The internet is full of warnings for seniors on how to avoid scams. Old people are supposed to be easy marks. We all have dementia and are not intelligent enough to recognize a scam when we see one. It is downright insulting. 

However, scammers are clever and have ingenious ways to trick you out of money. I am beginning to think the warnings are not as ridiculous as I thought. I must confess I have recently been scammed.  

I know about emails that are SPAM and try to trick you into some obvious scam either too good to be true: “Take this vitamin and cure your arthritis.” or use fear to suck you in: “Pay this fine for your parking ticket now or your driver’s license will be suspended.” 

Anyhow, you’ve seen them too and know the kind of stuff that comes via text or email. So how is it that I got taken again? I saw this clever little ad online. “Take this IQ test and see if you are getting dementia.” It might be interesting to know my IQ, I thought, and I clicked.  

The test seemed legitimate, mostly spatial recognition like a standardized test in high school. I sailed through the test having the time of my life. It was so much fun, and I was certain my IQ was at least 150. “I am going to send this link to my Honey,” I thought. He is smarter than me and likes this sort of stuff. 

Of course, when I got to the end, there was a small fee, only $1.00 to get your score. I bit. It’s only a dollar and I had put so much energy into taking the test. As soon as I paid my dollar, I received a message thanking me for subscribing and telling me that I would be charged $9.99 per week for access until I unsubscribed. Woah! What? I tried to unsubscribe, but all the links were to 404 error messages. Great, now what? 

My only salvation was that I used PayPal to pay. At least I was smart enough not to give them my new credit card number. (My old number was compromised, but that’s another story.) I went to PayPal and was able to get contact information. I emailed them unsubscribing in no uncertain terms. I immediately received a reply, obviously an auto response. I hope I am rid of them but will have to watch my account now to be sure they don’t try to keep billing me. By the way, my IQ turned out to be average 116. I’m not sure. If it was average, how did I get taken by their scam? 

The really bad thing was that I had just been taken a few weeks prior while trying to renew my driver’s license online. I Googled and got the link, “Renew your Tennessee driver’s license.” After clicking and going through the renewal process, I received a form to fill out to take to the Department of Motor Vehicles. Going to the DMV was what I was trying to avoid. That little escapade cost me $35, and my credit card number was stolen. Apparently, they had no connection to the State of Tennessee at all and were simply selling forms and lies. I later found the right link, but it was too late, and I had to pay the DMV again to renew.

I thought I had learned a lesson after that, but apparently not as I was scammed again with the IQ test, as previously mentioned. My daddy used to always have a favorite saying, “Don’t take any wooden nickels.” That was some sound advice; however, if you happen to need any wooden nickels, I have a pocketful to share with you.  

Copyright 2025 Sheila Moss