As a former fraud investigator I was horrified to find myself walking blindfold towards a scam yesterday. My only excuse was that I'd just come off the -phone to Jonathan Clague, my excellent EP from Royal Brompton, who had just told me he wanted to do another angiogram and while they were at it put a pacemaker in.
Anyway I was a bit shell shocked when I got a text to say that a courier had tried to deliver a parcel but we were out and to go on this website and re-arrange a delivery date. I was happily filling in information when I suddenly realised that even though it purported to be from Post Office why did they need my date of birth! Scrub that, delete and block number.
It is getting bad when it is so easy to get caught so watch out all.
Bob
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Now I ve been told by Cardiology, they dont need to see me anymore as Im symptom free, I said thanks for abandoning me when I shall need you most ,I am 78years old and have fairly well controlled A.F persistent for 5 years, they only saw me once a year anyway, lucky to get an ECG., they have a point , but I feel abandoned when I look to the limited future, I have never been offered ablation despite years of PAF,and A &E visits
Best wishes for the angiogram and pacemaker. I am sure your EP will be looking after you very well and all will be ok with you. It must have been a shock, but you will be up with the famous (Elton John). He had a pacemaker many years ago. As for these scammers, preying on the vulnerable, they want locking up and the key thrown away. Enjoy this lovely sunshine. All is well.
Thank you for the reminder Bob. It’s as bad here in Canada. Good luck with you upcoming procedures. Question: do most people who have AFib end up with a pacemaker?
Does ablation simply delay it?
This is kind of the way I was thinking. But not sure it’s correct….
In case you missed my "life story" a few years ago, after my A F was stopped in 2008, by 2017 I had developed atrial tachycardia. I went to local hospital where they did a cardioversion (DCCV) Sadly they had a real "OH SHIT " moment when although the ecg was perfectly in NSR my heart muscle was not responding to the impluses and I was quietly dying with no pulse. This state is known as PEA- pulseless electrical activity and is very very rare.
A lot of CPR, cracked ribs and directly injected adrenaline later it finally started again. I of course knew nothing of it as I wasn't there at the time. A week later they did an angiogram which showed only mild coronary artery disease (20-25%) with no action needed and I put things down to severe de hydration since I had been nil by mouth for about 14 hours when they did the DCCV.
Aparently my EP has seen some heart block on recent ECGs and combined with my earlier history has decided that I would be safer with a PM. Simples.
Wow.. you’ve been round the bend as they say in England!I’m still confused by all the terminology but will look at this closer when I have more time…very sorry to hear you went through so much Bob
Thank you for explaining all that.
I’m quite sure that my EP said what Cardiologist thought was SVT is actually atrial tachycardia that can occur with a fib..That’s why they took me in for SVT ablation but the cardiologist said it was a little bit irregular so it was actually atrial tachycardia.
I didn’t think this was a big deal and apparently it exists often with a fib?
I hope they can fix you up this time and as I said I’m going to look at the terminology closer later.
(EDIT: just went back to read and now understand better...what you were saying)...therefore unfortunately, lead to anther question.
🤗😂😂 “Round the block’ dear Chrissy! “Round the bend” is going mad! At least I think that’s what you meant?!Hey! So glad that you’re not going to have to wait so long for your ablation. I think my wait will be about a year.🙃
Just when I think I am learning something about England here as well...lol (sorry about that Bob!
As it turns out...my GP wants me to go back to cardiologist ..perhaps I can get in sooner here. Seems like the still think I have SVT, not Afib, (yes - I sure whish they'd make up their minds!)I'm sorry YOU have to wait a whole year...
On a more serious note, I really hope that they work out exactly what your heart is doing and whether or not it is AFib. Sending lots of love your way. Xx
One more reply Bob, -- by the way, I am certainly grateful for your contribution on this group--thank you again for that! Knowledge is everything...
in 2015 I have discussed before that I had "cardiac arrest" during seizures when I had a brain tumor...they did crack my ribs recusitating me...and cardiologists could never figure out why. Now my (young, inexperienced) EP thinks after trying to find SVT with ablation and could not, that I have atrial tachycardia.
could this have caused my cardiac arrest? doctors here don't seem to know why it happened.
I wonder if I didn't have PEA , it's the first possibility I have heard...who knows since I had a brain tumor at the time (since removed, no leftovers, no cancer, no lasting effects --- luckily).
Regarding this, my new EP told me that "sometimes the brain just doesn't communicate properly with the heart" --I told him my Neurosurgeon says there is "nothing there" and that "I am fine" ...he responded "he is just telling you what you want to hear, I am from a new generation of doctors, we don't do that..."
Needless to say, I don't want him performing any more procedures on me ....unbelievable....that someone could be that crass and callous toward their patient.
If this is the "new generation" of doctors, I choose not to be part of their team...
By the way best of luck once again with your pacemaker. I hope it goes smoothly as I hear it's a "quick, simple procedure"....now you probably don't have to worry about your heart racing/Afib episodes anymore...I have often thought this step may actually be freedom....(?)
… maybe it what happened.. no one seems to know….. do you remember anything when you had cardiac arrest?I honestly saw some of my deceased friends and family.. well kind of felt them actually. It was as if they were pulling me toward them… I could feel that too. It was brief but I will always remember it..
then I heard the nurse calling my name…as I came back….
Not at all since I was anaesthetised at the time, but I did once have an out of body experience when I was 35 and caught chicken pox. The pain was unbearable and I floated up to the corner of the room. It was so peaceful up there but then I heard my wife coming up stairs and had a hell of a problem to get back.
I can understand you being a bit shell shocked by that news Bob. What made your EP decide that a pacemaker and angiogram were the way to go? Did you have a scan of some sort? Any idea when your appointment will be?
As for those scammers, I hate them. My sister had just lost her husband to cancer and someone rang pretending to be from BT and she unwittingly gave them her card details. Once she put the phone down, she realised she shouldn't have done that and rang me crying. Fortunately the card was cancelled after a call to her bank.
Honestly, I'll do a bit of swearing for you at them. Hateful people.
Thanks for the heads up Bob and yes, its happening more and more, we have to be on our guard constantly, Wishing you all the best with the Pacemaker, as a fellow wearer I can tell you that since implant I have not looked back.
Don't feel bad, Bob. I also nearly got taken for a ride recently. There is a scam running here among we Psychologists/therapists where we are called, told we didn't obey a summons to appear in court to testify for a case we'd had in the past and are at risk of being hauled off to jail unless we pay a fine by sending them money. The price varies between $5,000 in my case to a few thousand in others. And they want the money in gift cards...gifts cards! The kicker is that they tell you to not hang up and stay on the line with them the whole time you are out buying the gift cards, etc. until they are mailed because they are "monitering" you from the police station and will come and arrest you. I actually asked my partner how much money there was in the house when he snapped me out of my trance. Very scary as well as embarassing. Glad you saw through the ruse.
For awareness in case you get any more -any genuine delivery notifications/texts will be from Royal Mail (not post office) and they will usually state who the parcel is from.
I had the same one yesterday. It also said Simon tried to deliver your parcel, which the Royal Mail do not do. In fact the Royal Mail put a card through the door. Also came from a mobile number not Royal Mail. I have blocked the number.
This is a variation of an email that appears to come from courier UPS, stating they have an undelivered parcel, click on the button and fill in the details. I had one at the weekend that even got through my ISP's over-zealous spam trap.
Sorry to hear your news Bob but glad your EP is on the ball and can see this is the best way forward for you so maybe that is good news rather than being missed and left to chance. You are in good hands.
Scammers are the pits and every 🤬 word comes easily to me when I hear what they have and are doing. The sickest I heard was only about a week after the Ukraine war started and those b@$7@r?s were scamming money supposedly for aid. Made me sick to my stomach.
Sadly we all have to be so vigilant these days and even the best get caught. xxx
I was part way along the road to being "smished" as they call it, Bob - and by the same SMS message about three weeks ago. Luckily, Which magazine had an article on this and I'd read to ignore all texts from unknown sources and, instead, to log in online to the sender, i.e. Royal Mail, to see if a notification was there, too. Of course, it wasn't, so that was that.
Best of luck with the angiogram and that it shows no more than your age would warrant and progression of anything unwanted. Is the heart block LBBB, which I have, RBBB or some other?
Well done on spotting it in time Bob. Just a note to say how grateful I am for your contributions to the site. Your experience and comments are most appreciated.
Welcome to the PM club Bob! Preferential treatment at airports now but you won't be able to go on one of those cinema screenings where you live out the film!We are so trusting us Brits that we can be quite gullible. I'm glad my parents weren't internet savvy; it was hard enough stopping them giving card details over the phone.
No shame there at all, it is these people's 'job' to fool people who have other things on their minds. I was once expecting a letter from the TV licencing bureau when a scam email arrived purporting to be from them, Nearly got me!
Or my favourite...”Hi, Microsoft tech support calling...we noticed you have an issue and would like to log on to your computer remotely to fix it” right?Especially hilarious when you have a Mac 😏
I had the same call regarding a fault on my computer which was a different make to the one quoted, well having a free day I put on my little old ladies voice and played along, was having great fun pretending to do as requested even huffing and puffing up the stairs, he really believed me until I had a knock at my door where the game ended , however they rang me back three times to try againNeedless to say my son who is a senior IT engineer told me off for being stupid. Won’t do that again.
Recently a man called Scott Nicholson wanted to be a friend. I ignored the request but he was into my photos and making comments which I found to be really scary.
I am what you would call an I.T. Journeyman...I worked for the government for years, so I’ve seen/heard it all. And the primary reason, after testing Facebook when it first launched, I like many other professionals deemed it unsafe. Text and email work fine for me. Sadly, so many people actually consider FB and other social media, as reliable sources of news and information. I have too many friends and relatives who are so far down the rabbit hole of disinformation, they are gone forever. Question everything, check sources, stay safe.
Good luck with your pm Bob.Always love reading your no nonsense advice.I get at least 2 of these scams everyday.They go to spam and I delete them.Such a pain.
The problem has been compounded by so many of us doing so much more shopping on line since the pandemic. We invariably ask each other “Do I need to keep the porch door open for a delivery today”?
Oddly I had a similar text message saying Simon tried to deliver a parcel and to go onto a website to arrange another delivery, I was just about to respond when I realised I had not purchased anything, so immediately deleted the message.Hatten
Thanks for alerting us Bob, it is so easy to get caught especially at times of stress like you were in. It was a lot to get your head around, being relatively new to a Pacemaker I don’t regret it at all. Hope all goes well for you.
I get them supposedly from customs saying they are waiting to clear my parcel - since I'm not expecting anything and I have told my family never to post anything to me. I just delete them!
Yes Bob, I nearly fell for one. It was a WhatsApp message from ‘my daughter’ Jo (he knew the name) saying she’d lost her phone and this was her new one and number and she was embarrassed to ask but could I forward her some money (by giving her my credit card details) because she had to pay a bill before midnight…. I nearly fell for that one!
I remember you saying Bob that unfortunately AF always returns and so after nearly a year in NSR mind recently did just that. Cardioversion the same day and back in rhythm again now, but for how long?!
The uncertainty is horrible, especially as my heart doesn’t like and so won’t self-correct.
I nearly got caught by the same scam. I was waiting for a parcel so it didn’t seem strange that I’d missed a delivery. Suddenly wondered how the Post Office would have my phone number. Stopped in time before entering bank details. It’s so easy to get scammed.
Good luck with the angiogram and pacemaker. Like they say, growing old is no fun but it’s better than the alternative!
Hope all goes well with the PM. These parcel scams have incorpprated a new element here since Brexit - demands for Customs duties. We fell for that one round Christmas but realised in time it was a scam so cancelled the card. The problem is not helped by inconsistencies and lack of info as to whether there will be duties or not- especially with Amazon. As a result I no longer order on Amazonuk if I can't get stuff here. The Germans get my business.
Hi BobDI'm in NZ and we get a scam from a 'personating' delivery crowd DHL who after you have had an order from overseas wants money so your credit card to pay X amount of euros to deliver. it.
So you ignore it until next time.
Scanmers go away.
My car was stolen and rolled down the hill 3-4 neighbours down. Mitsubishis dont start without a key! So with 2 knives they,h proceeded to b***gger up my ignition. Cant find or adapt another one so insurance writethe car I have had from its birth written off.
How sad is that. 5 cars stolen within 5 days of mine.
No stealing, just boy racing to crash it, or run it off road or burn it!
Best of luck with the Pacemaker Bob, it'll give you a lot of peace of mind. Btw, no lack of scammers in the US either. We got scammed the Gift Card ( a grand) way saying our Amazon account had been hacked. Turns out Amazon doesn't call their customers. I was so disgusted with how we had been taken. And for being so easily drawn in. So everyone, please BEWARE.
Good job you realised it was a scam though. Talk about needing eyes in the back of your head. I hope you are feeling less shocked and can get your head around what your EP is proposing. Best wishes with everything.
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