Hello Fellow Travelers!
Remember Boris & Natasha? Now they were spies!
Since the advent of the laptop, I have heard terrible tales of theft and ruin. I spend a lot of time on my laptop. There are basic rules of cyber safety with one rule being paramount: Never, ever, click on a link from a stranger or someone claiming to be a family member. I inadvertently violated this cardinal rule, and while no harm was done, I feel slimed, like I need a new laptop, and I have a new laptop. This one!
I received an unexpected message from my younger niece inviting me to watch a video. My niece lives in another state and I rarely see her. I was, therefore, thrilled to hear from her! It was a perfect set-up. I was a discerning (so I thought) writer, word processor, who would, never, ever, fall for anything as lame as a hack/scam! Yet I bit, hook, line and sinker. And tackle box.
Believing the sender to be my beloved niece, I thought she was sending me some information. I blithely clicked on a link and watched a 20 minute infomercial by Montel Williams expounding to Dr. Oz about the miraculous benefits of safflower oil! And it did look miraculous and there were benefits! Boring but worthwhile. It did, however, raise some questions: Did it work? Was my niece telling me something?
I wrote my niece a note and promptly moved on. Until my PS started sleuthing. His spidey-senses began to tingle when I told him my niece had sent me an email. She only uses Facebook. "Ruh-roh...." My PS then looked more closely at the address: IN RUSSIAN, FROM RUSSIA!
I'd been hacked? By Russians? Like in that spy show, "The Americans"? Maybe. Cool.
My PS started screaming when he saw the Russian address. I suddenly felt a little less like Sean Connery and a little more like any clueless American in any number of books and movies. My new laptop was compromised, polluted, slimed!
The screaming went down to yelling when further analysis revealed that no money had been pilfered, and nothing untoward happened.
But it easily could have. My point is even if you're quick, computer-trained, scam savvy, it could happen to you, it isn't cancer but it can be costly. And icky!
Seriously, brand new and I wanted the laptop gone. I went back to using my other one.
I started receiving messages in cartoon Russian, calling me an "Amerikan Woman" and the mysterious thieves were "having fun using my identity to spend money and open other accounts". I quickly discovered my Russian cyber-bully was my PS (he's a fan of "The Americans" on FX) and that's what passes for humor with him! (It was pretty funny, I have to admit!)
When I stopped using this computer he confessed to "being Boris" (Badenov, Yeltsen, Some Russian).
So watch out! We're all alone on this journey and there is no shortage of forces conspiring to do/say anything for money!
Money, and everything it buys is transient, impermanent. If you know or hear of someone who was taken for a few $$ be thankful nobody was hurt. If I've learned anything that's the only thing that really matters - being alive. No one hurt? Bonus!
