It’s been a busy week full of sales meetings, networking events, and proposal writing, and I think it’s finally catching up with me. I stayed up until 3AM on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning watching election coverage, and it was at around 130AM that I realized I had an 8A meeting that morning. Not sure why I planned that. Then at 2AM I realized that I had a 4P Teams meeting. So not only could I not sleep in, I couldn’t skip out early! Tomorrow night we’re hosting an engagement party for the daughter and future son-in-law of good friends, and I know there’ll be a lot of running around tomorrow (before and after, not during, the Buckeyes game).
I should be able to catch up on my sleep on Sunday afternoon, however, with the Browns on the road. Rather than trying to stay awake while sitting at the stadium, I won’t feel badly falling asleep on the couch at home. Here’s hoping you have some good plans for the weekend… but if you don’t you can always pour a Friday evening cocktail and scroll down.
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Copyrighted Images
I may or may not have, in the past, used an image or two that could possibly have been copyrighted (probably like the one above). So the once or twice that I’ve received an email threatening legal action, I’ve deleted the image in question and moved on. Turns out that hackers are now using the fear of legal repercussions to convince people to download an info stealer file. Just another reminder to not always believe email you receive (other than this one).
River Mud
Every five or ten years I happen to see an article about the Delaware River mud that’s used to take the shine off the “pearls” that Major League Baseball uses in every game. Leather baseballs are inherently slippery and the mud from one very secret spot in the Delaware River system is used to reduce slippage and increase grip. Now, researchers have actually done testing to figure out how the mud works and why it works so well.
Docusign Fraud
The next time you receive an email and attachment regarding Docusign, make sure to check its legitimacy with whomever sent it to you. A new hack has allowed scammers to make even more realistic looking Docusign files, making it even less likely that they’ll be noticed by unwitting recipients. Aside from having an educated workforce that knows what to look for, you should have proper internal procedures in place, any time documents are being signed and funds being transferred.
Android Vishing
I got home around 7P last night and sat down to check something in our online banking. When I clicked through to our checking account, I noticed a bunch of $10 charges from Lime bike sharing. Then a $500 Ticketmaster charge. I quickly realized that an hour earlier, I’d declined a call from an 800# that showed as spam. Turned out it was KeyBank. After confirming that our son hadn’t made any of the questionable charges, I noticed a text from Key, as well. Rather than calling the number in the text or the voicemail, I called the number of the back of my debit card (it wasn’t stolen and I have no clue how somebody got the number). Turns out that in addition to the fraudulent charges I could see, there were another couple of thousand (Venmo, Google Pay, and others) that had not yet hit. In the end, all has been resolved and I have a new card.
It was good timing then to have this piece about Android Vishing appear in my inbox this morning. I have an iPhone so it doesn’t necessarily apply to me, but it’s a good reminder to not download unknown apps, and to be careful with what permissions you allow known apps to have. In this case, hackers have been able to redirect calls from end users to their banks, to other fraudulent phone numbers.
Deepfake Job Interviews
I was invited last night to an open house at People Architects, a Cleveland-based outsourced HR and recruiting firm. Had a great time with people I met and a few I’d already known, and connected with a few former Progressive colleagues (even though we didn’t know we were colleagues way back when). More perfect timing, then, that this article about AI deepfakes should appear; it talks about a cybersecurity firm falling for (at least in phase one of the process) a deepfake job candidate. So, Phyllis, Hyle, Sarah, and team- be careful to confirm that your job candidates are actual people!
Poles
There’s been a lot of talk about polls this week, but in just 46 days (hopefully sooner if the weather cooperates), talk will turn to poles. The kind your tongue sticks to when it’s cold outside. You know- like in A Christmas Story, which will air on Dec. 24th. You’ve probably seen the movie, but if you ever wondered about the scientific reason for warm tongues sticking to cold poles, now you’ll know.
Hotels
If you’re looking to travel, but not sure where to go or where to stay, here’s a list of the 51 coolest hotels in the US (one for every state). I’ve only been to one of the 51, and while there a definitely some that look pretty cool, some of the others are a hard pass. I’d love to hear which ones you’d like to visit.
That’s all for now. Too beat to write any more!
Have a great weekend, and Go Bucks (apologies to the two Purdue readers I have)!
Abbey