Life Ain't Fair

Well, apparently the whole disparage-the-Mom thing is a universal hot button.

Spent a little too much time yesterday fielding calls from India. Not angry calls, per se, but certainly more than the average number. Whoever it was I pissed off the day before apparently has the power to put my phone number on the top of the list - repeatedly. Lucky me.

I actually considered, briefly, changing my phone number.

For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, check yesterday's post. Pretty self-explanatory.

And while we're on the topic of yesterday's post, I feel I should apologize. The language was a little too colourful and my conversation with "Bill" was really outside of my character. But I was pissed off. He interrupted my baking. That's my only explanation.

Anyhoo, I don't recommend following my lead. Don't antagonize, don't suggest their moms are involved in compromising positions. Just creates more trouble. Hang up on them, leave it at that.

You should also know that, if you live in Manitoba anyway, it's impossible to block their calls. Something about them using the internet to make calls, which can not be blocked by Manitoba Telephone Service. Who knew?

A friendly and helpful MTS representative told me yesterday that my only option, if I wanted to make the calls stop, was to change my phone number and change it to an unlisted one.

Gotta say it ticks me off, again, that criminals in another country, so far away, can do this crap with impunity. I mean, they are obviously screwing over enough people, who don't know any better, to make their little game profitable. It just ain't right.

But life ain't fair, so I've been told.

Anyway, it's Friday (the 13th). Have a great day.

Don't Fall for This . . .

WARNING: This one contains some colourful language. If this offends you, read something else. You've been warned.

Okay, so got a call from one of those lovely call centres in India yesterday. They piss me off.

Don't know if you've received this one or not, but the caller, in a thick East Indian accent, opens with something like, "Hi Mr. Robinson, my name is Bill."

Um, yeah, right. And my name is Rajish. Go ahead Bill.

"Bill" then explains that he is from the National Internet Security Task Force, or something equally ridiculous, and then tells me that they've been receiving messages from my computer.

"Is that right Bill? Fascinating."

And, according to Bill, I've got a virus and he can help me.

Now I've been receiving these calls for more than a year. Usually at least once a week. Sometimes, when I'm really bored, I'll take up an hour of his time, asking lots of questions about the security of my computer, thanking him for saving me from this horrible virus and making idle conversation about his wife and kids. The conversation usually ends when I explain that I don't know how to use a computer.

Sometimes, when I don't have time to play, I'll just hang up. Sometimes, when they call during nap time, I'll tell them to fuck off and then hang up.

Sometimes, I'll tell him I'm busy and ask if I can put him on hold. I'll then put the receiver down in front of my iPod player and leave it there for a good hour or so.

Now I've looked this scam up on the Internet. Not really all that sophisticated. The victim is directed to a web site, where they are asked to download a program that will help "Bill" fix this virus issue. And the program is basically one that gives "Bill" complete remote access your computer - your passwords, banking info, etc, etc.

So these fuckers are criminals. Plain and simple. And, apparently, are successful enough to keep going.

Anyhoo, got a call yesterday from my friend "Bill." He called while I was baking bread, and I was a little pissed 'cause the dough wasn't rising properly. Bad time to call.

I told "Bill" to leave me the hell alone, forget my fucking phone number and fuck off.

And yesterday, for the first time, I seemed to have touched a nerve at the old Calcutta Call Centre. Fifteen seconds after I hung up, I got another call. Same routine, same response.

The next call took a little longer, maybe 30 seconds. I suspect the conversation in Calcutta went something like . . .

"Bill": "Hey, this guy just swore at me, I think. Does anyone here know how to swear in English?"

"Trevor": "Me!"

So the next guy calls, and he wastes no time:

Him: "You a motherfucker. You a mother fucker.

Me: "Your mother never complained."

Him: "You go fuck your dog."

Me: "What will your mom do without me?"

Well, things just kinda went down hill from there. Seems they forgot about helping me with this computer virus.

** Okay, 7:18 a.m. and I just got the first call of the day from them. I expected as much. Actually I expected a call at 2 a.m. Told them they had the wrong number, there was no Mr. Robinson here. Didn't seem to matter. They still wanted to help me with my computer problem. "Mr. Robinson's computer problem?" I asked. He got confused. And then I hung up.**

Anyhoo, I've got a call in to MTS (Manitoba Telephone Service) to see about having this number blocked. I expect to hear from them today.

So, take this as a warning. Don't fall for this crap. They've got your name and telephone number, and that's it. Play with them if you like, hanging up on them is probably best. Me? I'm just kinda thinking about what can piss them off even more next time. They've pissed me off enough. I just want to return the favour.

Have yourselves a great Thursday. I expect I'll be spending my time fielding a few calls from India.

Suckered

Well, they got me. I got suckered into playing along with an internet scam. And yeah, I'm embarrassed.

Received an email a few days ago from a family member (who also got suckered apparently) about a missing boy from Ontario. Looked to be about 16 or so and the email included a plea from his mother for help to find the lost lad. It was a little sparse in the detail department, lacking info as to where he went missing, what he was doing at the time and what he was last seen wearing.

Nevertheless, the line that made me send it to a bunch of people in my address book was "If it was your child, you would want all the help you could get!!"

Yes, yes I would. I would want everyone to send it out in hopes of finding my lost boy.

And so I sent the damn thing off to 23 people all over North America, hoping to help out. For the record, I rarely forward things unless they are really freakin' funny or have really cool pictures. If I get one that threatens my good fortune or threatens my religious eternal destination, it goes straight in the trash.

It didn't take long for the responses to come back, most directing me to the Snopes web site that showed it to be a hoax. You can find it here.

I was embarrassed. I think the fact that I used to work in newspapers, as a reporter, made it worse for me. I didn't check facts, I didn't read it close enough to realize that next to no details were offered. Just a plea. A quick google of the name, Evan Tremblay, would have revealed the truth. But I didn't do it. I just forwarded the damn thing and perpetuated the scam.

Who does this crap and why? What possible pleasure is there in it?

Think positive, think positive . . .

Well, at least I got in touch with a couple of friends that I haven't heard from in a while. Several sent back emails to let me know I'd been scammed. They were kind enough not to include the words "dumb ass" in their replies, as this particular scam is already more than 2 years old. And, they asked how I was doing. I was able to update them on my life and get the same from them. Which is kinda cool.

A buddy from the Niagara area, who I haven't swapped emails with in probably at least a year, wrote back. He's got a new job he loves and things are going well. It was nice to hear from him. A friend of Neomom's in BC also wrote back to let me know of the hoax, and she hadn't swapped emails with him in a while.

So at least my public ignorance had some positive results. Oh, and if any of you reading this got an email from me about it, don't forward it . . . and sorry.

Anyway, it's Tuesday and it's December 1. YAHOO! Christmas month is here and I can officially switch my computer music over to the Christmas stuff. Actually, I did it yesterday and had a great time listening to my favourites. Everything from Frank Sinatra's Santa Claus is Comin' to Town and Burl Ives' Have a Holly Jolly Christmas to Ozzy's Winter Wonderland and The Ramones' Merry Christmas.

Love it all. And I love this season.

And this morning, I broke out the Christmas hats. Sonwun is thrilled!

Have a great day!