S/O Beggars, Moochers and Scammers

[Carotte]

Even if you had shown your ID I can't see a serious pharmacy/pharmacist that would then say "oh sure, since that stranger (that made it known didn't know you but still) showed her ID (to have you back off) I'm going to sell you this medical drug/device (that I wasn't going to because I know you're not old enought or shouldn't have it in your current state)". 

[Elfmama]

 Some pharmacy chains seem to have that policy only in certain stores.  I could drive to my nearest Walgreens, say I needed insulin needles of a certain kind, they take my card, I take the needles, and we're done.  No ID or prescription required. 

But at the Walgreens nearest to DD1, in a rather seedy part of Baltimore, they tell me that I have to buy my insulin from them before they will sell me needles.  I explain that this is for my cat and that because cats can't use human insulin, I have to buy it from my vet.  Because I did buy Willow's first box of needles with a prescription, I know that she is in their system.  I ask them to look in their computer for Willow's records, but the clerk is adamant.  No insulin, no needles.  She claims that this is how all of their pharmacies work, and have for years.

So okay, Walgreens doesn't want my business anymore.  I came home, went to Walmart instead, and walked out with a box of needles, no questions asked -- and CHEAPER than Walgreens.

[PastryGoddess]

Some pharmacy chains seem to have that policy only in certain stores.  I could drive to my nearest Walgreens, say I needed insulin needles of a certain kind, they take my card, I take the needles, and we're done.  No ID or prescription required. 

But at the Walgreens nearest to DD1, in a rather seedy part of Baltimore, they tell me that I have to buy my insulin from them before they will sell me needles.  I explain that this is for my cat and that because cats can't use human insulin, I have to buy it from my vet.  Because I did buy Willow's first box of needles with a prescription, I know that she is in their system.  I ask them to look in their computer for Willow's records, but the clerk is adamant.  No insulin, no needles.  She claims that this is how all of their pharmacies work, and have for years.

So okay, Walgreens doesn't want my business anymore.  I came home, went to Walmart instead, and walked out with a box of needles, no questions asked -- and CHEAPER than Walgreens.

In defense of that Walgreens clerk, I also live in Baltimore and there are a LOT of people who are addicted to various forms of drugs that use needles to get high.  It may be a policy put in place and okayed by the powers that be for certain stores in certain areas.  It sounds like most of the people who need needles try to use the diabeetus excuse and that store and others have caught onto it and stopped it. Of course that means that innocent people like you get caught up in it.   My preferred walgreens is just over the Baltimore county line and I've gotten needles for my Imitrex with no problem

[Slartibartfast]

I could see the needle thing being a local policy if junkies have a tendency to shoot up there on the property and leave needles behind - probably not as much an issue with stores which are in nicer areas, but I can see a store with a dark alley behind it deciding they're sick of financing their own biohazard litter.

[jmarvellous]

For what it's worth, this is a CVS across the street from a major university campus (and directly across from the university health clinic that sends all its prescriptions to that location by default) in a reasonably nice area of town. (The other one he appeared to be stalking toward is identical in demographics but about a quarter-mile from the student clinic.)
Perhaps there are a lot of student junkies (wouldn't SHOCK me), but I think he was just someone they'd seen around before, trying the same scheme.

[Slartibartfast]

Just got an email entitled "SAVE BIG ON CARS IN <CITY>!"

Yeah, they couldn't even bother to stick my city name in the spam header?  No thanks 

[PastryGoddess]

Just got an email entitled "SAVE BIG ON CARS IN <CITY>!"

Yeah, they couldn't even bother to stick my city name in the spam header?  No thanks 

I mean what if you wanted to save big in <TOWN> or <VILLAGE>.  How rude

[Figgie]

The thread about insulin needles reminded me of the time the pharmacist thought I was trying to scam the pharmacy.

Background:  We had a big, orange male cat who although he had been fixed, decided to start spraying.  After trying multiple techniques and medications (this was years before Feliway), the vet finally figured out that a very, very small dose of Valium once a day, stopped the spraying.

So, I went to the pharmacy with a prescription for our cat Edgar.  The pharmacist took the prescription and said he needed more information and I told him okay.

He asked for his full name.  I remember thinking that was kind of silly, but assumed their system needed a middle name.  The cat had been named after Edgar Allan Poe, so I told him that his first name was Edgar and his middle name Allan (with the last name being my last name).

Next I was asked for a date of birth.  I told him that I had no idea.  The pharmacist was puzzled and asked me again for the date of birth or for at least his age.  I said that I thought he was around 11 years old.

The pharmacist then said:  "What kind of a mother doesn't know the date of birth and age of her OWN KID???

I started laughing and said:  "He's a cat and I have no idea what his birthday or age is because he was a stray who walked into our garage 10 plus years ago.

Pharmacist was confused and I told him to look at the written prescription, because it was from our vet, not from a physician.  He (pharmacist) did and then apologized, because he had been sure I'd been trying to scam them for Valium.

I told him, no, we were just trying to keep the cat from spraying.

[Lorelei_Evil]

HAHAHAHA.  My cat was on Prozac, so I can identify.

Now I'm getting robocalls from a super chipper broad from "Kohl's".  uh-huh.

[Twik]

File under "good try, buddy - or maybe not":

IT-Help Service.

Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit which is 20GB as set by your administrator,you are currently running on 20.9GB, you may not be able to send or receive new mail until you re-validate your mailbox.
To re-validate your mailbox please CLICK HERE.
Thanks
System Administrator.

Gee, if I can't receive new mail, how did I get one from you, him?

[LazyDaisy]

File under "good try, buddy - or maybe not":

IT-Help Service.

Your mailbox has exceeded the storage limit which is 20GB as set by your administrator,you are currently running on 20.9GB, you may not be able to send or receive new mail until you re-validate your mailbox.
To re-validate your mailbox please CLICK HERE.
Thanks
System Administrator.

Gee, if I can't receive new mail, how did I get one from you, him?

I get these about every other month at work. The scammers don't even have the sense to try and hide their email address -- which would have to be [firstinitiallastname]@[university].edu to even be close to legitimate and nothing around here is signed "System Administrator," there is always a name. The crazy thing is that there are people that fall for this.

[lilfox]

Years ago when we did have stricter size limits on our email accounts at work, we did get automated messages if the quota was exceeded, but the solution was (is) always to delete old messages, not click on mysterious links for "revalidation."

Another one from work that turned out to be legit but was a Bad Idea - the IT department rolled out some new security alert features and didn't issue any widespread news about them.  Instead, people found out when malware-looking popups appeared in the lower right corner asking the user to confirm they read the test message by, you guessed it, clicking a mysterious link.  I don't know what the compliance rate was but it was days before IT let the general user population know it was a real thing.  We take annual training on information security and phishing and get regular reminders throughout the year, and yet IT doesn't have the foresight to think hey, our process looks exactly like what we tell people to ignore/avoid??

[magicdomino]

Not sure if this was a scam or a Really Bad Idea.  I got an ad in the mail for something or another -- call it insurance.  Attached was a postcard that you can send for More Information About Our Product.  It asked for the name and DOB for me and my spouse, as well as a contact phone number.  On a postcard.  Yeah, I don't think so.

[Yarnspinner]

I don't know if this is mooching exactly, but this seems like the right place for this:

A patron (who, I have to say, is a very, very handsome young man...this has absolutely no bearing on the story, but he really is charming and gorgeous and kind of gets away with murder even around the male members of my team) is holding a "gathering of friends" at one of the local inns.  No more information than that.  "A gathering of friends."

And he is charging everyone thirty dollars for a menu that wouldn't appeal to me if it was only ten dollars.  Happily I am busy that day.

P.S.:  I should have said it reads "a gathering of invited guest (sic)".  Among the menu choices is a "Tukey Buger."  Really do not want to try that.

[rain]

I just got a call that was purportedly from Verizon Wireless.  The recorded message states that I have won a $600+ (I don't remember the exact amount) credit, and that I need to claim my prize by going to www.Idon'trememberverizon65???


   The very first time I got one of these calls ... I was excited  , then it sank in, too good to be true - so I looked on line, then I called Verizon - the rep I spoke with said it was fraud