Scam Likely

"Scam Likely." I see those two words literally every day – several times a day in fact - on the caller ID on my phone. I never answer those types of calls. They started once a day, then over the next several days they became more and more frequent. Eventually I got fed up with the constant barrage of calls and answered the phone.

“Take me off your list,” I said.

The voice on the other end was curt and professional. “Am I speaking with Mr. Dover Hawk?”

“Yes,” I told the woman. “Please remove me from your calling list.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that right now.”

“Why not?”

“You’re already scheduled for removal. We’ve been trying to contact you to tell you that your removal from our list would go into effect next Tuesday at approximately 0900.”

“Why not just remove me now?” I asked.

“I don’t think you would like us to do that.”

“Yes, I would,” I said, getting frustrated now. “And according to the law, you HAVE to remove me from your list if I say so.”

“Are you sure?” the woman asked, with not more emotion in her voice than when the call started.

“Yes,” I said.

“All right. To confirm, we are removing you from our list today at approximately 1600 instead of your scheduled removal date. Is that information correct?”

“Yes."

“I have removed you from our list. Thank you and I wish you the best of luck.”

Without another word, the woman hung up. I slipped my phone in my pocket and pressed the crosswalk button. I didn’t even see the bus coming.

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