The day was off to a good start yesterday.
An appointment in Clifton Park was not until 11 am, so there was no need to rush about and there was time to look at email.
Which was when things began to slide…
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A message from a dear friend in England:
“Sorry to bother you, but do you ever shop on Amazon?”
Why yes, how can I help?
-There was “someone, just down with liver cancer“.
-It was their birthday and a promise had been made to send an Amazon card but there was some sort of trouble with his credit card. If I could help, he would of course pay me back.
Obvious, isn’t it?
But now running out of time, I had only a minute to send a quick reply asking for further info and saying I would be back later.
.
Well I’m not that gullible. I actually fell into this sort of trap once before after receiving a message from a “friend”.
What is spooky is how these criminals manage to zero in on people you have a particular regard for, people you would do anything for, without stopping to think.
As we made our round trip to Clifton Park, I realised that the real friend would not have emailed me, he would have called and it is extremely unlikely that he would have difficulty with a credit card. Even more unlikely that he would ask me for help in such a manner.
.
It was my plan to ask my “friend” a question that only the real friend could answer, but by the time I got home I knew this was unnecessary and I was un-surprised when I checked my inbox to find:
An email with details and a request for £100 on a card, where to send it, and a truly touching message which the sender urged me not to omit.
Followed by another message: “Did you get my email?”
Followed by:
“What gives with the credit card?”
Thought they could steal from me and abuse me?
.
So I launched a blanket email to warn my real contacts to watch out for any strange request appearing to originate from me.
Forgetting to blind copy all the addresses, because blanket email is not something I have ever used and of course I forgot. So apologies.
Next came the joy of re-setting passwords, grinding my teeth at having my time wasted by low life criminals.
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The day however, was not a total loss.
There had been creatures to see.
Very beautiful creatures.
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This gorgeous horse had been standing by the fence.
As we passed, the horse shied away, kicking up snow.
.
As a child, I wanted nothing more than a horse.
Black Beauty, My Friend Flicka….
What I got was an advanced sort of rocking horse.
Sitting astride it, I could ride it up and down the corridor leaving awful marks on the lino, so my mother was no doubt happy when I decided this substitute simply wouldn’t do.
.
Along the Hudson, for once there was no car behind to prevent the driver from slowing down.
It was a breezy day and the geese were bobbing about.
.
In great numbers.
With my window open, we enjoyed the sound effects as well as the sight.
One of my favourite audio-visuals.
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Also among my favourites is this sycamore tree that lives beside the Stillwater Bridge.
Like all of it’s kind, it seemed ready to reveal it’s new suit, late winter storms be damned!
Such a fine day, with interesting clouds.
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At the medical clinic, things were backed-up.
A splash of bright colour drew my attention to a left-over poinsettia in the window and to the doctor’s dog,
…which snubbed me.
Terrier-able attitude.
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There were other distracting colours as well, but I shall save those for another day.
After, I was keen to get on with sorting security issues…
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But there were more creatures to see…
…it was a horsey sort of day…
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There are lots of horses here.
Saratoga Springs is well known for it’s race course and we see many beautiful animals in our travels, but they are usually not so close to the road.
So yesterday had fleeting treats!
More geese enjoyed a small wetland.
By the time we reached home, it was late. After changing passwords, I finally got around to sending all my tax information to my accountant.
Usually, my tax info is dispatched promptly. The other day I suddenly noticed that March had arrived. OMG, tax return not done yet! One of the reasons I dislike New Year is all the scrabbling around collecting tax papers.
When I was young and without encumbrances, I used to compile the return myself. Once, I even did it for a friend! Those days are long past. Whether it is really more complicated now, I’m not sure.
Much of my working life involved dealing with columns of numbers.
Nowadays, though, they all blur together and make me anxious, so I pay an accountant to make sense of it all.
The thought occurred to me that I should perhaps ignore the whole thing to see how fast the IRS would catch up with a small fry like me.
They always end up having to refund me for excess tax paid, so it is not in my interest to test the system.
Otherwise, I just bet those stinkers would be after me.
Thank you, Carolyn, for the pictures of all the beautiful creatures and the horror story of your email.
But all is well that ends well.
Joanna
All is now clear!
So many beautiful horses and birds. Thank you for sharing. And those scams! Once a lawyer friend fell for it !!
Beautiful horses and birds. Thank you for sharing. Once a lawyer friend fell for such a scam !!!
Such beautiful horses 💕💞 I always wanted to have horses when I was a kid. I hope to have o e I e the future 💕. I love your photos they are very beautiful
Thank you. Nature provides!
Lovely horses – they always look so proud when they gallop in the field (or the snow 😉). My husband always says there is one institution you don’t want to get into trouble with and that is the tax man! And I’m glad you were able to stay out of the email trouble maker’s web!
Most of the scams here are by text messages or phone calls. I got one on Monday, informing me that £900 had been taken from my current account, and I had to “Press 2” to discuss this with someone. But the caller was using a mobile number, and an automated voice. Some people might fall for that, but I didn’t.
We had the first snow of the year in Beetley last night Two inches, and it didn’t settle on the ground.
Best wishes, Pete.
So much wildlife on all of your drives as much as the scams out there! I continually get tons of scam emails and they’re getting pretty good now to make things look legit – never open any attachment or click a link.
Particularly like your sunsets.