29/03/2024
Hi everyone ๐ฃ๐ฃ
I have a really weird thing to share with you - but I think it's important to share it cuz this kind of stuff is only gonna increase in occurrence, so here goes:
(it also explains why I've not posted about Egypt this past week)
Monday I was in LA all day for appointments; Tuesday I was due to go back down to LA + just as I was about to head out the door I received a call from my Pops saying my younger brother had been in a car crash. Well you can imagine how upsetting just the idea of that would be w/o even knowing deeper details, given what I've shared with you recently about me + the Pops' recent car crash stuff.
A few of you know that my younger brother lives in a home (thank goodness) for mentally challenged individuals; my Pops is is sole go-to point of contact/care-giver person. Now anyone reading this knows, and that's okay. We need talking about this kind of stuff anyway.
Back to -
My Pops receives this call from my brother who is ringing him from jail/the courthouse, saying he was in a car crash with a pregnant woman who ran a red light. He then gives my father the court-appointed lawyer's contact phone number, along with the court case number.
After they hang up, Pops immediately rings the lawyer, the lawyer discusses what little details he has about the car accident - both the pregnant woman and my brother were taken to the emergency room, everyone ended up being okay, the damage to the vehicles was minimal, the woman is threatening to sue, etc - they're waiting for the camera footage to see if my brother is telling truth - they won't have that for at least a day - they're going to keep my brother in jail until the court can determine if he is telling the truth or the pregnant lady is - the bond is set for $150,000 but the lawyer thinks he can get it reduced to $125,000 if we want to get him out of jail.... my Pops is a bit freaked out (understandably), he'll need to call him back.... he calls the home where my brother lives - their voicemailbox is FULL - no answer - several times.
Okay.
So Pops rings me + lets me in on all this, of course we (Steven + I) start working in the invisible (prayers, Angels, etc), but it's TOTALLY traumatizing. Activating the angels - of course - to calm things down - with my brother who's in jail (he's such a precious love), my Pops who's acclimating to his new home, plus navigating other stuff (I'm not sure I've told you about that?).
Now, just so you know b/c chances are you may not be familiar with life with a mentally challenged sibling/family member... since my sweetheart beloved precious brother was diagnosed when we were teenagers, there has been a degree of terror/trauma that has traveled with our family story, constantly - day-in, day-out 24/7/365. That fact that he has been safely living in a home for the past decade+ has been a gift from the most beautiful portion of the cosmos you could ever imagine. To receive a call like my Pops did on Tuesday was not new, it just hasn't happened in at least a decade, and was traumatizing.
Okay so, anyways - when I tuned-in to this whole thing, my sense was that we weren't going to have the full story til Thursday on the deets of the car crash. Court cases run slow, they might not get the footage, etc.
Yesterday, Pops reached out to the lawyer, he said he was about to go into the courtroom with my brother (at 1pm Houston time), that the case was scheduled on docket + he'd get back with him once they saw the footage, etc. Pops also tried the home again, and again - no answer + a full voice mailbox. Ugh.
Pins. Needles.
I ended up going down to LA yesterday, cuz I couldn't put off the appt again + I rang the Pops afterwards. He hadn't heard anything, he had called him, no answer/reply - so I suggested he text the lawyer, which he did. I met up with a pal for some dinner + then back home.
One of the things Steven + I've been concerned about regarding my brother's condition was the fact that he's on medication which regulates every single thing. And if he wasn't receiving that in jail, his entire system would get thrown out of whack. I was thinking, well maybe it would be okay for 24hrs, but now we're heading into doubling that.
So I get home and we're talking about it + Steven's like - I need to call his home NOW. He needs his medication. They need to get his meds to him. What's their number? It's after midnight in Houston, btw. I find the number, Steven rings them. Tasha answers. Steven affirms that this is the home where my brother lives? She says yes, yes it is. (I'm so glad she answered!)
I grabbed his phone from him, and said Tasha, this is Kate his sister, we're calling you from California, I'm sorry it's so late there, we got a call on Tuesday + we're told he was in a car crash + is in jail right now and she said - "no, honey, he's here... he's asleep. Do you want me to go wake him up?" and I said - wait a minute - he's not in jail? was he in jail last night? was he driving? did he get in a car crash? she said - "no - no, honey - he took his bath tonight, he's sleeping, he'll get on the bus tomorrow.... I can wake him up for you..." I said no, no - don't wake him up - I said, that's so weird - someone called my Pops + said they were him (my brother) + [told her the whole story] and she said - "o, honey, that's a scam.... that's a scam... they're scammming elderly folks, it's not real - - " I said, omygoodness wow..., wow... (I almost started crying) thank goodness he's okay, he's okay, he's asleep in his bed, thank you so much for answering the phone Tasha, thank you. I know it's late, gosh, thank you. I've gotta call Pops + let him know, thank you. I'm sending you + my brother so much love..
So I immediately ring the Pops, he answers (thank goodness) + almost starts weeping, he's so relieved.
Now here's the deal.
Having the intimate information to know that Pops was the point of emergency care/contact to call + having either AI or someone imitate my brother + then another person acting as a lawyer -- I mean, this was a bit more sophisticated than your average scammer operation, in my estimation, and certainly in my up-until-this-past-Tuesday - experience.
This stuff is real, and they'll go for the emotional jugular.
This was a perfect scenario to get money out of my Pops, if someone was going to do it. It didn't work, but man... it was - wow.
