Such a great reminder. Any time I’m freaking out, I’m not paying attention and I too need to calm down before I can think and react responsibly. Thank you. When I get spun up and make decisions in that moment, it never turns out well! ❤️
Thanks for your very honest and mindful post. Please don't beat yourself up. It's a great humbling experience. And made even better by your radical honesty!
Nona, lots of people who get scammed don't fight it because they are embarrassed to admit they were fooled. We all think we're pretty smart cookies. Thanks for commenting.
A good reminder Gary. Don’t beat yourself up. You probably weren’t targeted due to age. My guess is that a lot of Substack writers received that email and some likely did provide their Substack info. It’s a weird world we live in these days 🤦♀️.
Yes, Anne, I've already heard from one writer who got one. I'll never understand people who steal from others. It's such a psychologically violent act.
A long time ago, a lawyer told me she got a call from the local police telling her she had missed jury duty or a parking ticket and she would need to pay them in gift cards or they would be arresting her.
It was a very threatening call.
She said she found herself at her car when it hit her, cops don't want gift cards.
This was not a stupid woman -- this was a woman who was caught off guard and frightened.
Thankfully, you weren't scammed. But it happens even to very smart people.
I might suggest you change both your Medium & Substack passwords.
Bridget, I don't think I have a medium or Substack password. When I get logged off for whatever reason they send me an email verification code to get back on. But maybe I do have a password, because there is a sign out link. A few years ago I was getting a lot of emails from people I knew asking me to buy gift certificates for them because their credit card was expired of some such reason. Their emails had been hacked and someone was sending emails under their name. I get lots of emails saying my Microsoft 365 account is about to expire because i didn't pay, and I just ignore them. There are thousands of scams that want you to act on fear and impulse. It pays to be mindful.
The email I loved best was the very threatening one saying they had hacked my computer and they were reading all my files and if I didn't do EXACTLY what they said they were going to send my porn collection to my boss.
Because I had been "a very naughty girl."
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
How to tell me you hadn't even checked my social media feed much less hacked my computer.
I called up everyone I know to share that particular idiocy.
😁
(If they had hacked my computer, they would have threatened to tell my aunt how much I spent on dog sports. Then I might have panicked.)
So many scams out there. Glad nothing happened. I almost got scammed a couple years ago. My bank called and of course the caller id was the name of my bank. It wasn't my bank and nothing bad happened. So frustrating that we have to constantly be vigilant!!
Please don't be too hard on yourself, Gary. Everyone is susceptible to scams, not just older people. Scammers know how to prey on others. Thankfully, you got out of this one without getting scammed, and you've been alerted to extend your mindfulness even further. Thanks for letting us know so we can be on the watch out, too.
Aw Gary, I’m so sorry you had to experience that. I definitely can relate to the high anxiety and fear such emails trigger. And, it’s not an age thing, although I’m not a spring chicken, my grandkids frequently ask me about emails! Of course, they’re more concerned about losing access to their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok than monetary losses! Anyway, I’m glad you managed to avoid adversity. And thanks for the heads up and reminder! The suggestion of going for a walk is one I’ll remember and take!
Not ten minutes before reading this, I received a similar email regarding an old Facebook account which I would hate to lose but at my age, I wasn’t going to risk getting hacked. Can’t trust anything any more…💥
Such a great reminder. Any time I’m freaking out, I’m not paying attention and I too need to calm down before I can think and react responsibly. Thank you. When I get spun up and make decisions in that moment, it never turns out well! ❤️
That's right, Shannon, scammers rely on their marks being fearful and spun out. Those are the ones that bite the hook. Thanks for reading.
Thanks for your very honest and mindful post. Please don't beat yourself up. It's a great humbling experience. And made even better by your radical honesty!
Nona, lots of people who get scammed don't fight it because they are embarrassed to admit they were fooled. We all think we're pretty smart cookies. Thanks for commenting.
A good reminder Gary. Don’t beat yourself up. You probably weren’t targeted due to age. My guess is that a lot of Substack writers received that email and some likely did provide their Substack info. It’s a weird world we live in these days 🤦♀️.
Yes, Anne, I've already heard from one writer who got one. I'll never understand people who steal from others. It's such a psychologically violent act.
Just another learning experience, and no actual harm done. I, too, am having experiences lately that show me how “present” or not, that I am.
Yes, I accidently dodged that one. And l learned I'm not very mindful under pressure. Baby steps.
A long time ago, a lawyer told me she got a call from the local police telling her she had missed jury duty or a parking ticket and she would need to pay them in gift cards or they would be arresting her.
It was a very threatening call.
She said she found herself at her car when it hit her, cops don't want gift cards.
This was not a stupid woman -- this was a woman who was caught off guard and frightened.
Thankfully, you weren't scammed. But it happens even to very smart people.
I might suggest you change both your Medium & Substack passwords.
Bridget, I don't think I have a medium or Substack password. When I get logged off for whatever reason they send me an email verification code to get back on. But maybe I do have a password, because there is a sign out link. A few years ago I was getting a lot of emails from people I knew asking me to buy gift certificates for them because their credit card was expired of some such reason. Their emails had been hacked and someone was sending emails under their name. I get lots of emails saying my Microsoft 365 account is about to expire because i didn't pay, and I just ignore them. There are thousands of scams that want you to act on fear and impulse. It pays to be mindful.
😁
The email I loved best was the very threatening one saying they had hacked my computer and they were reading all my files and if I didn't do EXACTLY what they said they were going to send my porn collection to my boss.
Because I had been "a very naughty girl."
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
How to tell me you hadn't even checked my social media feed much less hacked my computer.
I called up everyone I know to share that particular idiocy.
😁
(If they had hacked my computer, they would have threatened to tell my aunt how much I spent on dog sports. Then I might have panicked.)
Hugs, Gary. I had to cancel 2 credit cards recently because of a scam. I get very sad when I think about the crooks out there.
So many scams out there. Glad nothing happened. I almost got scammed a couple years ago. My bank called and of course the caller id was the name of my bank. It wasn't my bank and nothing bad happened. So frustrating that we have to constantly be vigilant!!
Please don't be too hard on yourself, Gary. Everyone is susceptible to scams, not just older people. Scammers know how to prey on others. Thankfully, you got out of this one without getting scammed, and you've been alerted to extend your mindfulness even further. Thanks for letting us know so we can be on the watch out, too.
Aw Gary, I’m so sorry you had to experience that. I definitely can relate to the high anxiety and fear such emails trigger. And, it’s not an age thing, although I’m not a spring chicken, my grandkids frequently ask me about emails! Of course, they’re more concerned about losing access to their Facebook, Instagram or TikTok than monetary losses! Anyway, I’m glad you managed to avoid adversity. And thanks for the heads up and reminder! The suggestion of going for a walk is one I’ll remember and take!
Not ten minutes before reading this, I received a similar email regarding an old Facebook account which I would hate to lose but at my age, I wasn’t going to risk getting hacked. Can’t trust anything any more…💥
Also worth your time to download all the email addresses of your subscribers, just so you have a back up♥️🙏🕊️
https://support.substack.com/hc/en-us/articles/6314498343700-How-do-I-export-my-email-list-on-Substack
Thank you for sharing this. It's a heads up for other to double check the email address.
Also, if you float the cursor over the email, you used to see a different email than the one on the header.
You are also always looking for a misspelling in the email. Or an odd domain name rather than dot com, dot org etc.