BRATTLEBORO — I was reading today's local daily paper and came upon a well-written and informative obituary, one that described the life of the individual with careful thought.
Included in one of the paragraphs was a detailed list of surviving relatives, complete with names and addresses.
As I continued to read, my telephone rang. When I answered “hello,” the male voice on the other end of the line said, “Hi, Grandma, how are you today?”
Well, I was immediately alerted because none of my grandchildren refer to me as “Grandma,” but I played along.
“I am just fine; what are you doing?” I asked.
He then said, “Well, I may sound kind of funny, Grandma, because I have broken my nose in a car accident.”
I knew right away that this was a scam call, very similar to one that my mother received shortly after my dad passed away.
I interrupted the caller. “This is not my grandson; I know this is a scam,” and I hung up.
When our family was in the process of preparing my dad's obituary, we were very selective as to where to publish this news. At the time of his death, he lived in Albuquerque, but we decided against publishing it in the very widely circulated Albuquerque Journal for the very reason that our family, as described now, has experienced. Because Dad had been a local resident of Brattleboro for most of his life, we did ask the local paper to print it in this smaller-town venue.
I am writing today to say that while a beautifully written, and descriptive obituary is a wonderful way to honor a loved one's passing, this news, unfortunately, has become a tool for the most unscrupulous of individuals.
Imagine these folks scanning newspapers and websites solely to garner personal information and then to prey on the emotion and vulnerability of citizens, perhaps those named in said obituaries, catching them off guard with a call out of the blue.
This is what happened to me today.
The “big city” has arrived here in our protected nook of New England. It does not matter where you live - Brattleboro or Albuquerque - and because the eyes are everywhere, personal information must be protected at all costs.
Be informed; this can happen to you too.