Phishers of Memes

Sometimes, my friends worry me.

I don't mean normal worries, like are they home safe or are they happy or how are their children worries -- those are a normal part of the give and take of friendship.
Lately. I have worried, probably way too much, over how gullible they are to "just for fun" Facebook memes.

It started with the silly holiday names. Mostly they go by initials, but some are poking around for your birthdate. Or someone else's initials, such as your first child's. Or maybe your father's.Those are harmless, for the most part. The phishers are building themselves a "just for fun" reputation.

Once that is achieved, the goal becomes one's birthdate, in all its unedited glory.
You see, on Facebook, many of us are wise enough to not put the year. The day, yeah, but the year is questionable.
Because one of the cues/clues to your credit/financial identity is your full birthdate.

So how old were you in 1969? I can do math enough to know that if you were 11 that means you were born in 1958. And if I can figure it out, believe me, someone smart enough to code can do so in half the time. They may even have a chart.

Now, they -- either the memes or the phishers; you choose -- have become a bit more nosy. Now they have people posting their family tree by last name. I am a who. My dad was a who. His mother was a what. My mother was a why. Her mother was a how.

What is the standard security question for online access to financial accounts?
Mother's maiden name.
BINGO!

You have given them information not only to your accounts, but also to those of your mother and your father, and possibly your grandparents, if you went back another generation.

I have seen where some say, "Yes, but the information is out there anyway. If they want it that bad, they can find it."
True, but why on earth would they go looking when you just hand it to them? If you don't play along, someone else will.
Do you really think they care WHO they defraud? They'll take everybody they can get.

And boy do they get a lot.

Phishers bait their hooks, cast their lines, and plan their next trip.
Already the memes are sneaking in to spell your child's name with the last four letters of your dad's middle name and the first initial of your maiden name.

What will you fall for next?
And who will be to blame when your, or your parents, bank accounts are emptied and the credit cards maxed out?

How fun is that?

For Sale on Facebook.

There are a lot of sale sites on Facebook. Even a lot of local, regional specific pages. I know, I've joined a few, hoping to sell goods, or more likely buy things.

All well and good, but too many of these pages have too many members. I have posted things to sell. Most recently wallpaper.
One lady replied, asking for the coverage (square footage) of one of the rolls. I went out, checked it out, and for two weeks I have been trying to find the post where she made her query. I can't remember which local page she was on, since, like me, she is on several of them.
I was also looking to buy a chest of drawers from another woman. (Her name was Amber something.) A couple of erratic communications went through, but no real communication occurred. I don't know where that post is, or which of several pages I responded to her on.

People are also crazy demanding.

They want pictures of everything. Most of the time this is a good idea, especially when purchasing (or selling) furnishings or vehicles or equipment.
It's a little ridiculous, though, when it is a bundle of children's t-shirts size 3. No, I am not going to take individual pictures of twenty (used) t-shirts. I will send you pictures of the lot. I will answer any questions about conditions. I may meet you somewhere or invite you over to check out the condition and choose whichever you like. (If I'm interested in selling them individually.)
But, no, I'm not taking a picture of each item. And no, I will not take a close up of every stain or worn spot, although I have tried my best to NOT include any of those flaws. (EXCEPTION: if I am giving items away free and there is still a lot of regular use in the product in spite of small problems.)

They want details like how many hours a shirt (to stay with that example) was worn. When was it originally purchased? How does it come to be in your possession? Why are you selling?
Now, some of these are good, reasonable questions -- for an appliance. I always ask why a washer or dryer is being sold, and often being up the "why" when discussing a vehicle for sale.

Facebook sales require a lot of patience and perseverance from both buyers and sellers. The best advice I have is to do your primary communications through private messaging. Take my word for it, responding on the thread is a darned good way to lose your bid or offer on the item for a very long time. It probably won't show up again unless/until someone else makes an offer.
If you see the same people over and over on multiple pages, consider deleting a few memberships. The same people selling the same things on page after page clogs your newsfeed and makes it more difficult to follow through if you have replied on a thread instead of through PM.

For now, I pan to just browse as a buyer. I may post some things on the free (no selling anything) site that I haven't been able to sell. If I do, know in advance that I'm not going to take pictures. It's free. Do you want It or don't you? What you don't like/want, you can get rid of by your own means.

Thank you and you are welcome.

It's Free. Isn't That Enough?

I am a member of several Facebook groups that are buy-sell-trade, and a couple that are free stuff only. Not just because I like finding and getting free stuff, but because I like to give away stuff. I have had so much given to me over the years, usually appropriately to my needs. Even when not, the intention has always been . to somehow help, so it's all good, and I want to return that favor. (Those favors?)

I usually don't have decent stuff to give away. I tend to use things until they fall apart. So, when I do have something to give, it's a big deal to me. And a special joy.


I have posted a few items with what I think are accurate descriptions. And have learned to note : No pictures.
The first thing SOMEONE always asks is "Pictures?"
Well, no. (That would be why it says no pictures.)
I have a family, a job, a life. I am not going to spend my time taking pictures of stuff I am giving away. (Selling, yes. Giving, no.) I don't have an adequate camera, I don't have adequate technical skills, and I don't have time.

You are either in need of a couch or want the bag of shoes, or you don't.

I don't mind questions about the offer. Are there holes? What color? Can I choose which ones I do or don't want?

But the requests for pictures drive me insane. (This may be a personal quirk. I'm fine with that.)

I've seen similar responses on other threads. "Pickup only, mornings, in Mt. Orab. And the other party says "Can you bring this to Batavia at 5 pm?"

Greedy lazy and that almost always adds up to ungrateful. (Not always. Sometimes it's just a matter of not being able to make arrangements. Stay at home single moms with very young, no car, vs third shift worker who also has no car, for example.)

Anyway, either you want or need the item offered or you don't. Don't waste my time, or yours.

It's free.
That should be good enough.

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Apparently, the latest thing is Signs.

On Facebook.

On YouTube (for heaven's sake!)

Now, there's nothing wrong with signs.
There's probably good in signs -- it (they?), after all, sort of promote literacy. I say sort of, because they are not all spelled and punctuated in ways that make sense (to me, yes.)
The Written Word is not dead, after all. People are using it to make signs on social media.

If I see another sign about showing the kids how far a sign can go, I just may scream at it. This was an original and thoughtful idea the first hundred or so times it was done. Now it is overdone, and it has become the same thing as many another adult lecture on the evils of an evil world.
Who listens to that?

Or you may be looking for your biological family so you write your personal information on a sign and post a picture of you holding said sign. Exposing your personal information to all the identity thieves trolling the internet, even letting them know what you look like.
Not to mention, once your quest has been successful, for the rest of your life you will be getting clicks, clues, and info you no longer need or want. For the next fifty years. Your grandchildren may someday be sharing your picture of you and your sign.


Worse, though, at least to me, is the way signs are taking over YouTube. YouTube is a video site. Where you can talk, sing, dance, jump, play, tell stories, make a fool of yourself, sing, share, instruct, learn.

Lately, YouTube has been taken over by signers.
And I don't mean ASL.

Many many bullying stories are told by having someone hold up handwritten signs that explain, one sentence at a time, why someone did something -- suicide, attempted suicide, or self-harm such as cutting.

Wouldn't it be healthier and helpier to hear the voices of the victims?
After all, anyone can write a sign, and anyone can claim to be anyone, if there is no voice to go with the words.

Isn't the point of these videos supposed to be that the voices be heard?
Rustling paper is no one's voice when the medium is visual or aural.

Recently there has been a story making the rounds of what a mom did when the family SUV was going over a cliff. (Or something) This story is told by the daughters, one piece of paper at a time.
With a very loud soundtrack, but not a word is spoken. (That I know of. I have yet to be able to watch the so-called video to the end. It's boring to read that slowly.)

Now, obviously, they know how to add sound to their presentation.
They know how to use the camera.
The signs do indicate that they know the rudiments of story telling.

But they aren't telling anything.
One cannot even hear their emotion.

Poor Mom. Her kids love her sacrifice so much that they can't and won't even speak of it -- just wave sheets of paper around.
At least they get them in the proper order for the most part.


Ah well, as a writer, I shouldn't complain. There has been so much said -- and written -- about the demise of the written word.

Perhaps I should take this as a sign that there is still work for me in this field.

The Working World: adapted from Facebook post.

I hate the job.
I hate the hours.
I hate the work.
I have to see straight lines and color variations. I can do neither of those things under the best of circumstances. And they make me wear safety glasses over my glasses -- y'all can maybe guess how exactly helpful it is to have an extra lens over your lenses when already your vision cannot be corrected to 20/20.

Plus my feet hurt, and my back twists (not as part of the job) I have muscle spasms in my back, in my butt, in my fingers. Comfy shoes are against the rules. We must wear steel toed shoes. They aren't too uncomfortable, but 12 hours and concrete floors are hard, even if I were walking on air.
My hips feel as if they are going to just pop out of their sockets, and that scares me.
I spend my breaks in the bathroom so I can just take off my shoes.




I really wish I didn't have to wear the safety glasses. That extra lens has my vision all discombobulated. But they don't have the side pieces to slip onto glasses, and it's unacceptable to buy my own and wear them. I asked.

Of course, two days doesn't equal a fair chance, so I will be going back tomorrow as I'm scheduled to, but I have to tell you -- it's really really hard, and really really painful. I hope/wish they would find me another job. there's too much waiting on the next person or the last person on the job I am doing. It would be much easier if I could stay steady busy.

But I'll keep trying. Who will come and roll me to the car when mu legs won't support me as I roll out of bed one fine morning? I wish we were having the blizzard. But too much rest may be just as bad, so maybe I'll just roll out in the morning and roll on in

Password

There's been a new spate of articles about unsafe or insecure passwords and how people use things they can remember as passwords. Probably to go along with the big shopping season the world indulges in every year.

There's validity to it of course. If you are giving out banking or credit card information, as is necessary when shopping, you want -- or should want -- your password to be as secure as humanly possible. (Please note the word humanly.)

The articles are baffling, though. You aren't supposed to make a password that you can easily remember, but you are also not supposed to write it down and keep  it anywhere remotely around your computer or on your person.
I guess that leaves the sock drawer out.

The articles go on and on and on about how people do this or do that silliness for their passwords PASSWORD is an easy frequently-used example. Or abc123. The writer talks about how obvious this can be and how it can let people into your accounts.

What the article doesn't say is what accounts. If you are on the Internet much, you need passwords for just about everything. Newspapers. Videos. Inspirational email clubs. Prayer chains. Comic strips.

I don't know about you, but if someone wants to know what I'm reading in the newspaper (with no paper involved) that badly, I don't mind making it easy for them. Since I'll probably share the articles on Facebook or other social media, they don't even really have to hack.

Same with videos.
There is a pointless need for password after password after password. It's hardly the fault of the user to make them easy when they are unimportant. Maybe not to the page owners, but to the user, who only wants to read Dear Abby or The Far Side, the secret code to do so is unimportant.

In fact, it is a major pain in the brain.
I mean, who cares?

I would be more impressed with password safety articles that addressed specific sites and/or behaviors. My banking password is more secure than my newspaper password. And, yes, I have the same password for a few different newspapers. Although it's simpler to read the free pages that can be searched for and found.

If an article wants my attention, be specific. My Amazon account has a different password. My bills each have their own password, which is not, when possible, the account number. Address those points and passwords, content writer. Explain to the uninitiated why abc123 isn't good to access your Swiss bank account. If they don't already know that, I'm not sure how effective your writing will be. They already seem to be lacking a bit of computer savvy.

But writing for the computer experienced with no new information and with a hodge podge of heaped together statistics isn't winning you any fans, either.

Tell me something new.

Playing Games

I just recently started playing games on Facebook beyond Words With Friends and Scrabble, both which allow you to choose your opponents, one at a time.

Now, I have had those annoying posts about someone needing keys and maps and send a chicken and whatever.  I have been over-zealously invited to become an inhabitant of innumerable "--world"s. I've been Facebook notified that I have 50 new notifications only to find 45 are game related. That's so disappointing.

So, before I ventured into the gaming world, I promised myself (and my 'friends') that I was not going to be that player.
That's easier said than done.
I have had to quit  two games because they demand that I make demands on my friends.

I made my brave venture with the Criminal Case game. It's mostly finding objects in a scene, but there are also puzzles and maze-y things and fill in the rest of the number.
The best/most interesting aspect of this game is that they kind of toss you in with people from your own friends list. For the most part, you get to play with people who are already playing, even to the sending of energy and cards and things. Criminal Case has a nice little list of who you know that already play.
Later on, you do get a list of everyone to send requests to, but it's easy enough to edit that list. And it happens at intervals, not after every play.
BUT -- right now, Criminal Case keeps trying to give me free stuff. To get all this free stuff, I just have to give them my banking or credit card information.
How stupid are people?
The game can still be played though, without the incessant nagging to add or invite. I do enjoy playing.

So, I ventured to Candy Crush. I played to level "youneedkeys" and had to quit. I will not send to every single person on the list and I have no idea which of my friends are playing that game and which aren't. Well, I do know 2 of the people. One is a friend, the other is someone I'd rather not play games with.

So, there's an end to that.

The other game that I have almost quit playing is Words of Wonder. Talk about a nightmare!

The game itself is fine, and enjoyable, and challenging, but it has turned into pages and pages of friends sending energy and gifts. These generous givers include absolute utter and complete strangers!
Not only is the game letting people I don't know know something about me (that I play that game), it is still insisting that I send similar generous gifts to everyone on my list (and their lists, too, I suppose, if they come to look at the game.)

Nope, not doing it.
Not sending or accepting anything else, because the game makes that part of it work -- picking and choosing from the donors -- before you get anywhere near the game itself. And then again between levels or chapters or episodes.

Listen, Facebook Game Designers: Games are supposed to be FUN! Not work.

Definitely not work through many lists many times a visit.

If they could all be like Criminal Case --I hope it stays that way. (I'm only at level 20 or so.)
List the friends who  already play, offer the option to invite others only at certain times. If they did that, fewer people would complain, and a few more might even actually play, if they can do so with relative privacy and no nagging.

Then we could all just play the games that interest us, and we could even -- GASP -- have fun doing so!