Newest Member of LifeLock

Just when I think life is getting dull and boring, something like this comes up and blindsides me. 
Hello my name is Erin and I'm here to talk to you about scams, craigslist and why you should pay attention to those warnings on the front page. 
I like to consider myself a very, computer savy person. I know better than to open certain emails, I can identify spammers a mile away. I never check my banking information on public computers, or on public wifi areas.
Common Sense stuff right?
So as I'm job hunting on craigslist, I have been very careful about the jobs I've applied for, checking for company names, googling them to see if they are indeed a legit company in my town, things like that. So far so good. Or at least I thought. 
When I got the email Wednesday morning from a company wanting to interview me for a receptionist position, you can imagine my excitement. All that hard work finally paying off.
Sure this may not be 'the" job, but finally it was a step in the right direction! 
Clue #1

"We would like to thank you for sending your resume to [Company Name].  After reviewing your initial credentials, I think you could possibly be a great fit for our company. 

 Our Human Resource manager would like to schedule an interview with you before she leaves for vacation early next week. You need to complete the pre-interview screening before we can schedule an interview....."

The initial email itself was well written, none of the obvious spelling errors you come to associate with scammers, though I did find it a bit strange, that the link back to the craigslist post had been flagged for removal; but in my state of delirium it didn't occur to me that if the company was taking down a post they wouldn't have FLAGGED it. However I found what I thought was the same post, and the company was legit so I went ahead with the screening.


Feel free to say a prayer for me now. 


Clue #2 
The questions seemed legit and I filled the answers out in a professional an courteous manner. I have this job in the bag people! After submitting that part of the application, it tells me they need me to fill out a credit report as the government needed something, blah, blah, blah. This gave me pause for a second, since they credit company wanted my credit card number..not to mention my SS#. The website itself was VeriSigned Trusted and after some hesitation (aka making sure the links they gave me, and that website were one and the same) I filled it out. 


"I'm sorry we are unable to process your request". 


I got this message a couple of times, before I backed off and started looking around a little more closely at the website. I emailed Customer Support (of the credit report website) and then emailed the "HR" people to let them know I was having problems. 


And I waited. 


And waited.. 


And. Waited..


And checked craigslist home page and felt my heart sink.

"SCAM ALERT - affiliate scammers are posting bogus ads promising (nonexistent!) employment, paid research trials, or other compensation, but then notifying repliers that they'll need to jump through a hoop first, directing them to:

• background checking services

• credit checking or reporting sites..........

Lots of variations on this scam, but each generally involves dangling (nonexistent!) compensation, and then directing you to a website where you are asked to sign up for something, use your credit card, or input personal information such as your email address."

Are you serious? Did I just fall for a scam? Really? You're kidding right. PLEASE BE KIDDING! 


Then I get an email back from the credit report company. 

"We apologize for any inconvenience, but we could not process the application for your credit report. This is most probably due to an interruption in the transfer of information from the Bureau to our system.
Let us assure you, we did not charge your credit card; you may confirm this with your credit card company."

OMGoodness! I do NOT care about my credit card, what do you MEAN THERE WAS AN INTERRUPTION IN THE TRANSFER OF MY INFORMATION!!!??!? 

At this point, I went back to the website, and begin looking at it a bit more closely. First things first was the red line through the https: . Which means, in layman terms, all the info on this site is unsecured and can be viewed by other parties. 

Cue Freak out. 

At this point, I decided to check out LifeLock.com, my parents have it, and at this point, I know I need to do something to protect myself. $10 a month? You know...., its better than having my identity stolen. 

"Where do you want my credit card number?"

You can be sure, I made sure the site was secured before entering ANYTHING in. 

So. Now I really need additional work. 

The moral of this story is, be smart. be careful. Learn from my mistakes. 

The End. 

P.S. (I have not heard back from the supposed company who wanted to hire me. So I think it's safe to say they are fake.) 

March 1

February was a month of highs and lows, good times and bad. In other words? Normal. 

February Goal Update: 

• Early to Rise [Otherwise known as my 12 in 12 goal] - I have met my goal of getting up at least 30 minutes before it was time for me to leave. It helped that another goal of mine, was to cut down on my caffeine, as it allowed me to drop off to sleep faster, as well as wake up easier. 
• Continue working towards my 100 books in 2012 goal. [ 25 30 down!]
• Continue to drink more water and less soda [ so/so]

March Goals: 

David sleeps next to me at the Library

• Early To Rise Version 3.0 
• We're upping the criteria to consistently getting up an hour earlier. Now that I have a "baby" I no longer can afford to be lazy, as I have to make sure he potty's and gets a short walk before I leave for the day. The dachshunds? I could just let into the yard, they'd do their thing and we'd move on, however the Guide Dog Foundation requires their puppies to relieve on leash, on concrete. So yeah. 
• Continue whittling down my book goal. 
• have I mentioned how much I love the library? Sometimes my dog and I  just hang out among the stacks, reading books and playing on my phone. 
• Apply for (5) jobs a week 
• I was supremely lazy this month, I can admit that now. I've, maybe, applied for 4-5 jobs this month. My past experiences haven't helped, as with every job I've obtained, it was through emailing a place I wanted to work, or having someone know something, somewhere. So this whole pounding the pavement thing is foreign to me. Not to mention, I'm still scared at the idea of working full-time/ getting another part time job. Its not fun working two jobs, and I'm not really looking forward to the idea of doing it again. But i NEED the money. 
• Caffeine 1-2 times a week 
• I've actually started to lose my taste for the heavily caffeinated drinks, I once did love. MOuntain Dew? Blech. Dr. Pepper...amazingly enough, I'm starting to think it tastes gross. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?
• At least (5) posts to this and other blogs. 
• :) 

Dear 2010 - End of March

Dear March, 

Another doozy of a month, I can already tell this is a year that I won't forget anytime soon! This month I gained a roommate, started living pay cheque to pay cheque (I like spelling it that way), was more scared about government action than I've ever been.

Survived daylight savings time, skipped the one (and only) class of the semester and have revived from my post-spring-break-funk. :) I also decided that I couldn't let an instructors teaching style, get to my work. This is about me not them, and if I fail to produce a good product the person they are going to look at is me. So I'll be turning in my first late assignment of the semester, purely because I want to do a better job then what I was about to turn in.

I know I will get a bad grade, but I want to be able to get a bad grade on good work, then a bad grade on bad work.Does anyone besides me understand that sentence? No? 


And ya wondering why I'm taking developmental writing...

I've also jumped some major sharing hurdles...I have issues with that, but my darling roommate is helping me out with that! That and she has her own stuff and isn't asking for mine, which makes me more willing to share. (*cough-sibling take note-end cough*)

March it feels like you've been one test, and headache after another, but I survived by the help and grace of God.

You're are officially history; Good riddance.

As of 34 minutes ago.

March 1

A new Month.

I am actually excited to see what March has in store for us.

I'm really hoping it includes lots and lots of sunshine.

I don't really care if its cold, if the suns shining.

I have to be outside, everyday for at least an hour regardless, but it makes scooping poop so much more fun, if the sun is shining. :-) 

Updated my 101 N 1001 - 12 things done, only one last month. :( As soon as my refrigerator gets repaired, or replaced, I can began working on some other things, such as my daily water intake. 

I mean I COULD start now...but drinking warm water is kind of nasty IMO. 

Drinking warm Dr.Pepper is worse now that I think about it....

C is almost finished moving in, all she had to do was move in her room really, so I guess she'll just hang out at home, until she reaches her deadline. Her mom is not excited about all of her kids being out of the house, so she's attempting to make the transition a little bit eaiser.

Couches were moved in today, the dachshunds are very upset that they don't get to lay on them...when I'm looking anyway.

I'm....... still dealing with preparing to share my house, I'm fine with it, but its still a big adjustment.
My biggest worry will be my dogs. My family (bless their hearts) were split down the middle about dogs. Four of them, were ok/loved the dogs, while the other four, tolerated/didn't like them. As a dog LOVER that was an extremely difficult situation for me to be in.

Those of you who own dogs, know the "joys" of dog ownership include, training socialization, messes, accidents, chewed things, etc..etc...

In order to have a great "relationship" with dog and family, EVERYONE HAS TO BE on the same page. But being split down the middle, everyone had their own ideas about how I should be handling different situations. And (this is why I love my family) freely expressed them too me.

NOTE: PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT I AM EXTREMELY GRATEFUL THAT I WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE MY PUPPIES, SO THIS IS NOT BASHING THAT AT ALL!!!

I was pretty much frustrated, on edge and stayed in my room all the time.

We'll not even talk about my friends reactions... (think typical black girl...*screams, screeching,scrambling to get away. OMG GET HIM AWAY FROM ME....etc..etc..)

So you can see that I'm a little nervous this will happen again. Granted C & co. have never displayed any negative reactions, to my animals...well other than R shoving them out of "her" house with her foot....*cough* *cough*

C has really been great about them, and I know she could care less, but until I get a "visual" comformation of that, our first few weeks together will be interesting.....

DAILY PHOTOS - MARCH 1, 2010 

Downtown K'ville, on my way to the recycling center after work. Yay me!