well. It was nice to hear from him. A friend of Neomom's in BC also wrote back to let me know of the hoax, and she hadn't swapped emails with him in a while.

So at least my public ignorance had some positive results. Oh, and if any of you reading this got an email from me about it, don't forward it . . . and sorry.

Anyway, it's Tuesday and it's December 1. YAHOO! Christmas month is here and I can officially switch my computer music over to the Christmas stuff. Actually, I did it yesterday and had a great time listening to my favourites. Everything from Frank Sinatra's Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and Burl Ives' Have a Holly Jolly Christmas to Ozzy's Winter Wonderland and The Ramones' Merry Christmas.

Love it all. And I love this season.

And this morning, I broke out the Christmas hats. Sonwun is thrilled!

Have a great day!