THE BREACH

 

At first the email seemed innocuous enough. Supposedly it was from my friend Rose who moved to another Florida city a few years back. However we continue to keep in touch.

I was instructed to click on a link which I was told was self-explanatory. As I began I noticed the email looked off. Suddenly I stopped and looked closer. This was NOT Rose!

Fake Rose emails kept arriving! Saying things such as "Do you remember the two ladies in these photos?" Click the link below. -- Of course I didn't!

Often when I went to my inbox I noticed a number of new emails from the real Rose had already been opened, -- ones I hadn't read yet!

I told Rose I thought a third party was reading our emails. I could tell she thought I was paranoid.

"My emails would bore another reader!" she kept telling me.

We don't exchange nuclear secrets, but that's not the reason for this, it's to trick me into clicking a dangerous link granting further access to a scammer. Always I sent these straight to spam!

For awhile, they stopped and Rose went on a trip to Hawaii.

I've never been to Hawaii. (I'm the only one I know who hasn't and I've been a whole lot of places too.) So after Rose's return I mentioned that I was excited to see her photos.

Well the very next day I received an email from fake Rose stating, "Oh Dianne I've lots of photos from last week & the weekend to show you!" -- All that was required of me was to click a link to view; which I didn't!

Late on the eve of Easter I went to my inbox. There I found notification of a breach from ATT, my passcode had been compromised. -- Proof I wasn't paranoid!

Easter morning I phoned ATT. I knew I'd be speaking with India since Easter is not celebrated there. I explained to the man that I am a senior and lacked the skills to change my passcode online.

The man spoke English well. He was patient and polite to this old lady who barely knows beans about technology. -- Not everyone is when calling 800 numbers concerning computer issues! Many have gotten short with me and I've been snapped at. What they don't seem to understand is that it's equally as frustrating for me.

My passcode was changed. Afterward I made other changes including putting Fraud Alerts on everything!

Less than a week later I received a letter from TransUnion informing me they were unable to locate my credit report! I own a home & car pay insurance & taxes, have several credit cards & a passport. Yet according to them I didn't exist!

I went online and found my credit report immediately!

Then I looked at the letter again. It had a P.O. return address. Wouldn't you think the place would have a brick and mortar one? Also it had an 800 phone number. My financial advisor told me not to call that one, but to look online. And sure enough I found a different 800 to call.

After two repeated calls with long menu go-rounds I was finally squared away.

Now I was getting a flurry of calls from unknowns which normally I don't pick-up. However I was expecting a call from an electrician. My answering machine is upstairs and I was downstairs.

Someone on the other end of the line wanted to turn my last novel The House of Sin and Splendor into a movie -- but I was expected to pay for it!!! I told the guy he must have me confused with the billion dollar lottery winner and hung up.

I'm a senior citizen struggling more than ever to get by on a fixed income. However there's plenty of human scum out there who would steal my last two dimes without compunction!

My friend Rose fearing I'd click a wrong link snail-mailed her photos to me. When I reached inside my mailbox many of them fell lose in my hand. Unbelievable! The envelope had been slashed open!

Geez, crooks are everywhere.

GOLDEN BERRIES & ROTTEN PEOPLE

 

Online when I saw photos of Walmart shoppers my jaw dropped and then I burst out laughing. Every two months now I do a major shopping there. Most of the people are nice and just regular folks, not the freaks or low-class types portrayed online. I’ve even run into friends & numerous acquaintances there. But every now and then I encounter someone who makes me wish I had the power to snap my fingers and make them go up in flames! Upon one trip was such a person.

I try to arrive early as possible to increase my chances of finding a close parking space.

However upon exiting often two drivers in opposite directions are starring each other down waiting to grab my space. This always puts pressure on me! I feel hurried and I like to take my time. Sometimes I deliberately slow my pace just to frustrate them and make them go away.

However once the season starts and the tourists & snowbirds flock down, or I get a late start I'm often forced to park way out in Siberia. Although a lengthy walk, Siberia has advantages; no crowd, bustle, or traffic jam, plus the spaces are wider. However, I feel less safe. I’ve been approached by panhandlers more than a few times.

After entering the store I turned into an aisle, my path was blocked. One side was a pillar with work equipment beside it and on the other was this frump-a-dump of a woman.

"Excuse me," I said.

 She turned, gave out a grunt, stepped to the side while waving me ahead. I smiled and thanked her.

 “Well you’re NOT welcome!” she snapped back.

I was stunned. “What's your problem? I was being nice,” I said. "Did you hear me complain?"

“You annoy me just standing there!” she replied with disdain.

Whenever someone behaves nastily toward you just consider the source. That's what my friend Pat used to tell me. Unfortunately there are plenty of low caliber human beings in this world. And it has nothing to do with education or income.

I suppose that woman should be pitied. Every day she has to wake up and look at that face and body in the mirror. And worse, she behaved exactly the way she looked. It's wasn't my fault she was fat and ugly!

Afterward I went to the fruit & vegetable aisle where I came upon something new. Between the peaches & tomatoes were GOLDEN BERRIES! I was intrigued, were these vegetables or fruit? Technically, tomatoes are fruit, even if they taste like vegetables. However, to my mind, fruit is sweet, or should be! Out of curiosity, I tossed them into my cart.

Later I looked them up online. This fruit and its plant are commonly known as the Cape Gooseberry. Sometimes its used as a garnish in desserts. To me, the taste is like a cross between a tangerine & a tomato. Also they're low in calories and contain nutrients.

 But I doubt I'd buy them again unless they go on sale.

As I left Walmart and returned to my parking space out in Siberia, an elderly woman sat watching me from the car behind.

“You get a gold star for returning your cart to the bin!” she said with a smile.

I smiled back and gave her thumbs up!

Truthfully, I don’t always. If I’m in a hurry or it’s raining, I’ll just place it out of the way. -- One thing I never do is leave it in the middle of a parking space. And I give myself a gold star for that!

Despite the bitch in the detergent aisle, the rest of my day was golden!