I saved someone a lot of money today.

I saved someone a lot of money today, simply because I was in the right place at the right time.  And this should serve as a warning to my readers to be careful of scams being propagated via the internet.

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Going to the dentist is always an expensive day for me.  Today would be more expensive than usual, as I needed both a new filling and a crown on a nearby tooth.  So, I knew that I would be spending over $2,500 for a 2 hour visit.  What I didn't know was that I'd be the catalyst in a chain of events which would prevent an old person from getting scammed by someone claiming to represent a business entity.

My dentist is in walking distance of my apartment, so I got there at the stroke of 1 pm.  As I entered, I saw a gentleman struggling with some financial issue working with "tech support" on the other end of the line.  Overhearing what this man was saying, he was told that 2 payments were made from his bank account, and that the fellow at the other end needed his account number to refund the money.  Of course, the "tech support" person was looking to have a program run on this person's phone to take control of it, scan the phone for financial information, and then suck the money out of all of this person's bank accounts. 

I knew that something had to be done, and I was in luck.  The receptionist was coming back to the dental office with lunch for the gang.  Seeing her as she was about to enter the building, I rushed to the door and told her what I thought was going on and asked for help.  A minute later, I was escorted into the room where my dentist would do his magic, so I could only get the rest of the story after my work was done.  Thankfully, the receptionist got involved and saw the signs of a scam about to start.  (Think of remote control programs which take over a computer or a phone.)  And then she told the gentleman about to be scammed to hang up the phone and reboot it immediately.  Next, she told the man to check his account with the organization, and found that no transactions had been applied to his account.  Phew!  He was narrowly saved from a scammer, and all thanks to the receptionist who knew how to step in and take control of the situation.

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Sadly, none of this could save me the money I had to spend to have my teeth repaired.  But I'm glad that I was able to stop a scam in progress.  I've provided the following links to help my readers identify similar scams and protect themselves: 

https://www.fdic.gov/consumer-resource-center/2023-10/scammers-and-fake-banks

https://www.firstcitizens.com/personal/insights/security/top-financial-scams-targeting-consumers 

https://www.wellsfargo.com/privacy-security/fraud/bank-scams/?utm_medium=www-redirect&utm_source=privacy-security--fraud--bank-scams--index

Additionally, one can also watch the YouTube channel, "Scammer Payback" for more information on internet scams and how they work to stop them. 

 

Filling a tooth and emptying a wallet.

 

$520 later, and I have a good tooth.  (I hear my wallet sobbing loudly, "Why did you do this to me?")

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When I last visited the dentist, he found a cavity in a tooth which had once been filled by a prior dentist. I knew that this was going to be a "big" (not too big) bill, as I was expecting to pay somewhere between $400 & $800 for the privilege of having my tooth repaired.  So, I scheduled today's appointment on the first available day I could get the repair done before my next cruise.

Unfortunately, I didn't sleep well last night, and was tired when I finally got showered and dressed.  Since the dentist sees me more in Marian mode than as Mario, I took the extra time to get ready to present myself as Marian.  So, I found a nice summery dress, and made the short drive to my dentist's office.

Arriving promptly at 1:00 pm, it took a while before I was led to the room where my procedure was to be done.  By the time he got down to business around 1:30 pm, I was on my 3rd dose of local anesthesia when he started to drill.  Even then, I needed another shot to keep me from feeling any pain.  At 2:30 pm, my tooth was filled, and my wallet emptied.

At least, my mouth was finally back to normal by 5:00 pm....