Posts filed under ‘RANTS & RAVES’
MY SCAM EXPERIENCE
I was on my computer when I suddenly got a blue screen from ‘Microsoft’ telling me that I was being hacked it had been locked, and not to shut off my computer. Also, the message gave me a phone number to call.
I called the number and was told all my personal information was at risk. They asked me for my cell phone number. I do not have a cell phone and that seemed to disappoint them. Then they told me not to answer my landline until the next day at 11:00 AM.
At some time during my interaction with them they asked to take control of my computer, and I allowed this. After all, I thought I was dealing with Microsoft. At some point I told them that, “I feel sorry for hackers because they lead such useless lives.” Little did I know that I was talking to a hacker.
When they called the following day they said they were going to connect me to my bank on a secure line. Now, the man I was talking to had a distinct accent. Who knows what country I was talking to? When I was connected to my bank on a secure line the individual I was talking to had the same accent. I immediately hung up, called my bank, and that was the end of the scam.
This happened more than a year ago. I don’t think I lost any personal information and had my computer checked to make sure there were no surprises lurking within.
I’m telling you all this because if you suddenly message from Microsoft like what I received telling you your computer is lock, which you will find is true, and give you a number to call, it is a scam. Shut your computer off and do not call the phone number. Hopefully, when you turn your computer back on it is no longer locked. If it is, you might need help to unlock it.
I hope you learn from my experience not to be scammed.
June 16, 2025 at 8:59 pm
A SCAM, IT’S NOT MICROSOFT
This post will be followed by another more lengthy post concerning scams I have experienced three times with my computer being locked with a screen saying Microsoft has found a security leak on my computer. There is usually a blue screen along with one or two others warning you not to turn off your computer. You are given a phone number to call. DO NOT CALL THE NUMBER.
Do turn off your computer. After turning my computer back on one time the screens and lock were gone, one time they weren’t, and I had to seek help to get my computer unlocked.
The first time I experienced this scam I did call the number listed. I will soon post what happens when you call the number
June 11, 2025 at 8:16 pm
ELECTION ADS IN PENNSYLVANIA
By now, if anyone doesn’t know that Pennsylvania is a ‘battleground’ state, let me know where the cave you live in is. I’d like to move in with you.
There was recently a news piece on a local station in Philadelphia which addressed the constant bombardment of negative political ads and the effect on the mental health of the state’s population. In Pennsylvania you cannot hide, no matter how hard you try, from those ads. The content of those ads has prompted this post.
In some of those ads there is no political party of candidate running for office guilty of telling the truth and nothing but the truth. The problem I have with the current mass of ads is that they are not necessarily guilty of falsehoods. They are guilty of not reflecting the current reality.
Ads currently being broadcast say that inflation is high. It was high but is now at low levels. As low as it was in the past.
Ads cry that the price of gas is triple what it was four years ago. I’ll let you look at the current price of gas where you live and tell me if that price is triple the price of four years ago.
Ads say that consumer confidence is low. I just heard a news report that consumer confidence is high, and people have increased their spending.
Ads stating that the interest rates are high. A current article by the Associated Press states that the current interest rate is the lowest it’s been since 2021. A personal note. The interest rate the owner of the house I live in was paying, which we bought in 1986, was 13%.
Of course, there are some out there who will say that what I stated above is false news. Unfortunately, we live in an age where you can believe what you want to believe and easily find a source to back you up.
And now, as a Pennsylvania resident, I’m preparing myself today for another onslaught of political ads with questionable facts. I expect this no matter how hard I try to hide.
November 2, 2024 at 12:20 pm
Recently I heard an ad for Trump’s campaign covering illegal alien fraudulent claims for Covid-19 benefits. Stated was the fact, I hesitate to use the word fact and rather be able to use the word facts, for in any political ad only the fact which benefits the politician is used and often does not resent the entire picture. The fact in Trump’s ad is guilty of this. Here are further facts which offer a clearer picture of the relevance of the presented statement.
In the ad it is claimed that illegal aliens are guilty of submitting 500 million dollars in fraudulent Covid-19 claims. I’m not going to fact-check this and assume it is accurate. You might think how terrible this is. And you are correct. But wait. An additional fact offers the reality of the true level of this fraud.
I have now heard more than once the values I am about to present to you.
There was a total of over 280 Billion dollars worth of fraudulent Covid-19 obtained by the American public. I’m sure there were some organized efforts made to defraud the government, but many of the guilty actors could be your neighbors, or perhaps YOU. It is estimated if all the guilty parties were prosecuted it would take over 200years. Do I hear a sigh of relief.
So, if you want to know where the true guilt lies in America, look in the mirror.
August 17, 2024 at 11:12 am
INFLATION?
I, like I’m sure most of you, go grocery shopping. And I still have the remnants of a memory and remember prices from one outing to the next and note the price increases.
What follows is pure conjecture on my part.
There are times when I see the price of a product increase, a large increase, at times in a week or two.
Why?
Is there a valid reason for the price increase or is there something else at play? Could it be that the manufacturer is taking advantage of the fact that inflation is constantly in the news. Could it be that there is no good reason for the increase? But, because of the constant discussion about inflation the manufacturer is relying on that fact and assuming the customer will not question the increase. The customer, because of all the inflation hype, will accept the increase as part of life. Could it be, in some cases, that the customer is being manipulated in the cause of profits?
You can try an experiment. For every product there are remarkable number of brands these days. When you buy something search the brands to see if the increase of the price of one of the brands stands out. Just an experiment.
When a company makes a tremendous increase in price, say a certain percentage in a certain length of time, they owe the public an explanation?
What do you think?
June 20, 2024 at 1:01 pm
CHILDREN AND CELL PHONES
First a disclaimer. I don’t own a cell phone. My kids are grown so I don’t have one of society’s major problems: Children and the influence of cell phones.
Even with the above disclaimer I am well aware of the problem cell phones are causing with our youth. You would have to live in a cave or under a rock not to be.
We have restrictions on our children to ensure their safety. They can’t drink until they are twenty-one. They cannot, or are not supposed to, drive until they reach an age designated by the state where they dwell. We categorize movies for the protection of our children. Why can’t industry produce cell phones made for children, say for children under the age of fourteen which are limited to only communication? Could it be that less sophisticated phones would cut into profits?
Cell phones are denying children their childhood by gluing them to a screen rather than participating in constructive play. Reducing children the opportunity to make friends.
I don’t think most children under fourteen have the means to purchase cell phones on their own so parents would have complete control over the phones their children can use.
Currently cell phones, right or wrong, are ‘practically’ a necessity. But why can’t there exist cell phones, for children, whose sole purpose is for communication. For children, bring back the cell phone of the past. For the use of moms to contact their children to see what they were up to and that they were alright. With these cell phones exposure to the outside world would be limited.
As children matured the phones could provide increasing access to the outside world and information. And by the time our children reach adulthood they have developed healthy habits in the use of cell phones.
June 1, 2024 at 12:05 pm
This a suggestion is suggestion for a writing project, either a short story or novel. There is something terribly wrong this country and there seems no way to fix it. Perhaps if readers experience, through fiction, the hurt, the sorrow being caused in this country something may happen. This is not the same country I remember as a child. Life has somehow lost its value. The slightest disagreement could end in death. Not long ago there were two mass shootings, one right after the other. Congress was not in session. Mitch McConnell said any action to be taken could wait. I wonder how many people died while Congress waited. But let’s be honest. Any action taken by congress would have little or no effect in solving the problem of guns. Our president said he would strengthen the gun laws of this country. A visit from the NRA changed his mind. The events experienced in Philadelphia during the past few days highlight the gun problem. Recently there were three events which indicate what a vicious society we have become. A mother was holding her two-year-old daughter IN HER HOUSE. Shots were fired and the child died, hit in the head. Can you imagine in that instant the anger, the fear and the hopelessness that mother experienced? I cannot imagine the sorrow that mother will experience for the rest of her life. Her innocent child denied a future by a senseless act committed by someone with no care for life or property. But this event is in no way unique. Every day, in this country, there are people gripped by the same emotions. Close to the same time, an eleven-month- old child was shot four times while sitting in a car seat. That poor child is now fighting to remain alive. The next day there was an argument between a man and his girlfriend. Two men intervened and asked the man arguing to go to his car and cool-down. Fifteen minutes later the man existed the car and shot these two men, trying to help, dead. These days trying to be of help could cost you your life. Life has become so cheap with the increased availability of guns. The NRA strives to defeat any law which would create a safer society. Who supplies the NRA with the money to accomplish their purpose? Could it be the gun industry putting profit over? How can we change this loss of life in our country? We can change it with our vote. We must elect people who will represent their constituents and not the organizations throwing money their way. We must elect those who have never accepted a dollar from the NRA. I know this is an impossible dream but something must be done. So, I say to writers write your hearts out and maybe you will reach the heart of this country.
October 26, 2019 at 10:38 pm
Why is it that convict, having paid their debt
to society are remembered for their wrongdoings
for the rest of their lives? For some, making that
life unbearable.
Yet, at the same time, companies are responsible for
crimes against humanity, make immense profits,
and all they need to pay are small fines with
a fraction of the profits made.
And their top managers are paid millions
for the crimes they have committed.
And our society, for the most part, forgets
October 19, 2019 at 11:32 pm
I had baseball caps made which said:
MAKE
AMERICAN
AMERICAN
AGAIN
If you want one or more I will send them to you free of shipping while
supply or money lasts. I hope I need to have more made.
September 24, 2019 at 8:21 pm
THE PAST AND THE OBSERVATIONS OF TODAY
Today like every other day a corruption is identified in either industry or government.
I grew up in the 50’ and 60’s when there weren’t any corrupt practices.
RIGHT!
I’m sure they existed and cleverly concealed. The technology did not exist to easily reveal them. Money and intimidation played a major part in their secrecy.
Today, things are different. Every day new corruptions are revealed. And every day nothing of consequence happens.
Good lawyers and money are finding ways around the system. Or making their way through the system through donations to politicians.
I want to share my personal experience with a large company.
I worked for this company for 22 years, which constantly morphed into a different organization due to mergers. The final merger with a less than reputable company, which in reality, was a subtle takeover was the death nell of values I respected.
When I began my job with this company it was honest, focused on their products. But over time things changed. As with most companies the focus now is on the bottom line to please stockholders.
Day after day I hear company adds talking about their top managers on retreat to discuss the company’s culture.
Corporations provide pleasant surrounding for the top executives of the company to discuss the future of the company and to their culture.
The culture is the bottom line. If a company could produce a product which would benefit society but not be profitable, what would be the decision of this products future, I don’t have to tell you what the choice would be.
The company I worked for was once sued for over three billion dollars. They said they were not guilty, but would pay the fine to put this behind them.
Have you heard that before?
I feel today we all pawns. Our lives are manipulated by the 1% not caring about our lives or the country. Their object is wealth and power.
September 23, 2019 at 10:15 pm
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