June 21, 2012
About a year ago, my car was broken into at Rock Springs Park, and the criminal(s) stole my purse. I had everything under the sun in it, including my checkbook, credit cards, you name it. I know, I shouldn’t have left my purse in the car, and I shouldn’t have had all that stuff in the same place, but I tend to get into my comfort zone and believe that everyone plays by the same rules that I do. They don’t.
When it first happened, we hoped the culprits were just a bunch of kids skipping school and trying to rip off cigarette money. No such luck. My ID and all my financial information were in the hands of a professional ring of criminals who are, to this day, trying to steal and scam from me, banks, Walmart and anyone else they can think of. I just got a phone call that a woman tried to cash a $1,000 check against my account that I closed more than a year ago.
When the bank official called me today to explain what the woman was attempting to do, I couldn’t even follow the scam. I have to ask myself, “If you’re devious (smart) enough to run a con like this one, why not get a job? How do people justify stealing from others simply because they’re too lazy to work?” That may sound naive, but at 51, I still think that way.
When the incident first happened last April, some people had remarked that a tough economy makes people do things they might not otherwise do. I disagree. If it’s in your character to steal and cheat, the economy has no bearing on that. If my husband and I lost our jobs and home and everything else tomorrow, I would not steal from someone. I would not try to cheat someone else out of what they’ve worked to earn.
Anyway, I hope the police catch this woman and everyone else involved. Heaven only knows what’s happening to my credit, even though we closed accounts, froze credit reporting and everything else that we were advised to do. I don’t know why, but I’d love to meet her face-to-face. She’d probably pick my pocket and steal my jewelry during that meeting, and I’d probably walk away stunned and disappointed, as usual.
But the question remains, “If you’re smart enough to scam, why not just get a job?” You may even score some benefits in the bargain.
Carole Townsend is also a Gwinnett Daily Post staff correspondent and author of the recently-released book, “Southern Fried White Trash.” The book takes a humorous look at families and how we behave when thrown together for weddings, funerals and holidays. She has been quoted on msnbc.com, in the LA Times, USA Today and the Christian Science Monitor, been featured on FOX 5 News and CNN, and is often a guest on television and radio shows nationwide. Her next book, “Red Lipstick and Clean Underwear,” is eagerly expected in late summer 2012.
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