Wednesday, August 29, 2012

HACKED

Beware! There are people out there with nothing better to do than make trouble for people they don't even know. My sincere apologies to all my blogging friends who may have gotten a strange message of me being stranded in Spain.

The manner of the attack was a hard-to determine trick. I had closed my computer while going up to the third floor to find a piece of information someone had asked for in an e-mail. When I returned and opened my computer to my e-mail, there was a request for me to log in. This happens about once a week or so. When I go to my e-mail, I get a page from Yahoo asking for me to log in using my address and password. I did not look carefully because it looked just the same as usual. HOWEVER, when I got to my in-box, it was empty, no contacts, no files, everything wiped clean. Then the phone rang from a friend saying I had been hacked and telling me the message she had received from  a fake address looking like mine but with Julie spelled "Juliie".

So...plan "A", I called my son in D.C. and he helped me change my password and then, by scype, talked me through the reporting process so hopefully within a day or two, I will recover my contacts and files.

The rest of the day I have been receiving phone calls from friends checking to make sure I am OK. Now, anyone who knows me, knows I have "phone-phobia". I have a phone but I never make calls. I am so dyslexic that I can not get any numbers in order ... especially the long phone numbers ... but people who want to talk, call me. If I ever wondered that there was anyone out there that cared about me, I should not have.

The calls were to let me know, to check on me, to sympathize with the problems and frustrations I was facing, and even, like my pastor, to joke that I should bring him back something from Spain.

This is the second time this summer for being hacked. The first time it was Yahoo that was hacked and addresses stolen but this time It was my inability to detect a fake sign-in. My son said I might have known by checking the HTML, but that hackers are good at copying formats. I know most people who use computers regularly are quick to identify that message asking for money as a hacking, but, older friends without so much computer savvy may not. The first hacking in July cost the friendship of a quilting friend who was so angry with me for sending the first message (actually, a link with no subject or message that I would have known not to open) that she never wants to speak to me ever again. I have no idea where that link went but she had never been so insulted in her life!

So. while I wait for my computer to return to normal ... if it ever does ... I will do a bit of hand sewing and be very thankful for my guru son and all my caring friends.

21 comments:

  1. Julie even people with good computer skills get caught. but I am so glad that you are okay at first the email seems real but then I realized you would not do what the email said.
    On a good side the draw is this weekend I am hoping you are a winner!! would love to send the quilt all the way to Japan.
    Real friends stay friends no matter what...hugs friend.

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  2. I did not trust the 'strange email' and I am very glad you're not attacked physically and that you're okay! Thanks for your explanation and warning.
    I hope your computer will soon return back to normal.

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  3. I suspected something like that, YUK !
    THANKFULLY, you're OK my friend ;>) ENJOY YOUR SEWING AND RELAX !

    XOXOXOXOXO

    Note : Maybe I should change my Yahho password, too ?

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  4. Julie, thanks for the heads up. I just checked my email and I was about to email and warn you that I got the very email you're talking about, they even signed your name at the bottom! Of course, I recognized it as a phony, have a quilty day!

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    1. Just rec'd one of those "spam" e-mails...glad to see that
      you are ok! No idea why people do this?
      Will hit delete...and hope you can find some fun fabrics to stitch
      and ignore this prank!

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  6. You email went straight to spam so I guess my computer knew it was a phony.
    Glad you are okay.

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  7. it happens xx as long as YOU are OK no harm done xx

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  8. I'm glad your son will be able to fix this for you and doubly glad that you were NOT attacked and stranded somewhere.

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  9. I'm glad you er oké. I recieve a email and I think ???? It is a warning for everyone. Have a good return at home.

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  10. Except for the fact that we KNEW that you were not in Spain - that email looked ALMOST real to me. They even had a picture of you and Nikko. I forwarded you the one that I got - so that you could have your son check it out - and then realized that it may have gone back to the hackers. Some people have nothing better to do - what a shame! Glad you are OK. ;))

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  11. So glad you had someone who could help. I always know these messages aren't true and I wonder if they ever work. I understand your phone phobia too. I never phone just for a chat. I'd rather talk face to face. All's well that ends well.

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  12. What a pain in the ass being hacked is. Grrrrr ... It happens to almost everyone sometime, though, so it's a pity someone would blame you personally for something that could just as easily have happened to them.

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  13. I got one, but it was in my junk folder, I knew you would never write an email like that.
    I am not a phone person either, but I love my iphone, I can tell it who to dial but I love the features for when I am out and need to look things up or find out where i am.

    Debbie

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  14. I'm so glad you are ok... I didn't belive you were in Spain....so the Mail got to spam. Have a great day and don't let this Get you down. It can happen to us all.
    Hugs:-)

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  15. Wow. You are getting phone calls too. (But I don't know your phone number.) I stupidly e-mailed you saying that I knew you were not in Spain. I never thought that you might not be able to get into your e-mail files. Anyway... I was thinking of you and wanting to commiserate with you. I did come to your blog and noticed that other people were contacting you about the problem so figured you were probably talking to your son about then...

    I'm surprised any of your friends might be insulted by a strange e-mail especially when they find out it wasn't you that sent it! How could you have controlled that? Basically, I think your blog friends are pretty smart and know you well enough (never met ya though!) to see through the phony stuff.

    Anyway stay blogging so that we can keep in touch. Let us know when you have a new e-mail address or something.

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  16. Sorry Julie. Hopefully this won't happen again. I didn't get the email this time, but, I have in the past. Sorry about your quilting buddy, too. Hope she never has to know how bad it feels to be hacked herself.

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  17. Yes, it looked real, but I was so sure it was not from you, and also realised when I forwarded it, it would maybe go to the hacker. yes, we are your true friends, anyone who does not want you as a friend after a blog or email mishap, needs to be more understanding.Take care, we will wait for a new email, is your blog address OK. Fondest greetings to Julie,( who didn't have a holiday in Spain at all!!!) from Jean.

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  18. I'd still set up a gmail in the mean time and link this blog to it. you can have '2 step authorisation' by putting in your cell number (or your son's if you don't have one) and then if anyone tries to change the password, they can't until they get the code sent to your phone. so the hackers are stuffed unless they have stolen the phone too!

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  19. I got the Spain message, deleted and went on with my reading. I get those quite often from friends who got hacked so I know now to ignore. I also knew you just returned from the U.S. and wouldn't have been off to Spain! :) I am sad that a "friend" got angry at a computer problem you had. I think maybe she was just angry at herself for clicking on a link that was unidentified and took it out on you. Friends don't get mad over silly stuff like that. I've not had it happen to me but it surely could because I'm not very technologically savvy so if you ever get a message saying I'm anywhere without money just let me stay there. I've been without money plenty of times and always managed to get by. :) blessings, marlene

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  20. I've gotten a couple of those junk emails lately, and one may have been from you, can't remember. Course I knew you weren't in Spain or wherever. I didn't quite understand how you got into trouble in the first place though. Did Yahoo ask you to log into your account? I get a little log in box from gmail now and then--is that it? I don't log into my gmail very often and don't know if I'd notice anything amiss either. Guess we should all be a little more vigilant. Sheesh! Maybe those people should just get a life!

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