Hook, Zoom & Almost Sinker

THIS IS A PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT...

A wee break in travel blogging...

I almost got scammed. Big time.

Almost...

The worst part? I was getting so fricking annoyed throughout the entire ordeal that I nearly missed every single red flag. If I'm being honest... I DID miss every single red flag... until the very end. The scammers contacted me on my Nibble Tours email... and they wanted to do a Zoom call with me to discuss "things."

Who the hell needs to speak to me on a video call to plan a FOOD TOUR?

Absurd. Surely I could answer their questions by email.

So many times, I kept wanting to write a really cruel response and... in the nicest possible way... tell this guy to f*ck off. But that little voice in my head kept saying, “Be nice. It’s for the business.”

Errrr.

But there are limits. I’ve been in business for three years now, and no one... NO ONE... has ever needed to discuss a two-hour food tour with me over Zoom. And yet, here we are.

This is how the email conversation unfolded...

Anthony Rush: “Hello, l’m reaching out because I’m helping my son and his fiancée with their upcoming honeymoon and travel plans. We’re currently looking for an experienced and dependable travel agent who can help them put together a memorable and well-organized trip that fits their preferences and budget.”

Okay. Not entirely sure why this landed in my inbox. Nowhere on my website do I give the impression that I’m that kind of tour guide. And I’m certainly not a travel agent.

At all.

But… the email sounds legit, right?

Me: “How can I help? Do you want pricing?

Thanks, Joanna”

Anthony Rush: “While I’m helping coordinate things initially, my son and his fiancée would like to speak with you directly so they can explain their travel goals, preferences, budget, and the type of experience they have in mind. We feel a quick conversation would be much easier than going back and forth through messages and would give everyone a better idea of whether it would be a good fit. If you’re available, we’d be happy to arrange a Zoom or Google Meet call at a time that works for you. We do have some availability today, but we’re also happy to work around your schedule. Please let me know what day and time would be most convenient for you. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you!”

Seems like a pretty annoying father/father-in-law.... BUT... still sounds reasonably legitimate. Except for one tiny detail. I’M STILL NOT A TRAVEL AGENT.

Me: “That sounds great… but you realize I run food tours in Banff, right? I don’t think I can help with budgeting, goals… etc etc. If you want to book a food tour, you can go directly onto my site… and book.

Joanna :-)”

There. Couldn’t be clearer.

I run food tours. In Banff. You book them. You eat food. Everyone goes home happy.

Simple.

Anthony Rush: “I’ll love to go on a zoom call with you and my child so we can talk more please.”

My child????

What happened to the son and his fiancée?

Me: “I am currently travelling in South Korea. I am not a travel agent so not really confident about going on a zoom call with you and your child… but if you have any questions about doing a 2-hour food tour in Banff. I would be more than happy to help. Or you can check out the different tours & what they offer here-www.nibbletours.com

Joanna”

Notice how I deliberately threw the word child right back at him?

A subtle little hint that I was finding this whole thing rather bizarre.

Anthony Rush: “Yes we have questions about doing food tours”

Oh. Okay then.

Sudden change of direction, but at least we’re finally talking about food tours.

Still don’t want to Zoom with you, though.

Me: “Fire away!”

See? Friendly. Casual. Helpful. Professional.

Ask your questions. I’ll answer them.

By email.

ONLY email.

Anthony Rush: “Can we schedule a zoom call now?”

OH. MY. GOD.

NO!

What part of "I’m in South Korea" and "I don’t really want to do a Zoom call" is this man struggling to comprehend? At this point, I’m convinced he’s just a particularly demanding potential customer with absolutely no respect for boundaries.

Me: “Thanks for your quick response. Do you really think a zoom call is necessary? As I mentioned, I’m traveling in South Korea right now. Why don’t you ask me any of your questions on here… and if I feel any of them can’t be answered on email, I will set up a time to call.”

Reasonable, right?

Anthony Rush: “I’m not the only one to ask the question and I promise you it won’t take long just 10 minutes is okay”

Now THIS is where I should have started paying attention.

The punctuation.

The sentence structure.

The increasingly desperate insistence on a video call.

Looking back, I suspect those first few messages had been carefully crafted to sound professional. But as the conversation dragged on, the whole performance started falling apart.

Unfortunately, I was far too irritated to notice.

Me: “Is this in regard to a group tour? I do those. I am out with friends right now. I’m on vacation in South Korea. Any questions you have, fire them my way whenever you think of them.”

How many times do I have to announce that I'm ON VACATION IN SOUTH KOREA before someone gets the message?

And, for the record, I wasn’t actually out with friends.

I was lying on THE FLOOR of my traditional Korean hanok.

Go figure.

Anthony Rush: “Yes please is just me and my son and his wife to be please if you can just spare your time please just 10 minutes of your time is okay”

Oh, good grief.

Now the fiancée is a wife-to-be, the child is a son again, and punctuation has apparently left the building entirely. Even if this guy HAD been legitimate, how incredibly rude to keep pushing someone who’s repeatedly explained that they’re on holiday.

I was LIVID.

I think that’s exactly why I missed what was happening. I was so focused on how irritating this man was that I wasn’t thinking about why he was behaving this way.

And then I did something really stupid...

Me: “Ok. Fine. I’m going aside for ten minutes. Send me a zoom link right now.”

I caved.

I actually hauled myself off the floor (not an easy task), put on my slippers and a sweater, and went outside to talk to this clown about arranging a food tour for his stupid child and future wife.

Fuming.

Absolutely FUMING.

Anthony Rush:

“Join Zoom Meeting:

(odd link... I took it out)

The link will join you automatically witu us here thank you so much for helping us just click on the invite link”

But before clicking, I made one final attempt to regain some control over this ridiculous situation.

Me: “Can I please inquire as to when the honeymoon is? Might this call wait until I’m back in Canada? Then I’d be more than happy to go over things in more detail…”

He completely ignored my question. And as I write this, I’m realizing just how obvious the whole thing was. Honestly. What was I thinking?

Anthony Rush: “We’re still waiting for you to join us”

Seriously?

Not even a sorry for bothering you while you’re on vacation?

Nothing?

Just more pressure.

Well…

I CLICKED THE LINK.

Yep.

I did.

Thankfully, it didn’t work.

Me: “Ok… it told me:

Session Error!

Oh Sorry, This session is only Available on Android and Windows Devices.

I’m on an iPhone. think perhaps it might be best to either ask me questions online or let’s wait until I’m back in Canada. My friends and I are just about to order dinner… as I’m in South Korea on vacation.”

There I go again.

South Korea. Friends. Vacation.

I was practically waving a giant flag that said PLEASE LEAVE ME ALONE.

How I was still so oblivious is beyond me...

But

then came the message that finally snapped me out of my irritated little trance.

Anthony Rush: “Oh you can make use of your window pc if you have one there to make it work fast for us as well”

Wait.

WHAT?

Make use of my Window PC?

If I have one here?

To make it work faster for them?

Was I in the Twilight Zone?

What kind of person expects a food tour operator who’s travelling around South Korea to whip out a Windows computer so they can discuss a two-hour food tour in Banff?

And why... exactly... would a Zoom meeting only work on Android or Windows?

Suddenly, the penny dropped. Something was very, very wrong. I copied the entire conversation into ChatGPT and asked whether it looked legitimate.

The response was essentially: SCAM. SCAM. SCAM. DO NOT CLICK THAT LINK.

Except… I’d already clicked it.

Thankfully, the link hadn’t worked on my iPhone. Man... it wasn't even a legit zoom link! How dumb am I? I might as well just hand over my credit card and be done with it! But... good old iPhone detecting scams and blocking fraud for me! My trusted pal.

The fact that this clown (and when I use the word 'clown' - I totally am aware that I am, in fact, the clown) was trying to push me toward a Windows or Android device made the whole thing even more suspicious. It seems the goal was never to book a food tour. It was to get me onto that link, possibly to trick me into downloading something malicious or handing over information.

And I’d come dangerously close to playing along.

These assholes are getting trickier every single day.

I like to think I’m pretty savvy when it comes to spotting scams. Normally, I can smell one a mile away. Bad grammar, strange requests, suspicious links… I’m usually the first person to raise an eyebrow.

But this one got under my skin...

Not because it was particularly convincing in hindsight, but because it exploited something I take seriously: my business.

I didn’t want to be rude to a potential customer. I didn’t want to lose a booking. I kept telling myself to be patient and professional, even when every instinct in my body was telling me this guy was being completely unreasonable. The irony is that I was so busy trying not to tell him to F-off that I almost let him scam me. It wasn’t just the suspicious link. It was realizing how easily frustration, politeness and the pressure to provide good customer service can override common sense.

This is the first time I’ve encountered a scam quite like this, and it’s certainly made me rethink how I respond to persistent inquiries. Next time someone insists on a video call to discuss eating poutine in Banff, I’m trusting my instincts.

And maybe... just maybe... I’ll tell them to F-off.

Professionally... of course.

EVERYONE... BEWARE!!!

Thank you for listenin to my Ted Talk.