“Sure there are dishonest men in local government. But there are dishonest men in national government too.” - Richard Nixon

"There is a quality even meaner than outright ugliness or disorder, and this meaner quality is the dishonest mask of pretended order, achieved by ignoring or suppressing the real order that is struggling to exist and to be served." - Jane Jacobs

“Me, I'm dishonest, and you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly, it's the honest ones you have to watch out for...'” - Johnny Depp

First of all, I'm feeling much, much better this morning. The only residual sign is that I'm still very unbalanced when I'm walking around, and so the cane may have to be the answer after all. I think it was Becky who said it'd look distinguished anyway, so I guess it's ok to at least give it a try. I'll have something to beat off the rioting masses as they roll all over each other from laughing so hard! Just a little self-deprecating humour there, folks. No need to jump on my self-respect < grin! >.



Anyway, on to the meat of this entry. I have frequently gotten the standard on-line letters on what appears to be bank letterhead asking for account numbers, pins, or whatever because they're doing security checks. I've also received probably more than my share of those ballistically stupid letters from people trying to smuggle millions out of Africa before the government takes it, and they'll give me a couple million if I'll send a thousand or so to get the process started. Those, I usually forward to a special unit of the RCMP that is tracking them.

But yesterday, I got one that disturbs me in a way. Here's the text of it:

Dear Mr/Mrs (my full and accurate first and last name were substituted here)

We are committed to protecting you, with the latest technology to keep your details secure,
and dedicated teams to monitor online activity and intercept any suspicious actions.
And we do everything we can to protect our online customers, but the steps we take
can be much more effective if you work with us to protect yourself.

31 August 2006 [the date on which I received this e-mail] our security system detected an unsuccessfull [ note: the spelling error here is their's, not mine...which begins to undermine the whole reality show just a tad!] access attempt to your online account
from Ip address 82.190.253.29 that does not correspond to your current address.

xxxxxxxxxx Ave
Edmonton
xxx xxx

[That's the part that freaks me out. They had my full and accurate street address and correct postal code, so it truly does look authentic, you'd think, eh?]

Please click here [a hyperlink which you can be sure I did NOT click!!] to confirm your current address or change it online.

If you do not confirm your address until 02 September 2006 your account will be SUSPENDED for security reasons
and we will send you an Activation Code by post which you will need to renew your online banking service access.
You will receive this within seven days if your current address is not confirmed.

Yours sincerely
Adrian Grace
Security Department
Barclays International Insurance Services Company Limited

Now this is all well and good, and isn't it nice that they're looking out for my security. It's kinda like when I've had VISA phone several times after I've made large purchases or multiple purchases all within a short time. They want to verify that it was me using the card, and that the card wasn't stolen. I think that's a cool thing they do, and am quite impressed.

I'd be equally impressed by the service checking suggested by this note except:

1) I have NEVER done any kind of online banking (mostly for this very reason)
2) I have never in my life dealt with Barclay's Bank, Barclay's Insurance, Barclay's Undertaking or any other business in whatever conglomerate they've cobbled together. I couldn't even tell you if they operate in Canada.

How and where would they get my full name and street address? I have been very careful to use neither whenever filling out online forms, etc. It'll be interesting to see if I get this "activation code" and their suggestion what to do with it. I know what my suggestion will be!.



Since I'm on the topic of spam. I actually don't get very much of it EXCEPT....

about 3-5 times a day I get the write up for a "hot tip" in the stock markets. Every one comes from a non-existent address, and every address is different. Does anyway know a way, short of changing my e-mail address, to get rid of these annoyances (they remind me of the mosquito bites we had to put up with in the summers in the bush).

Whew! I guess I was in a ranting mood when I woke up!! Much better now!

Happy sunshine, everyone!

PEACE.

Posted by Evydense on Saturday, September 02, 2006 at 8:00 a.m. | Permalink