Hackers, Scams, and I Think I Love You – please send money

Hackers, Scams, and I Think I Love You – please send money

I have read a couple of blogs lately that have dealt with hackers getting into your email and or Facebook to send messages to your contacts saying they are in trouble, usually on a foreign trip and everything has been stolen and are bereft left with nothing and please send money to help them out.

That got me thinking about dating site scams I have encountered but never fell for.  Ah yes, before your brow crinkles in puzzlement and surprise, I rode that train for awhile.  Two or three yeas as I recall because it wasn’t that long ago.  Anyway I had fun and made a couple of life long friends.

The online chats were pretty good and the people for the most part were decent enough.  What I did find is that most people go on line in hopes of actually meeting someone, but then something changes.  They find a smorgasbord too tempting to resist and then end up becoming serial daters always checking out the next one just in case.

But I digress.  One chap, whose picture was nothing short of gorgeous started a chat.  How charming and refined!  Wealthy.  He lived not too far from me but not too close either.  He seemed quite content to get to know me over time.  He travelled brokering gold and diamonds and as a matter of fact happened to be in Ghana right now but was looking forward to meeting on his return.  He would recount his adventures of the day in detail.  This went on for several days and then the tone of his messages changed.  He felt in his heart and soul that we had something special.  This baffled me because I was content but harbored no great feelings for him.

Then one night he messaged that something had gone wrong with his credit card and his company was trying to get it straightened out but could I please send him money.

Well I read this to the girls in the office, more experienced than I who filled me in, as it were.  I had already told him no anyway.

Within twenty-four hours I get another email from an equally handsome chatee I had been corresponding with who guess what!- had exactly the same situation in exactly the same country.  Well what could I do?

I responded immediately to send me his exact map coordinates and I would send my private jet to retrieve him.  Then alas, I had suddenly realized my jet was on loan to our Prime Minister but I had the perfect solution.  I gave him the name of my other poor love, who happened to be in the same city.  Perhaps they could get together and figure a way out.  This particular scam is called the Nigerian/Ghana Emergency Scan.

Sadly I have to report I have met women, needy and wanting to believe someone could love them that fell for this and sent large amounts of money they could not afford.

There is a link below to an excellent site which discusses all kinds of scams.  Wouldn’t hurt to look them over.  Better to ne prepared!

http://www.onlinedatingsafetytips.com/Top10Scams.cfm

Things My Mother Said…Long Ago

Things My Mother Said…long ago

My Mom died in 1983.  We weren’t very close for a lot of reasons I guess,but since she has gone I have come to realize what a remarkable person she was.
And every day I tell her.  Things come back.  Things I did not see or understand back then.  There is lot to say on that but today is all about actual words from her.

She said:

In the morning we close the blinds on this side of the house and in the afternoon on this side.  No such thing as air conditioning then.  1954

Some day people won’t need money.  People will just use a card.  For the life of me I could not figure this one out.  It was long before the concept of debit. 1958

Someday a woman won’t need a man to have a baby. 1957.  Since I did not know the facts of life I wasn’t sure what this meant except I knew there were Mommies and Daddies and they had children.  I could not conceive why a Mommy would have children without a Daddy.

Life is hard. You have to work.  All of us learned a great work ethic from our folks. I started working at fourteen, through high school and nursing.  It is who I am.

Don’t look at me in that tone of voice young lady!  I could never figure out how she knew what I was thinking.  So much for the poker face.

Life isn’t fair.  Get over it. I didn’t know if I believed this one for a long time.

This woman worked in a factory most of her life raising five of us.  My Dad was super and I idolized him.  But it wasn’t until I grew up that I realized what she gave, what she sacrificed to raise us and how hard it must have been.

She was Super Woman.

RIP Esther Byers Jenkins Gingerich.  For you have earned your rest and are still adored by all of us here.

I Hate Dust

I Hate Dust 

Not enough to disturb it.  I just hate the way it is.. well so dusty.  I try to live and let live and with so many clean freaks out there I figure it needs to have a safe haven somewhere.

Please do not for one minute think I am freako here its just that today everything is about bacteria and anti bacteria.  We have cleaned and sanitized ourselves silly and right into risky health.  We, whoever we are, have no immunity and the bugs are winning.

 Antibiotics were a good thing way back when but have been so overused the bugs got smart and mutated. Now we have super bugs, MRSA, VRE, and so on.  There is always a new one coming along. 

Okay all that is a little over dramatic on the dust thing.  Another procrastinating excuse.  Any way I do get dusting now and then and it sure feels good to see every thing gleaming and shining.

By the way, on yesterdays post – I never got the door washed but I got a comment from Baxter Bunny that it is good Feng Shui to keep your doors especially the front door.  That one I can embrace!   The only Feng Shui I ever remember is to keep your toilet seat lid down to stop the flow of money down the drain. So naturally I do that one.  I call it my financial planning strategy.

And thank you to all who answered my question seeking more Procrastination excuses..I mean reasons.  Of course most had an answer but would have to get back to me sometime when they got around to it..like true procrastinators! 

Now I think I’ll go wash a door!

Is he wondering if Granny is all there?

Honest I was not lecturing him on bugs

or dust!