# What would you do in this sort of situation?



## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

About 10 years before I took the pre merger contract buyout and pension offer for early retirement, a pretty much deadwood guy in our department started asking many of us with company savings plans to take out loans of our own money to lend him 5 figure amounts for a year so he could start his own retirement account with a few hundred thousand in our money.

Of course nobody fell for it and a year or so later he came in and gave his 2 week notice bragging how he had gotten attorney assisted disability and we were free of his slacking and scheming .

That was back in the mid 1990s and I forgot about him.

When my employer was bought out, like many old timers with investment savings, I took they buyout deal offered and planned a simple retirement for myself that while being no champagne and filet mignon class should get me to the grave with burgers and beer once in awhile.

Last month I started getting calls from "Deadwood" begging for five figure loans on my answering machine and sob stories about his health .

I also got calls from some of the others he tried hitting up for money when we worked in the same department and he used different stories on them and we figure he must have still had a copy of our section employee phone book and is trying a new attempt at the scam he tried about 30 years ago.

For three weeks I just let him whine to my answering machine since I use it to screen calls and deleted any message he left regardless if he called during the day, evening or middle of the night.

Unfortunately while expecting a quick call back to my phone which has been the same number since my days in industry from a friend whose cellphone dropped our call, Deadwood got through and went straight into his poor mouth money beg.

My tactic was to tell him I didn't know him and when he tried bringing up my industry days, I told him there were very few who I worked with that I remembered after two decades of quiet retirement and even fewer whom I still had contact with.

When I told him if I had known him, he did not make an impression on me to remember, he said he and his wife would come and visit me so maybe I could help him out.

To that , I told him not to waste his time and lose my phone number because if I did know him in the past, I didn't recall and he was now nothing more than a cold calling catfish telephone scammer to me and Baby.Boomers have been warned of scammers using the old friend or long lost relative scams. I also told him that since he threatened to come visit that I was calling my Sheriff's office to list him and his wife as trespassed from my property.

It must have worked because he cussed me out , hung up and hasn't called me since but has called two who were alphabetically behind me in our department phone book , both of who called to warn me.

GF said I went extreme tough on him, but I told her he was Cheech and Chong grade deadwood 30 years ago and still sounded the same..

How would you handle a stoner hitting you up for money in the same way 30 years between attempts?


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

You handled it fine. I would take it one step further and everyone contacted by him report him to the authorities. Maybe a visit by LEO will deter future contact.


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## CKelly78z (Jul 16, 2017)

I may have threatened bodily harm if he contacted me again, so no, you do go to extreme, people like this are accustomed to playing on others emotions.


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## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

“No, I am not giving you any money. “


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## Hiro (Feb 14, 2016)

You handled it just fine. I lean towards an even shorter version than GTX's. "No. Goodbye."


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

you knew exactly who he was. you handled it fine.

I would not have been as kind. 
I believe I would have said something about like this 
" I know who you are and you were a worthless drain on the company then, a worthless scammer then and I can hear you have not changed one bit for the better. you will get nothing from me I have talked with others from the department you have been harassing. they should give you nothing either. I will be reporting your harassment of my phone answering machine and this call to the authorities. Make no further attempt to contact me in any way electronic or in person any attempt will be considered harassment. good bye "


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## mzgarden (Mar 16, 2012)

I can't see anything wrong with your response.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

You politely refused and he got pushy. So you pushed back. 

That seems fair


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## Wolf mom (Mar 8, 2005)

Just say "No.".


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## weaselfire (Feb 7, 2018)

When he calls, in your sleaziest voice, ask "Whatcha wearin'...?"

Works for everyone calling me. 

Jeff


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

Weaselfire,
I have a friend who has a server that if he needs my help to reboot it in the middle of the night who says that when he calls and I reply uh ...khakies and my name is Jake like that car insurance commercial LOL.


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## Seth (Dec 3, 2012)

I'd have told him about this Nigerian prince that I've been emailing with. Then I'd have started explain this weird rash I'd been getting in a tender spot and asking his advice. Then I'd ask if he'd look at pics of it for me. Then I'd tell him some drawn out tale of some nonexistant grandkid. I'd have tried to keep him on the phone for a couple hours until HE decided that calling me was a mistake. Seth


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

I think you did great. 
I probably would have got his address and a bunch of personal info just in case I would need it later, maybe set up fake meetings which would be cancelled at the last minute. String him along until he got tired of calling me, if I was in a good mood.


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

After a few months from what the folks I know have told me , he has tried to put the touch on about 16 or 17 of us up to about 3 or 4 weeks ago and been repeatedly shot down. One of the guys said he was jealous of me because I ended his harassing me over only a couple weeks and deadwood kept calling him for almost 2 months begging on his voice mail every day or two before stopping.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Wow! I can't believe when he wanted money 30 years ago - and didn't get any - he wouldn't even think to call you guys again. But then again - maybe his brain is fried - and he had this idea "Hey, I'll call the old "friends" I used to work with.

I think you handled it pretty good. But you could have turned the tables and given him a sob story that after you retired, you got married to a much younger woman that was "so in love" with me. But after 10 years of marriage, she decided I was too old for her and called the best attorney in town - and the ex-wife ended up getting everything.

And "Hey, while I'm talking to you - do you think you could loan me like $10,000.00? The landlord is putting up eviction notices, and I keep having to park my car several streets away, so it doesn't get repossessed - and I'm not sure how much longer I can avoid the landlord."


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## Alice In TX/MO (May 10, 2002)

PERFECT


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