Organized stalkers can and will target an entire family or group of friends. For years you will hear friends and family complain about little bad/weird things that happened to them. You listen and dwell on it for a bit and move on, shrugging it off as a minor annoyance. When you come to the realization that you are a TI and there are no more coincidences, you suddenly realize how all these bad/weird things happening to you and everyone in your circle is connected. The following are some examples from the past 10 years:

Mom: Woman from random credit card company continuously calling and harassing her saying she owed money. In the end she did not.

Mom: Man called and asked her to place money on her front door for the fire dept. When she didn’t do it he actually called back and asked why.

Mom: Woman supposedly from her bank called and said she was going to send a man named “Shamus” over to talk about her account.

Mom: Man came out a Dunkin Donuts and started yelling at her for putting a ping in his door after she parked next to him. She did not damage his car. He insisted. She was at least 80 years old when this took place.

Mom: Financial adviser at Wells Fargo in Ridgefield, CT had her to take out a 20,000 dollar home equity loan that she neither asked for or needed.

Mom: Persistent hang up calls over a span of 6 months to a year, until she finally got caller ID/blocking.

Mom: X-ray tech did and entire mammogram series and then told her she had to repeat it because there was no film in the machine.

Mom: Male X-ray tech was rude/rough when placing needles in her breast for an X-ray.

Mom: Kirby vaccum sent extremely aggressive salesman to her condo to sell her a very expensive, heavy vacuum with too many parts. She was 82 at the time.

Mom: Doctor did not use local anesthetic when stitching a gash on her forehead.

Mom: Returned home from weekend trip to find gas burner on, flaming up over the stove.

Mom: Neighbor’s girlfriend from upstairs condo wrote a paper about my Mom “for school” which included my Mom’s full name and address and the fact that she lived alone and rarely saw her family. It read more like a legal document than anything else. The neighbor was an HOA board member.

Mom: “Swapping” of items took place in her home including food items, a Waterford crystal clock I brought her from Dublin, and possibly a diamond ring that was a family heirloom. She also had a brand new paring knife that went missing right after a sister came to visit. “Swapping” is when perps replace an item with something that looks similar, only it will be either damaged, very worn, made of a different material, or has a slightly different design. The effect is to gaslight the victim, or make you think you are mentally ill because you will know it’s not the same item but couldn’t possibly imagine how it changed. For example: Exchanging a newer dvd player with an identical one that is broken. Replacing a fresh cantaloupe from the market with one that is puckered and dented all over. Replacing a crystal mantle clock with one that has a very similar design. They like to do this with items that you enjoy, are unique,  or that they can make a profit from by selling. They do not have to be valuable items.

Swapping went on in my home for years and years before I realized I was a TI this summer. They actually swapped out a new toilet. I will write another post on that topic eventually…