At Least They Get an “A” for Effort

You know how some parents of Little Leaguers rail against kids receiving those “participation” trophies at the end of the year? Their complaint – and it’s not without some merit – is that it detracts from the other more deserving team awards such as Most Valuable Player.

Why bother giving trophies at all if everyone gets one?

Think of how the kid who bats .450, hits 12 home runs and steals 20 bases feels if Joe Benchwarmer receives a shiny statuette at the end of the year as well.

However, there are times I feel that awards absolutely should be given for effort and persistence.

And my 2018 Achievement/Participation Award goes to those overseas scammers who call and pretend to be from the Internal Revenue Service.

I’m sure many of you have received them as well. You know, the caller on the other end of the line, with a distinct Asian dialect warns that you owe X amount of money to the IRS or else face prosecution. All you must do is simply supply your credit card information.

It still amazes me despite all the warnings how many people continue to fall for this ruse.

This marks the 5^th year in a row that someone has called demanding restitution for alleged back taxes. Trust me I have listed my number with the Do Not Call registry at least 10 times with apparently no success.

Never mind the fact that if you indeed owe back taxes that a notice from the IRS comes via mail – not a phone call.

But fast forward to last week.

It was a banner day as I received threats on both my business line and my mobile phone from these charlatans. But here’s the rub, instead of a live person, the warning came via a computer-generated voice – an obvious end run against someone quickly discovering that Manesh, Dev or  Samar are actually calling from Mumbai and not your local IRS office.

And this time the call ended with the threat of “if you do not settle this account, the cops will come for you.”

Got that? “The cops,” not any type of federal authority. I’m stunned to learn that your local police can now enforce prosecution on tax evasion. It sounds more like a quote from a crime drama on Netflix.

But back to the topic de jour. I officially bestow an honorary participation achievement award to these dolts for their perseverance and determination.

I would hate to meet up with their Most Valuable Player.