During this time of the year, anyone will do anything in their power to make a quick buck. This, unfortunately, includes scam artists who will try to swindle people of their money.
For anyone, no matter if you are neurodiverse or not, these guys are people you do not want to mess around with because protecting your hard-earned money is essential.
Take for example you see something online, like a “complete series” dvd or blu ray of a classic television show that the real company has been unable to produce for the home video or streaming market. It’s priced ridiculously, but you buy it anyway. Then, once you put the product on, it doesn’t work and by the time you try and find the selling party responsible, they are already long gone.
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Sadly, this is not only wasting your hard-earned money, but also criminal. The person who sold you the so called “complete series” is probably a wanted criminal for breaking the law of film and video distribution. What’s more is that these guys can lurk around anywhere, even on trusted sites like Ebay and I-Offer.
Perhaps no one will be more gullible than neurodiverse individuals because it is a known fact that we tend to believe anything we hear and see. Believe me, I’ve been one of those people who would see things that would eventually turn out to be too good to be true.
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If you are going to be holiday shopping online this year, whether you are neurodiverse or neurotypical, it helps to have someone you can trust go online with you if you come across a suspicious site or account on sites like Ebay or I-Offer. You can show them what are you are looking for and if they think that its suspicious, it’s important to take their word into account and move on to a more legit business like Amazon.com.
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It also helps if you get a firsthand account of why there is awareness of scammers and piracy in the world of business. In the United Kingdom for example, video piracy is heavily promoted.
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Now, there are also those organizations and non-profits that sell product that their members themselves made. For example, we at the Unicorn Children’s Foundation have a boutique called the Uniquely Gifted Boutique where members with developmental and physical disabilities have made items to be sold to the public.
If you want to support their hard work as well as the Unicorn Children’s Foundation itself, feel free to click on the link below. Trust me, you will find product just as good as anything else out there!
You can also support other non-profits via Amazon.com by switching over to smile.amazon.com and selecting a non-profit of your choosing to support. Whatever amount you use to purchase goes towards that particular non-profit.
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In conclusion, we all want to go that extra mile this time of year, but it’s really important to be mindful of who we want to support as it’s really important to be on that same page. It will save you and your family and friends a lot of trouble in the end!
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Catch you all later!!
Jeff Snyder, Autism/Neurodiversity Self-Advocate and Public Speaker 