"Compromised, even the cons have aloha..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #311)

 

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer  
amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.

Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i

with his best friend and spiritual adviser,
 Ivanka "Costco" Obama, The Bipartisan Dog!

               Sunrise/weather/photos~January~2021

           (These photos made it to Hawaii News Now)

                                   Photos courtesy,

                                  James "Kimo" Rosen

Blog #2065~Kimo's world #311

Compromised, even the cons have aloha 

 

  My stimulus money had just arrived and I was scanning Craigslist under cell phones

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max-
128 GB, Pacifica blue, brand new
receipts upon request, $570 OBO.

since I’ve been contemplating upgrading my iPhone. I see an ad for an iPhone 12 Pro Max 128 storage for $570.00.  This is a great deal; new they are twice that and the phone has only been out since November.

I think to myself this must be a typo or a scam.  I decided to respond with a note that I’m very interested please call me if still available.

7:30 PM the guy calls and says he’s willing to deliver and help this old guy with the transfer

of the sim card and transferring my apps onto the new iPhone from my current iPhone. Since he was helping me, I was at his mercy for when was convenient for him. He wanted to come over that evening, although I am not a night person. He got over around 9:00 PM, a time I am usually getting ready for bed.

I was a little nervous about a stranger coming over, however, I figured, the guy is

willing to do me a favor, he came over and we struck it off. We talked story and seemed to know a few mutual acquaintances and had a few laughs all while this man who looked in his late twenties transferred my sim card to the iPhone 12.

The downloading completed after approximately an hour and a prompt came up on the iPhone 12,

which said, 'try again.' We kept hitting the prompt on the screen that said, 'Try again.'  At this point, it was around 10:45 P.M., and Nick, the name the guy gave me, said he used to work at the cell phone kiosk at Costco and needed to call apple support, however, they would not open until 2:00 AM Hawaiian time. He was smooth and said he could stay at my place but knew I was tired, so said he could take the phone home with him and call apple support from home and come back to me the next day. He gave me back my sim card and put it back in my iPhone10.

I told Nick, I really want this phone, especially for the camera. How do I know you will come back and sell it to me?

He said I could give him a $300.00 deposit. I said I was thinking more in the lines of $100.00? On that note, he said that's OK, and said, "I'll just be back in the morning," and left.

After he left, I felt wow, nice guy, he didn't even take a deposit.

The next day,

I hadn't heard from him therefore I texted him and with no response, I texted him again, " Any news?" He texted back, "Hi sorry not yet, been on the phone most of the day."

The following day I text him,

Good morning Nick, were you able to get in touch with apple support? Hoping to complete the sale of the iPhone-12. Let me know what's happening?" "Nick, Can you call me?"

(Nick responds,) "OK I will after work."

Eight hours later I text back to him, 'What's up, do you still want to sell the phone?" 

(No response.)

I try calling, I get sorry this number is not a working number. I redial two additional times to make sure I dialed the correct number.

I realized I've been compromised, hacked, bamboozled. I get anxious and start freaking out that this

guy must have taken off with all my apps when he was pretending to help me transfer everything and acted like the transfer didn't work. I believe it actually somehow worked and he must have stolen my identity onto some sort of iCloud?

The next day I called the police. I spoke with officer Kerry, for over an hour he was very informative

about cybercrimes being prevalent amongst seniors and praised me for being vigilant. He advised me to cancel my debit card, so nothing could be backdoored through any app connected to it.

I also called apple support and they walked me through changing my apple password and passcodes.

I changed all my passwords on all my accounts online.

This con who came to my place befriended me and was full of aloha.

I felt embarrassed this happened

to me and wasn't going to go public, however, the public needs to beware. Crime is much different these days. Your life, your identity, your money all can be gone with the click of the mouse or touching the screen of a smartphone without even leaving your home.

If anybody gets anything from me online that is insulting, it ain't me. I've been compromised!

When you think it can't happen to you, it can. An anonymous quote says it all;

"Don't trust everything you see. Even salt looks like sugar.

This blog appeared in the 01-26-21

edition of the Garden Island news!

https://www.thegardenisland.com/2021/01/26/opinion/voices-compromised-even-the-cons-have-aloha/

My Op-ed's and guest columns

usually make the most popular read

articles of the day! As you can see above!

Hana Hou, (Encore)

"A tale of the three types of masks..." 'James "Kimo" Rosen' (Kimo's world #310)

 

James "Kimo" Rosen is a retired professional photographer  
amongst other things lived in a tent outdoors for 7 years.

Rosen currently resides on the tropical island of Kaua'i

with his best friend and spiritual adviser,
 Ivanka "Costco" Obama, The Bipartisan Dog!

               Sunrise/weather/photos~December~2020

           (These photos made it to Hawaii News Now)

                                   Photos courtesy,

                                  James "Kimo" Rosen

Blog #2064~Kimo's world #310

A tale of the three types of masks 

 

 You have heard it said over

the years how fast past years have gone by.  2020 was the polar opposite of all years.  It seems like 100 years since the pandemic started.  The irony is, it’s two months shy of one year.  

Who would have imagined

in their wildest dreams or should I say nightmares not being allowed to visit loved ones dying in the hospital, attend funerals, birthdays, weddings, graduations, religious services, or any social function with human interactions?  

We no longer shake hands, hug, or greet each other with a friendly peck on the cheek. 

The classroom is now virtual and sporting events no longer have fans in attendance.  

The restaurants that haven’t filed bankruptcy have relied on takeout business. 

 Who would have thought

when the pandemic began that social distancing would become our norm and part of our everyday vocabulary? Who would have thought that we would be required to wear masks almost everywhere, including banks?

There are three basic kinds of masks used for protection against COVID along with the

professional N-3 used by surgeons and doctors. There is also the face shield, which

on its own merit has been determined to not be as effective as other types of facial coverings.  It is good as auxiliary and extra protection, especially for the eyes.

The three basic types of masks also known as 'COVID facial diapers' are;

1-The disposable surgical paper type mask. 

2-The home-made cloth type mask.

 3-The bandana or scarf type mask.

The surgical disposable paper type

of mask is the most common and most comfortable. It allows one to breathe at ease and keeps one reasonably safe. These are used by people with common sense and utilized by the majority of the population and many in the medical profession.

 The N-95 surgical mask is the best protection from COVID. There was a shortage of these during

the onset of the pandemic. Therefore, limiting distribution to those in the medical field. If, however, you can get this type of mask it is the best of the best, especially compared to the cheap .10 cent disposable paper mask type mask imported from China that you can buy in bulk from amazon. 

The homemade cloth mask is for people who not only wish to stay safe but make a fashion statement.

  It may be with the logo of their favorite sports team or even for a fundraiser for a nonprofit with a business logo. These are essentially vanity masks with so many styles, for people who enjoy looking at themselves in the mirror.

Those wearing bandanas are usually alpha males and females. The tough guys and non-conformists.

The bandana is a single layer and usually very thin, and offers less protection than homemade cloth masks, N-95’s or cheap surgical masks.  Bandana mask wearers are the leaders, and those who like to give orders to others, they are the lead dogs of society. They can also be the bank robbers and crooks.

 It is believed by some that bandana type masks are impractical; banks now say

you must wear a mask. Can you imagine 3-alpha males enter the bank wearing bandana style masks, all is normal until one goes to the window and says, "Aloha, give me all your money."

What if 2020 was just a trailer for 2021?

When will this insanity end?

For all who take life so seriously. Yes, I'm being somewhat facetious.

Happy New Year, 

Hana Hou, (Encore)