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The curse of a superhero, infinite bad luck

My mom got phished in an EXTREMELY refined scam that pretty much anyone could fall for-- basically her account was already pre-hacked and they spoofed the bank's number exactly, called her pretending there was fraud, and read back legitimate and fake transactions and personal info so she wouldn't suspect they weren't the bank. Then discouraged her from logging in claiming the account was locked so they could investigate the fraud-- all so she wouldnt catch them making massive purchases using her stolen info.

We have the same boss and when she told him what happened he recommended she call the bank directly, so she did and they managed to catch it in time before $20k of transactions went through. Very scary

I guess the lesson here is never ever answer your phone, I love that fraud is so rampant an entire form of mass communication is now useless

ANYONE can fall for phishing scams- my mom is extremely smart and we discuss common scams that target her age demographic and she still fell for this. If it happened to me I may have fallen for it too. Always be careful!

that's EXACTLY what happened to me last spring. it's dire out there....

that’s EXACTLY what

happened to me last spring.

it’s dire out there….

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

If you EVER get ANY call from ANYONE claiming to be a bank or other important group asking you for anything, tell them you will call them back and call them yourself. Do not call a number they give you, look it up yourself.

Banks don't call people, IME. They send emails and texts and put notices on your online account. Credit cards sometimes do I believe, but in that case, just call the number on your card back.

Never take a call from anyone and assume they are who they say. Period. These people are skilled at social manipulation. They will always tell you there is a crisis.

And don't just google the number, use your bank's official site! A lot of search engines are now providing phone numbers of scams instead of legit ones. Also make sure the url of the site matches the one available on cards and other papers you've been given by your bank because fake sites can look VERY convincing.

FYI: the U.S. government will not call you. Is someone calls and says they're the IRS? They're lying. They say they're the sheriff? Lying. ICE? Lying.

The United States will mail you information. If the government needs to reach you, check your mailbox.

The IRS are generally pretty forgiving and will accept that humans make errors. They will never demand immediate payment for back taxes, ever. They know that's not feasible for most people, so they'll usually make a payment plan and help you out. (This is, of course, assuming you're an individual who fucked up their taxes, not someone running a massive tax fraud scheme.)

There’s also a scam going around right now for folks in the USA who use toll roads. NONE of the texts are real, the EZPass website has a huge banner on the site saying they’re all scams.

I think I've reblogged this a few times because I work in bank fraud. And the thing is, sometimes the bank does call! I have personally called tons of customers. And while it makes my job harder, I would STILL prefer if every one of them told me, "I can't prove you're really my bank," hung up, and called the number on their card. Don't worry about being rude by accusing a real bank agent of being a scammer. It's fine. Hang up, and call back.

The only way to know who you're talking to is if you make the call. And before sending a lot of money somewhere, run it by someone you trust--no one is immune to a good scam, but a friend will be in a different headspace, and more likely to recognize emotional manipulation.

Your bank, the IRS, and any legitimate person calling for non-scam reasons will NEVER EVER throw a fit about you hanging up and calling back. Scams don't work because people are stupid, they work because they stress you out, put you on edge, and prime you to not trust people who can actually help. People do not make smart decisions when they think they're in trouble, and above all else what they need to do is keep you on the line with them, so they will try to convince you that you are in trouble, you cannot trust the cops or your bank/credit union/ect., and if you hang up something really bad will happen to you. If you suspect you're being scammed, just say that they caught you at a bad time, or something came up, and ask if it's okay to call them back later. A legit employee will be understanding and agree, a scammer will immediately start doing everything they can to make you way too scared and stressed to hang up.

My fiance worked at a credit union for 8 years and they were trained to notice and intervene if they suspected someone was being scammed, and he told me the number one thing that signals a scam is a member coming in looking fucking terrified while on the phone with someone who is essentially screaming at them that the credit union staff cannot be trusted and that if they hang up the world will end.

It's a scam, every single time. They work by trapping you with fear. Just tell them you need a minute and will call them back, and then contact the bank/credit union/ect. yourself with the number on your card or their website. If they respond to you saying you need a minute and will call back with hostility or by upping the stakes, especially if they say you can't trust the authorities and that hanging up will cause something bad to happen, you're talking to a scammer, and you can safely ignore anything and everything they have to say.

10 Ways to Spot Financial Scams and How to Defend Yourself 

they should invent a grief that doesn’t define you in new and strange ways for the rest of your life

Boss is asleep, cannot stop me from frogposting

First like and this has already found its intended audience

uh oh

"THAT'S MY HUSBAND!!!!"

Reed interrupting a Luna Snow concert to talk about quantum physics while making his whole arm a heart for his wife 💘💕💗💖

Requested by my good friend @kovacs-on-comics

Ref image below

I know this is going to make me sound pretensions but I have to get it off my chest. I feel an unimaginable rage when someone posts a photo and is like "this picture looks like a renaissance painting lol" when the photo clearly has the lighting, colors and composition of a baroque or romantic painting. There are differences in these styles and those differences are important and labeling every "classical" looking painting as renaissance is annoying and upsetting to me. And anytime I come across one of those posts I have to put down my phone and go take a walk because they make me so mad

In case you're curious here's what I mean.

Renaissance(distinct lines, stability and the individual man):

Baroque (bold, chaotic, dramatic):

Romantic(romanticize the simple hard working life):

Do you see the difference?

everyone make sure to set out cheese & crackers for neil tonight <3

Yes, absolutely, especially now in this era of shitty, fall-apart, fast fashion. Also, adding to this, I'll add info that I've found the most useful in learning to sew -

First off, there are three stitches that are really useful to know:

1. Running stitch - easiest and quickest to do, but weakest.
2. Ladder stitch - also very easy and quick, more sturdy, and also sometimes called an "invisible stitch" because the end result is pretty well hidden. Good for seams and tears.
3. Backstitch - a bit harder to do and definitely takes more time, also definitely more visible, but the end result is damn near indestructible. I used this to sew a couple chair cushions as a birthday gift for my mom out of scrap materials and the results have lasted years. I also used this to repair some couch cushions and take in a skirt whose elastic had failed.

Further Tips (from a non-professional, so keep that in mind):

*Threading the needle is the most difficult bit, but wetting the ends of the thread helps.

*If you tie off the ends, you're going to want to use a double knot. I've also heard a backstitch can be used to hold the string in place, but when I tried that, it came undone so I ended up having to tie off the ends anyway (but again, I'm not a professional seamstress, I just needed to get the job done).

*You'll also want the thread length to be several times the length of the tear - like 4-5 times, even more, especially for a smaller tear. This is because you'll need more length to tie off the ends, and you'll lose half the length of the thread at the very start (I recommend double threading - both for strength and because I've found it easier to do).

*Pins help hold fabric in place and so are particularly helpful for longer tears, or holes requiring a patch.

Sound up

i just think it says a lot about the person. my favorite is a bear named theodore

I am disinclined to believe you, Tumblr user teddybearsandlightningstorms.

I have plenty of teddy bears and arious other stuffed animal, walrus is my favorite because walruses are honary bears and also somehow the best pillow for my neck despite being over a decade old.

OK, that's fair, my time on this site has just made me unfairly suspicious of walruses.

baking with my mama

made me really happy so i drew them....