You probably know you should never answer your phone if the call is from an unknown number. So do I. But for some reason, I did it anyway a few days ago. And I was surprised to hear a real, live person ask for me by name. “That’s me,” I said cautiously.

The caller claimed to be from a large organization I do business with. Then she asked for my address. “Wait,” I said. “You should already have that.”

“I need to confirm your identity before I discuss your account.”

“I need to confirm your identity before I discuss my account, too,” I said.

“It’s our policy to ask a few questions just to make sure we don’t share sensitive information with someone who shouldn’t have it.”

“And it’s my policy not to share information with anyone unless I made the call.”

“But how do I know you’re who you say you are?”

“How do I know you are?”

We were at an impasse. We hung up, both annoyed. I did a little research and determined that the caller was indeed who she said she was so I added her number to my contact list. Meanwhile, she was probably sitting at her desk considering a new line of work, yet another victim of the scam epidemic.

I didn’t call her back, so I still don’t know what she wanted. Maybe I should have. I could have explained that it isn’t just her. I don’t trust anyone anymore. But I’m not paranoid; everyone really is out to get me. Or at least it seems that way. I regularly get phony text messages, spam emails and messages from bogus social media accounts. Half my phone calls are from scammers. My own grandson called today asking for money. He obviously knows I’d do anything for my grandkids—if I actually had any grandkids.

So yes, I might be cautious, but I think I’m entitled to be. It’s not easy though. Avoiding cons means being on guard all the time and spending precious time researching things I’d just as soon not even know about.

When I opened my computer one morning a few weeks ago I was greeted with a popup message telling me my virus protection had expired and that with all the scams there are these days I should renew it right away. “Ha,” I scoffed. “Scams like this one you mean!” And I deleted the popup.

I wasn’t fooled for a minute. The message looked like it could have come from the company that sells my virus protection. But in the past, they’ve emailed me months in advance that it would expire soon, not that it already had. In fact, they’d reminded me so many times that I’d renewed it early just to make them stop reminding me.

But just to be sure, I ran a scan with my virus software. It still worked. Then I did an internet search for the virus software company along with the word scam. Sure enough scammers have been known to use the company’s name. I was confident that the popup was another example of that so I ignored it. Then I got it the next day. And the next.

A bit more research showed that my virus protection would expire within the month. I renewed it and the messages stopped. You see the irony here. I almost lost my virus protection because I was afraid of getting a virus. 

Still I think I behaved in an uncharacteristically wise manner. The way both organizations approached me, they were just asking for skepticism and a good talking-to besides. We consumers are hyperalert and for good reason. When you can’t trust your fake grandchildren, who can you trust?

Dorothy Rosby is an author and humor columnist whose work appears regularly in publications in the West and Midwest. You can subscribe to her blog at www.dorothyrosby.com or contact at www.dorothyrosby.com/contact.