by Donnette Pinkerton, Featured Contributor
IMAGINE YOUR daughter getting a phone call to have an interview and she excitedly tells you of an interview she has been offered. Your heart swells with pride as you knew since the day she uttered the word “dada” that she was going far. You immediately think back to that first day that she brought home her first Report Card with the list of As completed by a smile stretched from ear-to-ear. Now she is bringing home a job offer that has brought that same ear-to-ear smile and that beautiful sparkle in her eye that you cannot get enough of.
Then she tells you that she spent $500 for software to begin her new job with the promise of reimbursement. This raises your guard just like that day she came home squealing, “Mommy I meant a boy!” with that same ear-to-ear smile and sparkle in her eyes. However, then she is asked later that night for another $700 that the supervisors ‘forgot’ to mention with the promise t
o reimburse her. She then asks you for your advice as they told her the only way she can get her $500 back was to also pay for the $700. Your memory shoots back to the day she brought that boy home making you constantly eye the gun cabinet wishing you actually had guns in it to be cleaning rather than your great-grandmother’s china.
You tell her that you think she has been scammed and that sparkle dulls away replaced with the shine of tears. She tells you that she thought she was really good enough and you want instantly think of that same boy that broke her heart when you wanted to give him pain for breaking your perfect daughter’s heart. The day she said “I really thought I was good enough” and you knew that it was actually that he was not good enough for your perfect angel.
You started making all the new boys fill out an application to date your daughter. The question your daughter was devastated with the most was the question that most pleased you remembering the day that punk kid broke your angel’s heart. “If you touch my daughter what body part to you wish not to be broken?” You slightly grin thinking back at this time as the young men would turn pale and swallow.
Soon you are struck back to reality when she asks how you could smile knowing she has been scammed out of her money. It instantly reminds you that you learned from the lesson of your daughter’s heart being broken by filtering some of the punk boys. You realize you need to arm her with a filter and you tell her, “How can we learn from this my child?”
You see her head tilt to the side and you see the tears dry up as she realizes she lost money not her pride. Finally, she starts to see that she is good enough as she was good enough to hear her intuition. You see the flicker of hope in her eyes the day you told her how to search for signs of punks verses good kids. The “If you love me” is the same as “if you want this job”. The players change, but the game never does, so you sit down and you set up your game plan.
If you want this job you will pay for [BLANK] in advance. Remember that day the boy sat down and said, “But if you love me you will”. When your daughter was telling you those words your veins felt like they were carrying lava. Then she said, “I told him if you love me you won’t” and your smile was impossibly big as your heart was swollen with pride. A job will not ask you for money in advance no matter what excuse they give and the “if you want this job” is the same game with a knew player. You intuition told you child that they seemed familiar when she was asked for more money and that is why she turned to you.
Work-at-home is the tattooed boy your daughter brought home at 16 years old. Although there is a chance the boy covered in tattoos could be a great kid but this is the attention flag. Most all scams are work-at-home scams to grab the desperate single mother and trick her out of her money since she is likely in a desperate situation.
Pay for this software in advance via Western Union or Money Gram only is the boy that took your daughter out and ‘forgot his wallet’ asking your daughter to pay. Be aware of anyone asking for money for you to start your new position especially if it is unacceptable to pay through Western Union or Money Gram. Remember telling your child to never leave the house without having the money to pay for her own meal? Tell her never to pay for something the company needs in order for her to start making them money. They will invest in her from the beginning without her paying for anything in advance.
This gorgeous site should prove how worthy we are just as her well dressed date proved how he was a gentleman. A well dressed website can make anyone fall for the scam, but pay close attention to what is written. The well dressed boy may slip up with the way he states things just as the website may have some questioning remarks. Be aware that no matter how beautiful the website is does not make it a legit company.
You are losing a once in a lifetime opportunity just as her date said that she would not find anyone better than him. Remember the day you overheard him telling your daughter that and as you went to bust open the door you heard her reply? “You see that is where you are wrong. I already know someone better and his name is Daddy.” You rested your head on the doorway as you smiled and cried at the same time because your daughter was so strong and she knew that you would always be there for her. Remind your daughter that this once and a lifetime opportunity is bogus as there will be many opportunities yet better just like her daddy.
The best part of all of these things your daughter had to go through is that she her little sister does not have to deal with this pain. Do you ever notice that the youngest is always such an angel? She watched her sister make all of the mistakes so that she did not have to make the same.
Hopefully you are the younger sister and today this article is your older sister and telling you what to look out for. What if you fell for such a scam already? Remember that you are not a “loser” or “stupid” as you are trusting because you are an honest person. Therefore, be proud that you fell for such a scam because that means you were thinking you would surely repay the person as soon as possible. If you have not fallen for this type of scam yet then print out this article and let it be your older sister to remind you daily how to treat the new job offers the way you learned how to treat your new dates as a teenager. The more you know the less heartache you will face.
