oh my god do not click links in emails that tell you to verify your data or your bank account gets locked or click links in messages telling you your safety protocol is ending, like, tomorrow, you will get SCAMMED SO BAD AND YOU WILL LOSE A LOT OF FUCKING MONEY never ever let anyone pressure you into giving away login information especially to your online banking by creating a sense of urgency oh my GOD
some things to look out for
1. spelling mistakes. do you know how many rounds of marketing and sales experts these things go through? if theres a spelling mistake dont click it
2. not using your name. if an email adresses you with "dear customer" or, even worse, a generic "ladies and gentlemen", it is most likely not actually targeted to you
3. verifying or login links. even IF your bank was stupid enough to send these to customers, dont EVER click those. look at me. they can legally argue that youve given your data away and thus they dont have to pay you anything back DONT CLICK THAT FUCKING LINK
4. creating a sense of urgency. do this or we lock your account next week. do this or your ebanking stops working tomorrow. give us all your money in cash or your beloved granddaughter will get HANGED FOR MURDERING BABIES. no serious organisation would ever do something like that over email or sms. ever. hands off.
5. ALWAYS CHECK WHO SENT YOU THE EMAIL. the display name and the email adress can vary a LOT. anyone can check the display name. look at the email adress. does it look weird? call the fucking place it says its from. you will likely hear a very weary sigh.
6. if its in a phonecall, scammers love preventing you from hanging up or talking to other people to have a little bit of a think about whats happening. there should always be a possibility to go hey i wanna think about this ill call back the official number thanks.
7. do not, i repeat, do NOT a) call a phone number flashing on your screen promising to rid your computer of viruses after clicking a dodgy link and b) let them install shit on your computer like. uh. idk. teamviewer.
7.i. TEAM VIEWER LETS PEOPLE USE YOUR COMPUTER HOWEVER THEY WANT AS LONG AS THEYRE CONNECTED. IF YOU DONT KNOW FOR FUCKING SURE YOURE TALKING TO ACTUAL TECH SUPPORT DONT GIVE ANYONE ACCESS TO YOUR COMPUTER.
fun little addendum: did you know a link can just automatically download shit? like. a virus? an app you can't uninstall unless you reset your entire device? dont click links unless youre extremely sure you know where they lead. hover your mouse over it and check the url.
thanks.
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PLEASE tell me the two fish story
i would love nothing more than to do that. I will not be putting a readmore on this because I want my followers to suffer.
Okay SO. There is a middle-aged businessman. He is wealthy, he's married with a lovely wife and two kids, he's got a stable job at his business company, and he's overall satisfied. But he's not happy. He doesn't experience the high highs and low lows of life anymore. He needs to find meaning. He's heard tales of an old wise man on top of a mountain who dispenses wisdom, and he is confident that if he travels up the mountain and finds this old man, he will be given life-changing advice that will help him find a meaning for his existence.
He begins to train for this arduous mountain hike. He starts with small hills. He climbs up the hill and down the hill. He soon graduates to large hills. He climbs up the hill and down the hill. Eventually, he tackles the local mountains. He climbs up the mountains and down the mountains. He's starting to get in shape. He's got calf muscles now, and knows how to survive on a mountain and how to carry a tent and a backpack. Finally, after a year of training, climbing up hills and down hills and up mountains and down mountains, he's ready. He packs up his belongings, putting only a few changes of clothing into a hiking backpack along with his tent, and he kisses his wife and children goodbye, and he embarks to the mountain where the wise old man lives.
He boards his plane and flies across the world to the mountain where the wise old man lives. It's a rocky flight, and despite all his training climbing mountains he's not very good with airsickness. He spends the entire 26 hour flight holding a barf bag and making the people sitting next to him uncomfortable. Every time he starts to regret his decision, he looks at his hiking backpack (it was his carry-on, it's under his seat), and thinks of the peace and joy he's going to find once he's acquired wisdom from the old man on the mountain. Eventually, 26 hours later, the plane lands, and he shakily wobbles off the tarmac onto solid ground. He spends the night in a nearby hotel, getting ready to set off on his big adventure the next morning.
The next morning arrives, and he packs up his trusty hiking backpack and sets off. He meets up with a group of fellow hikers at the bottom of the mountain, but most of them are just going to base camp. He's the only hiker who's aiming to get to the top of the mountain and hear wisdom from the old guy. Everyone else is just there for scenery. The group begins their hike. It's a hard hike. As much as our businessman thought he was prepared after a year of climbing, this mountain is much harder than any of his local mountains. He's tripping over rocks and sliding on ice and stepping in mud and falling in lakes. He's tired and dirty and starts to wish he hadn't come. But he looks at his hiking backpack, and it reminds him of the family he left behind and the wisdom he's seeking, and he knows he has to carry on.
The hiking group arrives at base camp. Everyone sets up their tents for the night, and the rest of the hiking group prepares to enjoy a nice stay at base camp. The businessman, however, knows that he won't be here for long. He's got to prepare for the long trek ahead of him. He unpacks his tent, pulls out his sleeping back, rests his head on his hiking backpack, and goes to bed, ready for tomorrow's hike and the wisdom that is forthcoming.
The next morning he wakes up, packs up his tent and sleeping bag, and waves goodbye to the rest of the hiking group. He's going to continue up the mountain and get to meet the wise man on top of the mountain, no matter what happens. He has to complete this journey. With his beloved hiking backpack slung over his shoulders, he continues up the mountain.
Yesterday's hike was the hardest hike he'd every done. But today's was twelve times harder. Without his hiking companions to cheer him on, he feels empty and hopeless. His legs go numb. He's stumbling over each rock in front of him, tired and empty. He's barely able to keep going. At one point, he ends up crawling on his hands and knees because his feet are so exhausted. But every time he thinks about giving up or taking a break, he feels the straps of his hiking backpack digging into his shoulders, and they remind him of his goal and the wisdom he is searching.
After twelve hours of the hardest hiking he's ever done in his life (disclaimer: do not try this at home i think it would kill you. businessman is a fictional character with stamina far beyond yours or mine), the businessman finally reaches the top of the mountain. At the very peak, he sees the wise old man he's been searching for all this time. He cries out, a cry of success and triumph. Finally! Finally! His quest will pay off! He will gain wisdom! He will learn how to bring joy and meaning back into his life!
The old wise man sees him struggling up the mountain summit and rushes over to give him a hand. The old man helps the businessman stumble to a nearby rock, and goes to prepare him a warm drink of hot chocolate as his reward for climbing such a difficult mountain. The businessman relaxes onto the rock and places his hiking backpack behind him. When the old man returns with the hot chocolate, he asks the businessman what he is searching for.
"Oh, old wise man of the mountain! It is you that I am searching for, you and your wisdom. My life has all the hallmarks of happiness. I am wealthy and well-employed and loved by my wife and children. Yet I am dissatisfied. I cannot find meaning in my life anymore. I haven't felt true joy in years. Oh wise man, please tell me how I can learn to find meaning. I've trained for a year to make this climb, and I already feel wiser for being in your presence."
The old wise man nods, and sinks into deep contemplation. He sits on a rock for ten minutes in silence, clearly thinking deeply. Eventually, he coughs once and begins to speak.
"Sir. I commend you for your journey and the effort you expended to reach me. Truly, you have shown a strong spirit and a great will. Unfortunately, I retired from the wisdom-giving sector years ago. Now I sell essential oils as a way to clear your mind and better your health. Can I interest you in a purchase of 100 essential oils to sell and distribute to your friends and family?"
The businessman is in shock. He can hardly believe what he just heard! After all his training and all his suffering and all his hope, he was to be thwarted by a multi-level marketing scheme pitch that he could have heard from his next-door neighbor back in his hometown. At this realization, grief overwhelms him and he begins to sob. He knows he can't stay a moment longer at the top of this forsaken mountain with this old man who won't give him wisdom. He jumps off of the rock, and, sobbing wildly, starts to run down the mountain. In his haste to escape, he leaves his dear hiking backpack behind.
After an hour or so of running wildly down the mountain, the man slows, and realizes how hopeless and dejected he is. No wisdom! No life-changing advice! And eventually, he looks around and feels a lack of weight on his shoulders. No hiking backpack!!! By this point, the businessman can't even cry anymore. He just sinks into the dirt, hopeless, dejected, rejected, empty hearted. As he stares at the ground, empty and pitiful, his eyes land on a small lake in the distance, a little further down the mountain.
As he gazes at the lake, he sees something moving within it. No, two somethings. He stares a little while longer, trying to figure out what it is. His focus on this moving dots begins to lift his depression, and he feels invigorated to find out what they are. With this motivation in mind, he picks himself up and slowly stumbles closer to the lake. As he gets closer, he realizes what the two dots are. There are two fish, and the first fish is swimming faster than the second. As they swim along, the first fish isn't looking where it's going, and it slams directly into a wall. The second fish says "dam".
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