I pride myself on my cynical and technical ability to avoid scams. Until recently, I had never fallen victim to a computer phishing scam or virus. I have been associated with the technology industry since 1981 and had become very comfortable, yeah, smug, in my ability to say scam and virus free.

As with anything, pride comes before a fall. As an elder at the church, part of my duties is to oversee office activities. I occasionally get involved in mildly technical issues. I love our staff at the church; we are sort of like a family. As a retired guy, it is nice to have co-workers again.

Last week I received an email invitation to a party. It seemed like a legitimate party for someone I know. Emotion got the better of me, and I let my usual cynical guard down; I clicked on the invitation. Silly emotions. The invitation began acting strangely, and I knew something was wrong.

I started receiving phone calls and emails from friends, family, and co-workers from years ago. I received email bounces from people with bad addresses. My sent folder was going wild. I managed to stop Gmail from sending when it was about halfway through my contact list. It turns out I fell victim to the “You’re Invited” email scam.

I felt like a fool. How could I fall for such a scam? I replied to everyone, telling them to delete the email and change their email password if they clicked the invitation. I sent a note to all the members of our church and posted information about the virus on my Facebook account.

Then a strange thing happened. Since the virus was ripping through my contact list and sending emails, it connected with people I have not heard from in years. I began receiving phone calls from former colleagues around the world. We talked about the virus for a few minutes, then quickly moved on to life updates. I found myself genuinely uplifted by reconnecting with past friends and acquaintances.

I learned several things during this phishing episode. Complacency leading to failure applies to computer security in a big way. Something I always tell my mother has bounced back to me: when in doubt, don’t click it. Fortunately, this phishing scheme is not particularly harmful. Most people who know me were very suspicious, as it seemed very unlikely I would have a party like the one described in the email. This is the one time being a party pooper paid off.

I don’t recommend using computer viruses or phishing schemes as a tool to reconnect with past friends and colleagues. It was great to hear from some wonderful folks who made my career such an enriching experience. I strongly suggest reconnecting with folks and skipping the viruses and phishing.

By the way, if you receive a sketchy email like this from me or anyone else, here’s the FTC link with steps to take. I am truly sorry if this event disrupted anyone’s day.

https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2026/05/asked-enter-your-email-address-and-password-open-party-invite-thats-scam

Make The Most of This Day!