The MAC came out in ‘84, and the Michael J. Fox blockbuster hit theaters in ‘85.  The two releases were unrelated however.

I just got a notification that my bank account internet access has just been revoked.  I need to go to this special web site www.bankofbadattitude.ru and update my user name, password and account number information.  What a pain in the arse.

Just three days ago, I had to update my e-mail account by providing my login name and password and my billing records so that I could continue to use my e-mail account.

Last week, my 401K records needed up dating.  Apparently my credit card information was lost.  I wonder why my credit card was needed for an account that is supposed to pay me?  Hmmmm…

And now I get this notice about money I was not expecting from a United Kingdom lottery that is being awarding to me (950,000 British pounds…   WOW!) and that I only need to send $250 dollars to start the process.  Do you know how hard it was for me to find a Western Union office around this town?  One thing that bothers me…   When did I buy a lottery ticket for this UK prize?

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Ladies and gentlemen, it’s called phishing.  A blatant attempt to part you and your money by a$$holes who have only one better thing to do and that’s plead for their life before they get shot by a firing squad.

I hear a little chuckling out there AND some, “Hey I got one of those…” comments.  But I am about to sober up this whole discussion.

In 2008, that’s last year for those of you living in Pacoima, CA., over 1.6 million U. S. citizens were scammed from phishing e-mails like the ones I posted above.  1.6 million people.  According to rough estimates, that equated to about 12 million dollars of lost savings, assets and income.  In one case, an elderly couple lost their house in trying to rectify a “recent error in your baking records” problem.  They ended up killing themselves.  They had nothing left after it was all said and done.

Do not even think that this is something that only happens to older people.  In another incident, a young teen borrowed his mom’s credit card to rectify a supposed billing problem with a game account.  When the dust settled, the card had been maxed out for over 17,000 dollars.

They look real, they have an air of authenticity.  These phishing scams are designed to keep you a bit off tilt as you provide these jack asses with your private information.  Statements like “a hold on your account” or “failure to comply” grab your interest.  And then, in the fine print, you see something that looks like an official logo or copyright statement.

It’s all BULL$HIT!

But you know all this.  Why are you having to sit here and read this drivel?  Well…   It’s simple…   People that you know, friends, neighbors and relatives, may not know.  They are this close to being scammed and they haven’t a clue.  And your sitting there thinking everything is “jake”.

Tell someone about it.  Send a copy of the scam to the company who the scam is supposedly from.  Above all, don’t just sit there and think all is right with the world.  Send a note to your friends, neighbors and relatives telling them that this type of thing is happening.  Not a large note, just a quick reminder to not believe all that you see on your e-mail account.  And above all, don’t give out your personal info to some jerk who sent you an e-mail.

As an example:  Last week I got phishing scams from Surewest, Bank of America, Paypal and Chase Bank.  I flipped those e-mails around and forwarded them back to the institutions that they supposedly came from.  Why?  Maybe if enough people do this, those institutions will start working on finding these bastards and put them up before the proverbial firing squad.  Who knows…  Once these phishing scams hit the e-mail servers, those institutions will follow up with an e-mail of their own telling the masses that the phishing e-mail is crapola.

We all pay for everyone of those phishing successes in one way or another.  Be proactive…

Here’s a sample of the note I send to family and friends:

Hey;

Just a quick note to tell you that another scam is out and about.  It’s from [insert company name here] and it warns about you losing your account access or that your information is incorrect.

It’s a load of bull.  Just be aware.

This does two things.  It warns others about the e-mail AND it makes you the expert on the subject.  If a friend or relative get’s another suspicious e-mail, who do you think they will call to verify that it’s bogus?  That’s right my friend.  You.  And you will be knowledgeable enough to say, “just delete the e-mail”.

You know…   things were so much more comfortable when snake oil salesmen knocked at your door and talked you into a set of “Funk and Wagnalls”.  At least they were in your face about it and not hiding behind an e-mail facade.

I’m gonna go back to my movie now…   It’s about this guy who uses a DeLorean to travel thru time…

Until next week…