I recently suffered as a digital refugee in Los Angeles. There was a wind storm that took out our power for three days…it was excruciating to go without email, cell phone and lights. It was like being trapped in a concentration camp. Crime was a bustling around in the hood with nightly free for all gunshots and muggings. It was glorious.
I was on my computer until it died…I slowly (well actually, rather quickly) ran down the batteries of everything I owned. The computer, the phone, the dvd player, the cd player…the keyboard, the nook and so on and so forth.
THEN the worst of all, I was forced to interact with other HUMANS in LIVE conversation. WHAT? It was awkward and weird…actually talking and conversating with humans when I don’t have to (like at work…but even at work you can get away with texting or emailing people from the other room).
Anyways, after all of this uncomfortable and annoying chatting and face to face contact with the neighbors…I retire to (just like a pioneer) my dark living quarters. Eventually the sun comes up and I gather up my family in the horse and buggy and we head to the nearest Starbuck’s to charge our shit up. (like everyone else).
It was my lucky day, I got the outlet next to the men’s bathroom…nice and creepy, just like I like it. I proceed to charge my computer, phone…and anything else I could carry into the joint. (I feel that my 5 dollar cup of coffee is worth a little power stealing).
When my phone finally comes back to life…I have hundreds of text messages. (I was expecting to have zero or one). People are concerned about me and my well-being. Huh? I mean, yea..the power went out but half the people texting me didn’t have power either. I keep reading and reading and reading and reading…and I get to the bottom of it.
Apparently when my computer died? And I went to sleep…somehow some sneaky hacker person got into my facebook and emailed people this weird email about me being in London and getting mugged at gunpoint and needing thousands of dollars.
Some people were nice enough to send me this so-called email. First of all, I (the hacker) starts it out with “Hi, How are you?”…Who would start out a frantic plea for help with a friendly greeting? Not me. I’d be like; “help bitches”…that is how I’d start out a frantic message. (I’m just giving the hacker ideas for next time…the guy/gal really didn’t know me at all).
Next it talked about how I was “thankful to god” for saving my life…No I’m NOT…I’m pissed at him for me getting mugged in the first place, what a jerk. (that is what I’d say)…I certainly wouldn’t thank him for my misfortune.
Then I babbled on some more…blah blah blah (I’m not much of a babbler unless I’ve been drinking…otherwise, I’m pretty much to the point) Part of my JOB is to not babble or waste people’s time and I try to adhere to that in my personal life as well…(unless I’ve been drinking). So I (the hacker masquerading as me) tell the email recipients the mugger got my credit cards and cell phone. Anyone who knows me, knows I would not head to the nearest library after being mugged and get on facebook and start sending messages on facebook. I really don’t even email that much on facebook and the other thing…MY FACEBOOK NAME IS NOT MY REAL NAME, which is even funnier. Most people that got the mail have worked with me in radio and know my real name so they were even more baffled.
Last of all, I have been mugged (a long time ago) and I did not email people asking for money. I called the bank and cancelled my credit/debit cards and then I silently stewed in my apartment about how the guy got my three dollars and I might’ve written a blog about it. But mostly I would just have rather had the mugger say; “Hey, give me your money…I’m going to pull out a knife if you don’t.” Then if he would’ve thanked me in advance…I probably would’ve given him the money if he was creepy/scary enough…
Last of all, no one has guns in London like the US…I know tons of people in London and it’s rare to get mugged at gunpoint there…they don’t have guns laying around over there.
Some of my friends were emailing the hacker back which is even funnier…and he was trying desperately to tell them it was me…but the verbage was close to nothing I would ever write, plus the grammar and broken English was atrocious. (I’m kind of offended if people thought it was me).
In his attempts to get people to believe me..he was signing the email ”Kim” which I have never used and again, anyone who knows me..knows I hate the name ”Kim” (No offense to the Kim’s out there).
And needing thousands of dollars? WTF? IF I was going to ask for thousands of dollars, it would be to make a movie or a short film…not get cab fare back to a hotel. Last of all, if I did get mugged in London and was left with no money, I’d just live there.
In closing, after closer investigation…it turned out the hacker actually went into facebook and somehow reset my password and then had the new secret code sent to his/her phone number which is even more sneaky and I’d have to imagine a lot of work. I know that hackers have high tech programs that just keep trying passwords until they get it…I understand that part of it. But to get the password and then go ahead and change the phone number that the “secret code” gets sent to is kind of an extra step.
Okay…really in closing this time…One of my facebook friends actually sent the hacker a dollar. Maybe this so-called hacker can buy cab-fare to hell now.