Phone scam: Cops don’t announce your arrest in a text.

Hello, random smart phone user. Guess what. The cops are after you. Really?

What do you do, if you suddenly receive an ominous-sounding text message, apparently informing you that you will soon be apprehended by the police? 

Wait. Let’s clarify that.

What if you receive such a shocking message, and you have not actually committed a crime?

This happened to me recently.

At first, I did a double-take. I admit it. Then I plunked the first line of the mysterious text message into an internet search bar and found a long list of scam reports.

This rather prevalent sort of message usually goes something like this:

“________ get expired after that you will be taken into custody by the local cops as there are ___ serious allegations pressed on your name at this moment we would request you to get back to us so that we can discuss about this case before taking any legal action against you the number to reach us is 555-555-5555 I repeat 555-555-5555 thank you.”

Whew! Can you say, “run-on sentence”? And has anyone ever heard of punctuation or capitalization? And what about redundant phrasing? The grammarian in me is dying over this one.

It’s not exactly delightful. In fact, it’s far from it. But something is definitely amiss. And it’s not my legal record – or yours. 

And at least in my town, the police are much more likely to come a-knocking than a-texting, if they have grounds for picking up a criminal.

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Are you offended by sleazy ads and unrelated links online?

Please don’t blame the writer.

Most online publishers and news communities earn their keep by displaying paid advertisements on their site pages. OK, we get that. And that’s why you’re able to read posts like this for free, without paying for a subscription.

And that’s a big plus.

But those ads! Sometimes they fit the content nicely. They may even prove interesting and appropriate to the reader. But sometimes … well, you know … 

Often, the ads that appear are automatically selected, based upon key words in the copy on a particular article or post.

OK, that makes sense too.

Writers appreciate advertisers, because we usually earn a percentage of the proceeds from the leads generated by those ads. However, bloggers, columnists, and web writers don’t usually have the opportunity to select the advertisements that accompany our content. In some instances (such as for blogs or websites we actually own and operate), writers may hand-pick certain ads or specify certain key words for advertising content. Plenty of bloggers and site hosts sell ad space, perhaps reserving the right to refuse unacceptable commercial content.

That’s not the case for writers whose work appears on news or other publisher-owned websites. Frequently, we don’t see the ads until they are already up.

Here’s the tricky part.

Lately, lots of these sites are displaying ads and photo/story links that seem to have little to do with the stories with which they appear. Some are even raunchy.

A writer might put up a piece about cartoon lunchboxes for kindergartners or preschool birthday party themes, only to find graphic links showing up on the page to promote an actresses’ recent shall-we-say wardrobe malfunction or tips for spicing up a tired relationship.

Seriously, people?

Another may publish a post about an upcoming political election and be surprised to see ads for belly fat reduction on the published page. (Wait. That might just fit. Did someone mention pork barrels?)

In any case, readers may be relieved to know their favorite writers are not selecting, or even previewing, the ads and supplemental links that tend to show up with their online work.

So if a teaser ad, urging you to click and see what some misbehaving starlet wore (or didn’t wear) for Halloween or New Year’s Eve or Mardi Gras or Valentine’s Day or last Tuesday, shows up on this page, don’t blame me. And if you see those seemingly miraculous weight loss programs offered alongside any of my online columns, please know I didn’t choose or approve them.

Who knew professional writers would have to issue such disclaimers for their publishers?

Images:

Adapted from public domain photo

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28 Days of Thanks – Microwave

It’s funny how remarkable inventions become rather commonplace to us, so that we forget to consider how helpful they can be. The microwave oven is a prime example, I think.

I surely hope scientists never decide microwaving is dangerous or harmful to our health. That would really rain on my food preparation parade, so to speak. Sure, I cook a lot on my stove and in my oven. But the microwave means dinner can be ready in a snap, if an evening starts to get away from us.

It means frozen foods that somehow never was defrosted earlier can be served the same evening.

It means complicated multi-dish meals can be served hot, all at once, if need be.

It means leftovers can be appealing – in a hurry. Just gotta nuke or zap ‘em.

And did I mention microwave popcorn?

Color me thankful for the microwave oven, even for a seemingly mundane thing. It’s really not.

Images:

Vintage/public domain artwork

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