Alert/PSA

Watch for scammers, people! Over the weekend on Ravelry, one person was found to have 4-5 IDs and had taken several people for gift cards, yarn and tools after claiming that everything she owned (yarn-wise) had been stolen. People eventually started talking, and it turned out she was the same person who, under a different ID (minimum), had been selling yarn and tools (probably the same stuff she'd just been sent), but never delivering. Many people are kind and soft-hearted, but it pays to be cautious/cynical.

Another user was deleted after making just one post. I'm sure many people thought it smelled fishy, because well, if the first thing you do is start begging for stuff, it sets off some alarms, but I wonder how many others flocked to help this poor woman on the run from an abuser. Who desperately needed...yarn? The needle in my cynicism meter buried itself in the red when she claimed that none of the shelters/domestic abuse centers in her area would help her b/c she didn't have a drivers license. Her area (at least where she claimed to live)? A few miles from where I just moved. Where the shelters will NOT turn away a woman fleeing an abuser because she couldn't take her purse with her. Yes, I called and checked. Then sent her the phone # to the closest shelter who said they'd be happy to help her, and sent a message up the chain.

It seems that the tougher times get, the more people there are willing to scam others, and the more people there are that want to help, in whatever way they can, because as bad as they have it, someone else has it worse. Knitters aren't nicer or more trustworthy than other people. Just because someone says something doesn't make it true. It's great to want to help out, and hey, if you can afford to send out stuff willy-nilly, go for it. But there's nothing wrong with exercising a little caution too!

/public service announcement