I spend my
days desperately trying to avoid hackers and phone scammers.
They know I am a retired person and they are absolutely determined to come
between me and my money.
Multiple phone scammers call our house each and every day. I no longer answer the phone if I cannot identify the caller. Instead, I look at the phone when it is ringing to take a look at the name and/or number of whoever is calling us. I pretty much know that any call from area code 407 without an identifying name displayed is from a hardened, psychotic criminal. Who else would be calling me from central Florida? My daughter and husband text me. My son-in-law and his parents email me. My 3 year old grandson has recently figured out how to contact me via Facetime on their iPad (sometimes as early as 7:30 am if his parents are out of the room), and my 11 year old granddaughter tries to avoid communicating with me via modern technology at all costs. Those are the only people I know in Central Florida. I think I am safe in assuming everyone else is psychotic.
The other day I picked up on a phone call from a number with a Southern Florida area code. That particular number had been calling every day (sometimes more than once a day) for weeks and I have to admit I was curious to see what this particular scam was going to be. I did not get the satisfaction of yelling at someone because it turned out to be an automated call. It was malicious Mr. Robot Man telling me he had been trying to get a hold of me to settle our account (never saying what his business name was) and if I did not get back to him he would have to take me to court. Then Mr. Robot Man gave me the choice of either pressing 1 to call him back or 2 to leave a message. Hilarious. If only I had magical powers to create a third choice: press 3 to send unbridled bolts of crackling hot electricity through the phone lines to burn Mr. Robot Man's sorry robot circuits to Hell.
The phone rang while we were eating dinner last night. If got up and walked over to the land-line phone to see if it might be a normal human being trying to get in touch with me. I live in hope. Instead, the caller ID screen on our phone revealed it was from "Voter Consumer." Whatever that means? My husband said it should have read from "Consumer Harassment." I concur. But that reminds me. As the general elections approach we will now start getting political phone calls, too! Ouch.
I also get a ridiculous amount of email spam, even though I try to filter it out. I also try VERY hard not to click on any links or open any emails from sources I do not recognize. I am kind of proud of how distrustful I have become. But they are so tricksy, those computer scumbags. The other day I got an email from Federal Express, or that is what I thought. When I opened the email it said to click a link so I could track my package. Well, I sometimes order online, so I thought it was real. I clicked, dammit! It turned out to be just another trickster scam to get me to buy something I do not need nor want. And now my big fear is that legions of demented hackers are sending pornography related email to everyone in my contact list because I was foolish enough to click on that one miserable link. Sheesh. If you get pornographic emails from me, please know they are not really from me, okay? That particular virus is THE one I have always hoped I could avoid.
A kind and gentle man I know was victimized by that virus a few years ago. I think there are still people out there who fear he is a raging pervert. Poor guy. I also know a high school teacher who was victimized by it. Can you imagine how awful that would be? No doubt she had students in her email address list. Just think of the horror and embarrassment innocent people have suffered because of that virus. In my alternate universe the person who created it would have his/her knuckles removed and then be forced to write "I am sorry for the trouble I caused" 100 times before getting them back. Yes, in my alternate universe knuckles can be removed and then re-attached. There are amazing surgeons there.
I suppose now I should just never open any emails I get. Where will it all end? Mr. Natural (old R. Crumb alternative comic character and mystic guru) would have answered, "In the grave, my boy, in the grave."
Wow, I just now got an email from Wells Fargo Bank telling me that a hacker has been trying to hack into my account and if I would just click on the link they provided they would reinstate my account. Funny thing is, I do not have any business dealings involving Wells Fargo. True story, just happened. Unbelievable.
It is odd imagining this is how some people make a living or get their kicks, by deceiving and humiliating innocent people. You have to wonder why they do this? Of course, they are probably some of the narcissistic sociopaths I wrote about last time. Or maybe they hate old people because they had mean grandparents who pinched their childhood cheeks and wrote them out of their wills. Perhaps they were raised in damp caves by drug addled parents who never hugged them or gave them any encouragement. Or, I suppose they could just be the spawn of the devil? Who knows. Armchair psychology is an imprecise science.
Multiple phone scammers call our house each and every day. I no longer answer the phone if I cannot identify the caller. Instead, I look at the phone when it is ringing to take a look at the name and/or number of whoever is calling us. I pretty much know that any call from area code 407 without an identifying name displayed is from a hardened, psychotic criminal. Who else would be calling me from central Florida? My daughter and husband text me. My son-in-law and his parents email me. My 3 year old grandson has recently figured out how to contact me via Facetime on their iPad (sometimes as early as 7:30 am if his parents are out of the room), and my 11 year old granddaughter tries to avoid communicating with me via modern technology at all costs. Those are the only people I know in Central Florida. I think I am safe in assuming everyone else is psychotic.
The other day I picked up on a phone call from a number with a Southern Florida area code. That particular number had been calling every day (sometimes more than once a day) for weeks and I have to admit I was curious to see what this particular scam was going to be. I did not get the satisfaction of yelling at someone because it turned out to be an automated call. It was malicious Mr. Robot Man telling me he had been trying to get a hold of me to settle our account (never saying what his business name was) and if I did not get back to him he would have to take me to court. Then Mr. Robot Man gave me the choice of either pressing 1 to call him back or 2 to leave a message. Hilarious. If only I had magical powers to create a third choice: press 3 to send unbridled bolts of crackling hot electricity through the phone lines to burn Mr. Robot Man's sorry robot circuits to Hell.
The phone rang while we were eating dinner last night. If got up and walked over to the land-line phone to see if it might be a normal human being trying to get in touch with me. I live in hope. Instead, the caller ID screen on our phone revealed it was from "Voter Consumer." Whatever that means? My husband said it should have read from "Consumer Harassment." I concur. But that reminds me. As the general elections approach we will now start getting political phone calls, too! Ouch.
I also get a ridiculous amount of email spam, even though I try to filter it out. I also try VERY hard not to click on any links or open any emails from sources I do not recognize. I am kind of proud of how distrustful I have become. But they are so tricksy, those computer scumbags. The other day I got an email from Federal Express, or that is what I thought. When I opened the email it said to click a link so I could track my package. Well, I sometimes order online, so I thought it was real. I clicked, dammit! It turned out to be just another trickster scam to get me to buy something I do not need nor want. And now my big fear is that legions of demented hackers are sending pornography related email to everyone in my contact list because I was foolish enough to click on that one miserable link. Sheesh. If you get pornographic emails from me, please know they are not really from me, okay? That particular virus is THE one I have always hoped I could avoid.
A kind and gentle man I know was victimized by that virus a few years ago. I think there are still people out there who fear he is a raging pervert. Poor guy. I also know a high school teacher who was victimized by it. Can you imagine how awful that would be? No doubt she had students in her email address list. Just think of the horror and embarrassment innocent people have suffered because of that virus. In my alternate universe the person who created it would have his/her knuckles removed and then be forced to write "I am sorry for the trouble I caused" 100 times before getting them back. Yes, in my alternate universe knuckles can be removed and then re-attached. There are amazing surgeons there.
I suppose now I should just never open any emails I get. Where will it all end? Mr. Natural (old R. Crumb alternative comic character and mystic guru) would have answered, "In the grave, my boy, in the grave."
Wow, I just now got an email from Wells Fargo Bank telling me that a hacker has been trying to hack into my account and if I would just click on the link they provided they would reinstate my account. Funny thing is, I do not have any business dealings involving Wells Fargo. True story, just happened. Unbelievable.
It is odd imagining this is how some people make a living or get their kicks, by deceiving and humiliating innocent people. You have to wonder why they do this? Of course, they are probably some of the narcissistic sociopaths I wrote about last time. Or maybe they hate old people because they had mean grandparents who pinched their childhood cheeks and wrote them out of their wills. Perhaps they were raised in damp caves by drug addled parents who never hugged them or gave them any encouragement. Or, I suppose they could just be the spawn of the devil? Who knows. Armchair psychology is an imprecise science.
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So, whadayathink?