It Wasn’t Me

I received a security email today from Facebook in response to a password reset request that someone submitted (the email came to me from security@facebookmail.com). I received a simultaneous text message too. If you don’t know, Facebookmail.com is the domain Facebook uses when communicating with users about the security of their account. The email I received included the six digit code that should be used had I been the one who really requested to reset my password. It’s the same type of email I would get if I tried to log in from a different browser than I normally use. I have written a lot about scammers in the past; however this is the first time, I think, I have written about someone attempting to gain access to my Facebook.

As much as many people dislike Facebook, it’s a very popular venue for scammers and hackers. It’s especially popular if you hadn’t used your account in a while. A year ago, when I vacated Facebook for several weeks taking a social media break, I returned to find that someone else was posting messages to my wall, all of which were in another language. Fortunately, my account wasn’t compromised, and it didn’t appear that anybody had gained access to my account during my absence.  That’s one thing the scammers and hackers like to do. They gain access to your account, then they send messages to your friends masquerading as you, oftentimes asking for a loan or coaxing them into a fraudulent investment scheme. But that didn’t seem to be the case, and nobody mentioned to me about any odd messages they might have received. But I changed my password anyway just to be safe and initiated two-factor authentication. This was before Facebook required users to activate that security setting.

So, what is two-factor authentication? You should probably already know, since many accounts, whether social, financial, email, and other types of accounts are requiring it. But, according to Facebook’s website, “Two-factor authentication is a security feature that helps protect your Facebook account in addition to your password. [When] you set up two-factor authentication, you’ll be asked to enter a special login code or confirm your login attempt each time [you’re] accessing Facebook from a browser or mobile device [Facebook doesn’t] recognize. You can also get alerts when someone tries logging in from a browser or mobile device [Facebook doesn’t] recognize.”

That’s what happened with me today. Someone tried to gain access to my account, generating the message. This isn’t the first time that has happened, although this is my first time chronicling it. It has happened several times during my tenure on Facebook. The notification email used to indicate where the person was who tried to gain access. The last time the culprit was in Seoul, Korea. The time before that, it was Tamale, Ghana. But this time, that information was omitted, which is odd that Facebook stopped reporting that to users. Even if the person were using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), it would still show a user’s masked location. So, it seems that Facebook is no longer sharing that information.

By way of background, a VPN is a valuable software add-on, that allows users to hide their browsing activity, identity, and location, allowing for greater privacy and autonomy. Anyone seeking a safer, freer, and more secure online experience could benefit from a VPN. Additionally, it can give users access to content online that might otherwise not be available to them. For instance, sometimes when attempting to view an audio or video file, such as on Youtube or Apple Music, for example, I’ll receive an error message that the content I’m trying to access is not available in my country. Changing my location within the VPN can open that additional content. One downside though is some websites block users who are using a VPN. Many sites employ a VPN detector, and they deny users access who are using a VPN. This is due in large measure because scammers like to use a VPN. Blocking VPN users is a tiny step to stop and block the scammers. Some sites that provide adult content might also block users who have a VPN to help identify users in the event they are involved in human trafficking or to validate someone accessing age-restricted material. But most of the sites I have visited operated fine, with no problem. On the rare occasion when I’m blocked, I just turn the VPN off temporarily then turn it back on when I am done. Even if Facebook doesn’t share the location of those attempting to access someone’s account, I hope the company keeps track of it. It could be an important metric to report when determining the source of scammers and hackers.

Anecdotally, people are always saying everything scam related happens in Nigeria and India, and it’s true; much of it does originate from those countries. But many scammers and hackers also are in China, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. These six locales are in the top ten. I wish more could be done to address scammers and hackers. At least in the case of Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines, those places have positive, close diplomatic relations with the United States.

There ought to be more of a partnership with those locales so the culprits committing these crimes against US citizens can be held accountable. It ought to be simple. Unfortunately, in many of these places where the scammers operate, the police and the governments are quite corrupt. It wouldn’t surprise me if the scammers give the police “leave me alone” money. The good news is, more of them are prosecuted now than were prosecuted a decade ago. Perhaps in time the long arm of the law will extend to more places and stop all these perpetrators.

MYOB*

 

The other day, I was in a store and spent $4 on Power Ball – two plays. The store employee asked if I wanted two tickets or a single ticket. I indicated a single ticket would be fine. As I walked away, I said, “If I win the jackpot, you win too.”

Another customer who was leaving the store as I was leaving overheard my comment and said, “You’re crazy. If I win the jackpot, I’m not giving any to the store employee.”  I suppose that customer was in the dark on these matters. Retailers that sell a ticket that wins the top prize earns between 5% and 6% of the jackpot. The exact amount varies slightly from one state to the next, but it is capped at $1 million. The current Power Ball jackpot is a little over $1 billion. That’s a nice Christmas in July for a lucky customer and for the store owner. So, when I said to the store owner that he’ll win if I win, I wasn’t saying I was giving him part of my winnings. I was merely saying he automatically wins around 5% of the jackpot if my ticket is a jackpot winner.

I explained all of this to that customer. She was surprised. She had no idea. I won’t judge her too much, though. She’s probably not alone. I surmise many people don’t know this. Ordinarily I advocate for people to tend to their own affairs and stay out of mine. But by interjecting herself into my affairs, she learned something she otherwise might not have learned.

* MYOB = mind your own business, in case you didn’t know.

Slanted Media

For most of my life, I have been a staunch news junkie. I seek out news from various sources. I got disgruntled around 2016 at the reporting around the polls and the presidential election, and cut myself off of news for a while. After about 18 months or so after that, I got back into news.

If I see a new story in one place, I might follow-up and seek out additional information on that same thing from other sources, and those sources include going to other traditional news sources in print, television and radio; blogs; podcasts; and newsletters and magazines. Getting information from multiple sources, even if some of them are not always valid or reliable sources, can offer different perspectives and lead the reader to opportunities to further research the topic. . . almost like a research paper. Our news shouldn’t be that way. But with the decline in the quality of the news reporting of today, the onus tends to rest with the reader to ensure they are getting the complete picture. The reporters and journalists don’t do that for the reader like they once did. I always find it interesting to see and hear varying points of view, especially when they are so diametrically different from what others are reporting. I wonder if they are reporting on the same thing given the news reports are so different.

In addition for my amusement, I like to seek out news from very right-slanting and from very left-slanting sources —- and from sources in between. That helps me to see which ones are more or less trustworthy. Some of them give a story that leans to their intellectual and political vantage point and not necessarily based on what is factually accurate. I long ago realized that news professionals don’t follow the code of ethics, or as I like to call them the commandments of print and broadcast journalism. One of the biggest ones that gets violated is this: News professionals should not produce a story based on a personal opinion or a personal interest or based on partisan interests. There are some others, but this is the one I see news professionals trampling on more than any of those others.

This came to light as I flipped through the news channels on the evening of 4 April 2023, the evening following the formal criminal charges brought against former President Donald Trump. On one channel, the news personnel on air and the guests commended the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office on its efforts to promulgate this indictment. On another channel, the opposite occurred, calling it a travesty of justice. Still other channels presented a mixture of viewpoints. All of them strayed away from the idea of remaining neutral and reporting on just the facts rather than interject opinions based on emotions.

Approximately 10 years ago, I attended a public, County Council meeting for the county where I live. Afterwards, I saw news clips about it, and some of the comments for one of the presenters were cut off, which made it appear the individual actually made one point but had made an entirely different point. Had I not been present, I never would have known. I began to realize some media outlets lack integrity.

I think back to when the shift began toward news professionals strongly opining over the new about which they report. Well, I can’t say when it started; however the first time I recall noticing was in the late 80s during the Congressional inquiries and hearings that preceded the criminal trial of Lt. Colonel Oliver North. North stood trial regarding a scandal during the Regan administration, in which North acknowledged responsibility for selling weapons and ammunition to a counterrevolutionary group, the Contras, from Nicaragua. It became known as the Iran-Contra Affair.

By way of background, Iran and Iraq were at war, and Iran sought an advantage through a request to the United States to secure weapons. The only problem is, there was an embargo against doing business with Iran. But President Regan thought this deal could be perfect to help secure the release of American hostages.  By the time the deal was done, by the time the sales were discovered, more than 1,500 missiles had been shipped to Iran. Three hostages had been released, only to be replaced with three more, in what Secretary of State George Shultz called “a hostage bazaar.”  Some people in the administration felt it was wasteful, since new Americans were captured after the hostages were released. North was convicted and sentenced to a three-year suspended prison term, two years of probation, $150,000 in fines, and 1,200 hours of community service. His conviction was eventually overturned. An appeals court decision ruled that some witnesses could have been affected by portion’s of North’s immunized congressional testimony. It’s all moot though. There was the buzz that once the appeals were over, Regan would have pardoned him if the courts did not rule in North’s favor. After all, North fell on the sword and didn’t implicate Regan.

This ordeal unraveled when then-Attorney General Edwin Meese discovered Iran had paid only about half of the $30 million it promised while negotiating the deal. The scandal blossomed from there. The whole ordeal was very complex and convoluted; you can go and research it for yourselves. I recall the news media was quite divided in its reporting of it. Some vilified the whole deal. Others praised it. Some condemned North for taking the blame and not naming others in the Administration who probably should have gone down with him. There were some media outlets that directly attacked President Regan for authorizing the deal. The way things were going, some people like myself who watched the Congressional hearings and North’s trial thought Regan came razor thin close to being on trial himself.

I imagine that’s probably not the first time the media was widely divided on it’s reporting. But I don’t have a recollection of an incident prior to this. How does an entire industry make such a broad shift? Even with some media networks that have had a reputation of having objective reporting, you can still see stories that are obviously slanted. Will it ever go back to how it was? No. I highly doubt it.

Many look back to news icons such as Ed Bradley, Walter Kronkite, Barbara Walters, Mike Wallace, Connie Chung, Dan Rather, or Tom Brokaw. People respected them because their reporting was generally objective and middle-of-the road. I suspect those days are gone forever.

Art Speak

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Mona Lisa Replica
(Getty Images)

One of the most fascinating genres in the world is art. When I say art, I’m talking about it from the broadest vantage point. I’m talking about all art such as movies, music, TV shows, paintings and sculptures, dance, written works, photography, and the several other sub-compartments that are included within art. I’m referring to all of it.

I say it’s fascinating because a person’s appreciation of it can vary immensely. I was looking up a new movie that just came out, reading reviews for it. Mind you, I am not one who decides to see a movie based on reviews. But it’s just fun to read what other everyday people have to say who aren’t professional critics. I usually will read a professional critic’s review after I’ve seen a movie, read a book, heard an album, or saw an art exhibit. But I also like reading the thoughts of laypeople as well.

Anyway, for this particular movie, most people raved about it. Approximately every third or fifth person disliked it. People ranked it up to five stars and left comments. Reading everyone’s comments, I can’t help but wonder if they saw the same movie. It’s odd to me that one person can love something and someone else can hate it. But then, that’s what makes art so fascinating. When it comes to art, beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder.

I sometimes face backlash when I express that I don’t see the big deal about the world famous painting, Mona Lisa. I have yet to see it in person. I have seen many virtual displays of it as well as replicas. Mona Lisa has been adored for centuries; it is the most expensive painting in the world. It holds the Guinness Book of Records for the highest-known painting insurance valuation in history, equivalent to $1 billion as of 2023. She doesn’t thrill me. But that’s okay. There are some works of art I like that others may not appreciate. It’s our individual differences that make the world such a rich place. Wouldn’t it be mighty doggone boring if we all were just alike and liked the same things? That’s why I think I wouldn’t like hanging out with beings from other planets. They’re always depicted as clones of one another; they look, dress, and talk alike. I prefer to stand out.

We all are a work of art in our own way. Embrace that.

Catfish Scams are Never-Ending

Adobe Stock Image

It’s very sad that people become victims of catfished romance scams. Catfishing is a term that means presenting an identity that is other than your true identity. I have written about this in the past; read my article titled, Catfish, Catfish, Catfish to learn the origin of the term. I have written other articles about it too: Have You Been Catfished?, Catfish Chronicles, Catfish Chronicles: Part Two, On Being Cynt Marshall, What’s In A Name?, and several others. A search of catfish on my site will bring them all up. These I listed are the ones I am most proud of and enjoyed researching and writing the most.

Anyhow, I digress. The incidence of victimization we saw in 2022 is staggering, more than $1 billion dollars from approximately 70,00 people, and that’s just within the United States. The one piece of good news is that it’s approximately a 10 percent decrease from 2021. But decrease or not, it’s still higher than it ought to be. A 10 percent decrease from a billion dollars is paltry, looking at the big picture.

The most troubling thing, at least for me, is that romance scams are not new. These scams aren’t even almost new. They have been around for years, even before the Internet. The Internet has made it easier for the scammers to perpetrate their scams, because they are so slick they get victims to dish out money without having ever met face-to-face, oftentimes without even speaking to them via voice calls. Many don’t even converse via video calls, such as with Skype, Zoom, MS Teams, or Poly.

I read about a Mesa, Arizona woman who says she met a man at a conference that ended up scamming her. Maria Tim Baca Rojo’s love interest went on a contract assignment to Russia and began asking for money, and she sent it – more than $200,000. She lost her four-bedroom house and ended having to downsize to a studio apartment. This incident is the old school means of scamming someone. Scammers met their victims from classified ads in newspapers and magazines or from marriage bureaus and dating agencies. More on that later. The internet makes a scammer’s job easier and can perpetrate the scam more quickly using technology.

Looking back to the end of the 18^th century, agencies that referred to as marriage bureaus, matrimonial bureaus, or dating agencies were very popular. Lovelorn men and women went into these agencies, met with a counselor, and expressed the type of person they wanted to meet, with the list of traits and attributes they thought would make the perfect romantic partner, for a nominal fee. One of the earliest noted instances of these bureaus was in 1799 in Europe, in Wales. Mail order bride businesses originated around that same time, in the early 1800s. Men and women thumbed through mail-order agencies to find lovers. Many of the relationships were successful for both parties. People would find the love of their lives and lived happily ever after. But that wasn’t true in all instances. Some of them were victimized and lost lots of money. Once the scammers bilked the victim for as much as they thought they could get, they vanished.

There are several sitcoms that broached this topic. Here are the ones that immediately come to mind:

I. Season 3, Episode 9 (aired in 1962) of The Andy Griffith Show touched on this catfish phenomenon in the episode titled, Floyd the Gay Deceiver (gay meaning not a homosexual man but rather, a lighthearted, carefree, and philandering man). Floyd developed a pen-pal relationship with a woman he thought was a wealthy widow, presenting himself as a wealthy widower himself, until her sudden decision to visit Mayberry caused their house of cards to tumble.

II. There was a similar catfish type of ruse on Leave it to Beaver in the episode Wally’s Glamour Girl (Season 4, Episode 10 that aired in 1960). Wally painted his family as one of great wealth to a girl in another city, someone he thought he would never meet in person. But she and her family came to town to his surprise.

III. Sanford and Son also tackled this topic in the episode titled Matchmaker, Matchmaker. Fred went to a dating agency and fudged details when submitting a profile to get a date for Lamont (Season 4, Episode 2).

IV. Florence also experienced that on an episode of The Jeffersons (Season 6, Episode 3). In the episode titled Louise’s Old Boyfriend, Florence went to meet a man presenting herself as Louise, an old flame of Louise’s who was in town, someone Louise had decided not to go and meet.

V. Season 5, Episode 8 of Good Times dealt with this too. Michael talked to someone named Fun Girl via CB radio in the Breaker, Breaker episode. They had good vibes, but she failed to reveal the fact that she was a paraplegic. Michael was disappointed, not that she had the disability but that she wasn’t honest with him about it.

Each of those TV shows occurred long before this type of ruse was ever labeled as a catfish. They may not have been labeled as such, but that’s what they were. Even in the Bible there is mention of this, in a broader sense. 2 Corinthians 13-14: 13.These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14.But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel, as a man of righteousness.

The story of the Trojan Horse is about a ruse used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the City of Troy to win the war. Soldiers hid in a huge, wooden, and very ornate/decorative horse, allowing them to overtake the city of Troy after several failed attempts.

They’re all catfishing, just varying versions of it. Hopefully one day, people will be more aware and become immune to these fungi. I call them fungi, but maybe lecherous pigs might describe what these scammers are more accurately. It’s probably never going to end. The concept is age old. It just gets repackaged and presented differently. To paraphrase William Shakespeare, it’s still a rose, no matter what you call it. It still smells the same.

Civil War Reenactments: Why?

Caption: Army of the Potomac – Union soldiers cooking dinner in camp (Library of Congress)

I overheard two men on the train this morning talking about their plans for the upcoming weekend. One of them is participating in a Civil War re-enactment with several of his friends and associates. He and his pals are going all out, renting period costumes, cannons, a variety of guns, and blank ammunition. I guess that’s an expensive activity. Estimating what it must cost, I’d rather spend that money spending the weekend in a Times Square hotel and catching a Broadway show.

Here is a typical shopping list for a front line soldier (some items are slightly more expensive for officers (https://www.whatitcosts.com/be-in-civil-war-reenactment-prices-cost/):

BROGANS – $95

SOCKS (3) – $30

UNDERSHORTS (3) – $60

TROUSERS (2) – $200

SUSPENDERS – $15

BELT/BUCKLE – $25

SHIRTS (3) – $105

VEST – $85

JACKET/CHEVRONS – $95

HAT/INSIGNIA – $53

WALLET – $20

HAVERSACK – $16

PONCHO – $50

MUSKET/BAYONET – $550

BAYONET SCABBARD – $25

CARTRIDGE BOX – $50

CANTEEN – $50

BLANKETS (2) – $104

MESS KIT – $30

Dinner party outside tent, Army of the Potomac headquarters, Brandy Station, VA (Library of Congress)

I never understood the fascination with war re-enactments. I Googled it to learn more about it. I learned it’s quite a popular pastime, and the average cost per person is approximately $2,000. The goal is to stay as true to history as possible. They buy or rent replicas of the same artillery in use by soldiers at the time. Additionally, their custom-made clothes are as close to authentic as the uniforms worn by the real troops. Also, many participants cook their period-style meals exactly as it was done in an 1860s army camp, their eating utensils are reproductions of the original tin versions, and they sleep under the same conditions as the soldiers did in the 1860s. An account of one Civil War soldier went like this:

“We grab our plates and cups, and wait for no second invitation. We each get a piece of meat and a potato, a chunk of bread and a cup of coffee with a spoonful of brown sugar in it. Milk and butter we buy, or go without. We settle down, generally in groups, and the meal is soon over… We save a piece of bread for the last, with which we wipe up everything, and then eat the dish rag. Dinner and breakfast are alike, only sometimes the meat and potatoes are cut up and cooked together, which makes a really delicious stew. Supper is the same, minus the meat and potatoes”. – Lawrence VanAlstyne, Union Soldier, 128^th New York Volunteer Infantry

They fill various roles, from the junior, entry-level soldiers to senior officers. Like in a real war, the men portraying junior solders sleep in a small tent, in sleeping bags; those portraying the officers sleep on miliary cots, some say aren’t much better than sleeping on the ground. Given the tragic nature of the Civil War, I don’t find it appealing. More than 620,000 people died. If these events were designed to teach and educate others, I might be supportive. But they are only for the fun and enjoyment of the participants, glorifying the events as if they were a big celebration. C’est la vie!

So, that’s that. If anyone reading these words is interested, there’s a website that lists current and future reenactments. There’s a news story also at the end of this post, down below, that synopsizes the fundamental nature of these reenactments.

https://www.livinghistoryarchive.com/article/civil-war-events-in-america

 

Man’s Best Friend

When I went outside to take out the trash out, I saw a woman, a stranger to me, walking two dogs. One of the dogs was a beagle, and the other was a mongrel. Some people say mutt, but I find that word offensive. If I were a dog of unknown heritage, mutt would offend me. So, I don’t use that word. I like mongrel. But whichever word you prefer, that dog was of no identifiable type or breed. It looked just like the dog in the image of this post.

As soon as that dog, the mongrel, got close to me, he acted as though he were happy to see me. He wagged his tail, looked at me with big wide eyes, made a light whimper, and his ears flopped downward. Like the woman walking him, I had never seen that dog before. But he seemed excited to see me. I’m not complaining, mind you. I’d rather have it that way than to have a dog growling and snarling at me.

I’m not surprised, though. I’ve been around other dogs who seemed to love on me the first time they saw me. I visited a friend in New Jersey with a dog, and the little fella cozied up to me like I was it’s best friend. Then later I visited a friend in Texas and again, the dog greeted me, making me feel welcome. I’ve encountered this quite a few other times. I mentioned this to a vet, and she told me that it’s common for dogs to sense if you’re innately happy and loving. Well, I’m all of that. She also told me dogs can sense if someone is a jerk, and will keep away from them, maybe even snapping at them to show their displeasure. But if you have a kind spirit, animals can tell, and will welcome you.

Maybe that’s why some people interact so well with wild animals, like those who play with tigers and lions and gators and bears. I have no desire to do that. I’ll just stick with domesticated animals.

My Recent Scammer

A friend of mine who is connected to me on Instagram stated he was starting an online business and asked if I would look at the draft website he was working on and critique it. I’ve done that before for other people. I think we all can use constructive criticism with our ventures. People know I give honest feedback. Regardless of what I think of someone personally, I can separate those feelings and give a fair and honest review.

I told him I would look at it. He said he’d text me the link. As an aside, I realized it wasn’t really the person I thought it was. I could tell right away from his language skills. My friend is the type of person to always type in complete sentences, even online – even when texting. He doesn’t use slang or abbreviations the way many people do online or via text messages. It was obvious it wasn’t my friend. I’ve noticed this before when scammers messaged me.

So anyhow, he said he would text me the link to his website. I wasn’t sure if he really meant text, since he didn’t have my number. My friend had my number, but I knew the scammer didn’t have it. I then received a text message around the same time he messaged me about the text, asking that I paste it in the Instagram chat box so he could see if it was correct. I guess he figured I was too naive or ill-informed to realize it was a password reset link. I know a lot of people fall for that trick.

With the TFA* or MFA** settings most people are using nowadays, scammers have to try and get more creative to perpetrate their frauds. Sometimes, I string these scammers along and waste their time if I’m not too busy. That particular day, I didn’t feel up to it, so I instantly blocked him and went on about my day.

I have often researched this phenomenon. People are tricked a lot in this way, not only with Instagram but also with many online accounts. That’s a common  ruse scammers use to access your bank accounts, your Amazon account, or your mobile phone account too. They attempt to access your account and they ask you either to copy and paste the link or they ask you for the access code you received via text or email. Some unsuspecting consumers just do as asked without scrutinizing what they are doing. Some have even said as soon as they did it, they had a knot in their stomach letting them know it was a mistake. But by then, it’s usually too late.

Unfortunately, there are many variations scammers use to try and get access to your accounts. Some people get their all their money stolen because they aren’t paying attention and they share too much information with these scammers.

While I was preparing this article, I encountered another one, yet again on Instagram. That goes to show you how often it goes on. A cloned friend’s account inboxed me, just with some light banter back and forth, the typical type of “How are you? How have you been?” conversation. It wasn’t unusual to chat that way with this person, since the friend went to my undergraduate alma mater, though we were in a different graduating class. This clone used the same profile photo as my friend has on his, a photo of himself holding a newborn baby boy. It was his nephew, but the scammer probably didn’t know that. Most of them are not as sophisticated as that to research whoever it is they are impersonating. They are in too big of a hurry. Some do take that extra time and can be quite convincing. But most don’t bother because people (the victims) are generally trusting. That’s why scammers are so successful at defrauding people.

So, I said to him, “You’re a new dad, huh? Congratulations. That’s awesome.” My friend has a fierce tongue. If it had really been my friend I was chatting with, he would have said something like, “You know that’s my nephew. You must have bumped your head boy; are you drunk or something?” But instead, he said, “Yes sir. I’m a proud dad.” That’s when I knew for sure he wasn’t really my friend. If you’re being dumb or saying something dumb, my friend would quickly tell you.

This scammer cut right to the chase and mentioned how he was stuck in West Virginia, his wallet was stolen, and he needed money to get back home to DC.

“Can you loan me $100 so I can buy a bus ticket home and get something to eat? I’ll pay you back tomorrow once I get home.” I played along.

“Wait a minute,” I said. “You never paid me back last time.” My friend never really borrowed any money. I only said that to further confirm that it was a scammer. Again if it were my friend, he would know he never borrowed money from me. I only was baiting this scammer. “You scammed me before. I don’t want to get scammed again,” I told him while laughing my butt off.

“I promise. I’ll repay you this time,” he said. “I’ll pay you back the amount from last time and this time too, sometime tomorrow. I’ll pay you back double.”

Okay first of all did you catch all the red flags? When people say they are stuck somewhere, they lost their wallet, and they promise to pay you back double, it’s a good bet it’s a scammer. If you borrow money from your friends, do you ever pay them back double? No, I didn’t think so. I don’t either.

Being stuck somewhere with no access to their money (either because they lost their wallet or because their account is frozen) or promising to pay you back double what they want to borrow are all common scammer motifs. The one thing that made this scammer stand out from most of the other scammers I have encountered is, his grammatical skills were impeccable. He didn’t use incorrect punctuation or misspellings like I often see with many scammers, and he used complete, grammatically-correct sentences. So, it might not always be easy to realize the fakes. That’s why red flags should only be considered as indicators. The presence of red flags doesn’t always mean scammers, and the absence doesn’t always mean they are authentic. You have to look at the big picture.

Well, I digress. I didn’t carry this out any further. I stopped replying to him, I reported the account to Instagram, and I blocked him. I also alerted my friend about this scammer. About an hour after I reported it, I got a notification from Instagram informing me the account was taken down.

People really need to pay attention and never become laxed when dealing with someone online, especially with people you don’t know, or don’t know well. But even if you know them, still be careful. As you see with my situation, scammers may present themselves as your friend or your cousin or your mom, or someone familiar to you, but it’s not really them. The imposters may use the account to trick you into giving them money or getting into your account — which is what that scammer was trying to do to me.

* Two-factor authentication is an identity and security method requiring two forms of identification to access the desired content.

**  Multi-factor authentication uses several identification methods. It might require a password (usually a strong password), biometrics such as a fingerprint or facial racial recognition, and the use of a special code sent to the user’s phone number or email on record.

My Time On Acela

Acela

On my last trip to New York, which was a week ago, I rode the Acela. It is a passenger train that travels the Northeastern corridor of the United States. It is marketed as a high-speed rail service to significantly reduce travel time, and all the seats are either Business Class or First Class. Obviously, the tickets are a little higher – well, the Business Class tickets are a little higher. The First Class tickets are a lot higher.

The seats aren’t much different, as far as seat comfort, between the coach seats on the regular train and the Business Class seats on the Acela. There are no Coach seats on the Acela. The First Class seats are much different. They are bigger, more comfortable, and have far more leg room – but then those seats are approximately $200 more expensive than coach seats. Furthermore, my travel time wasn’t reduced by much. Normally, it’s a three-hour tour between Baltimore and New York City. The Acela tour was two hours and 31 minutes. I don’t think that’s enough time savings for the added cost of an Acela ticket. I walked around and looked at the Dining Car, which had a nice array of food and  beverage options. Although I had my own food that I brought on board, it’s good to know that I have good choices if I needed them. They had lots of variety, from the fat and greasy to the healthy items too.

It was a nice ride, but not worth the added cost, especially for the paltry amount of travel time.  Were I traveling farther, say between Washington, DC and Boston, the added cost would be worth it.

 

Respect for Persons With Disabilities

I was in a store the other day, one that I frequent in the neighborhood where I live. It is a small, minority-owned business. The proprietor, whom I’ll call Mr. Manny, is a Pakistani American. Given my druthers, I love supporting a small business, particularly one that is minority-owned. But I witnessed something that made me not want to support this particular business any longer. It appeared to be what I call a blatant example of discrimination against a person with a disability.

A gentleman customer, whom I’ll call Phil, entered the store with a service dog. The dog is also apparently an emotional support animal as well. This man didn’t have a physical disability, at least not one that I could see with the naked eye. His disability was an intellectual disability. As an aside and just for context, the term intellectual disability replaced the phrases mentally retarded and mental retardation. Anyone could easily tell just from 30 seconds of talking to him, or hearing him speak. An intellectual disability involves problems with general mental abilities that affect functioning in two areas: (1) intellectual functioning (such as learning, problem solving, judgement); and (2) adaptive functioning (activities of daily life such as communication and independent living), according to the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition.Examples of these could include areas of personal care, such as dressing, grooming, or bathing; managing finances, paying bills, budgeting; or properly maintaining a home by cleaning or repairing, cooking, doing laundry, or shopping for personal items. Service dogs can help people navigate life more effectively. I became sensitive  to the needs and rights of disabled persons after watching the movie, I Am Sam, a delightful yet informative movie about a man (portrayed by Sean Penn) who had an intellectual disability and his fight to maintain custody of his minor child, also featuring Dakota Fanning, Michelle, Pfeiffer, and Loretta Devine.

So, this customer Phil entered the store with his service dog. Mr. Manny immediately saw this customer and his service animal and began screaming at him to leave. Mr. Manny was dern near foaming at the mouth. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. Phil reached into his book bag and removed a certificate and registration card to show Mr. Manny. Until that day, I never knew that service animals and emotional support animals can be registered, and service dogs specifically go through a training and certification process. I always thought people merely slapped a sweater with the words “Service Animal” affixed to it. I guess it makes sense that there would be some sort of proof of that. Otherwise some people would game the system and pretend to have a service animal for the advantages and benefits they otherwise might not be entitled to receive. I suspect some people have probably done that.

I stood there watching as Mr. Manny, still foaming at the mouth, antagonized Phil. Okay, Okay. No, he wasn’t really foaming at the mouth. Here’s one of my embellishment moments. But my gosh, he was screaming at Phil something crazy, talking about how he’s tired of ejecting him. I don’t even know how Mr. Manny was unaware his behavior was illegal. The documents Phil displayed included a certificate, registration card, and a telephone number that Mr. Manny could have called to verify – had he bothered to even look at them. I went home and did some research and learned so much.

The rights of disabled persons are protected under law, specifically The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  This also includes protecting a disabled person’s right to use a service animal. The ADA allows for substantial financial penalties for violating a disabled person’s rights. For the first offense, violators could be subject to a fine of up to $75,000 for the first offense and up to $150,000 for subsequent violations. State laws could impose additional penalties. In Maryland for instance, violators may be subject to a misdemeanor charge accompanied by a fine of up to $500 for each offense. Mr. Manny evidently was not aware of this.

The label emotional support animal is a sub-compartment of a service animal. The service letter and registration card such as the ones Phil was carrying can be valuable. They can prevent a disabled person with a service animal from paying pet deposits when staying in a hotel or renting an apartment or when traveling on airplanes. They can also help to prevent them from being denied service altogether just as Mr. Manny was doing to Phil.

I felt like going back and telling Mr. Manny that what he’s doing was violating Phil’s rights. But despite his impairment, Phil was on top of things. He left, saying he was going to file a formal complaint with authorities. That goes to prove that you shouldn’t discount someone merely because they have a disability. Phil was sharp and aware enough to know how to protect himself. I think Mr. Manny was just being a great big schmuck. Yes, I could have gone back and told him what he was doing is wrong; however, those fines can teach him much better than I ever could.