And I think aren't these kind of riches obscene? Can these billionaires not think of the suffering of their workers (slaves?) toiling for pittances while they swan about in limos and Lears and massive yachts, pretending they "earned" this?
I was reminded of this old song -"We're all Working for the Pharaoh".
Yesterday I was horrified when checking my bank account to notice ten withdrawals totaling nearly $1,000 taken from my bank account through FACEBOOK.
I never use my debit card for online purchases and my passwords are very strong on both FB and for my bank.
i called my bank right away and they were tremendously helpful. And completely baffled as to how this could happen. So fair warning. Fraud is getting enormously sophisticated (maybe because of Covid?). But do check your bank accounts regularly to ensure they have not been compromised. This was a complete shock to me. I am still horrified (and feel so violated) as to how it could happen. There are obviously some appalling vulnerabilities available for hacking in our online lives.
So beware. And yes they are refunding all of my stolen funds but it may take a month.
Obscene is a good word for it. My husband and I were talking the other day about slavery and he said that we just passed it on to the people in China who work for nothing so we can have whatever little gadget we want. He is right, I think. And the bank business makes my head spin.
ReplyDeleteYes, still slaves and so very hard to buy locally made anything. Even the dairies were shut down on our island and outsourced to the mainland. "Cheaper".
DeleteYes, this bank thing is incredible and I can't be alone in this latest fraud.
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Horrifying. Thanks for alerting us regarding Facebook.
ReplyDeleteAll 10 transactions were through Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg has been up on charges before re Russia, etc. I think it goes far deeper.
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YES.
ReplyDeleteAnd governments the world over collude to make the chasm between the rich and the poor wider and deeper. Our own government is cutting back on support for the disadvantage while moving towards tax cuts for the very wealthy - to stimulate the economy. They are firm believers in the trickle down effect and refuse to see that the rich simply dam up that wealth and it doesn't go down the chain.
Yesterday I received a very clever spam phone call. It was automated and presented as a service to me. I was told that a check had identified a large sum being deduced from my credit card and going to Ezibuy. I was then told that if I wanted to dispute the charge I should press one. I didn't but have no doubt that many do, and it doesn't end well for the button pushers.
Exactly EC. And many fall for those government refunds or demands too as they sound so threatening. My inner cynic is always alert.
DeleteI was reading on line today that androids are vulnerable to being compromised. I was doing a lot of my banking on my android. No more. It could be the loophole.
The chasm now between the obscene and the drones is nauseating.
I despise the beneficence of the Gates Foundation and their ilk harking back to emperors and czars and the crushing poverty of serfs.
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Jeff Bezos could afford to give huge amounts to individual governments to cover the cost of dealing with covid, but of course he won't. I haven't used Amazon for a very long time. I use Waterstones for books, W H Smith for stationery, Argos for household items.
ReplyDeleteThat Facebook scam is extraordinary and shocking. How on earth did they manage to do that? Good that the bank will refund the money. I check our bank account every day to make sure everything's as it should be.
Yes, I check most days too Nick. Daughter got a notification recently that she couldn't access her bank as she didn't check it for over a month and an algorhythm had alarmed them. I was quite surprised she wasn't more on top of it. She is now.
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The worst thing that has happened in our lifetimes is that the gap between extreme wealth and poverty lessened in our younger years, but has now widened back to an extreme level.
ReplyDeleteMy mind boggles at withdrawing money from your bank using FB. I guess it is some kind of online payment system within FB.
Yes, I believe it was a hole in the android system and I am considering removing the FB app from there. More to be revealed if more are caught like this.
DeleteThe rich and poor have never been more disparate.
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In my opinion, they should put the money back at once.
ReplyDeleteI check my account every day. A habit I got into when I quit keeping a checkbook.
I agree Joanne, I have no way of accessing my bank account now but I will get a new access card on Monday when my energy is more favourable to actually physically go to the bank. Today was a wipeout.
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And his ex-wife is now the richest woman in the world.
ReplyDeleteSomething so terribly wrong with our society Gigi. I hope she does something good with it and not be like the Waltons and their ilk.
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I have the same feelings about company CEOs, and it hurts even more if they began poor and got filthy rich without remembering the struggles they once had. If they do remember, surely they would do better by their workers? Huh?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear you were robbed, crooks are everywhere.
It seems they have no conscious or belong to that sect of "bootstraps" where poverty is just your own fault. The CEOs I worked for were complete and utter narcissists with one or two exceptions.
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I had a similar experience with one of my credit card issuers and found that someone had used my credit card details to purchase things while I got billed for it. Luckily, before the bank credited the seller's account, they checked with me as it was overseas and the fraud came to light without any damage to my account with them and the fraudsters were traced to South America and action taken.
ReplyDeleteYou were very lucky Ramana. My credit card was breached a few years ago by paying for parking in a city lot in New Brunswick when I was travelling. 10,000 credit cards breached and used in Brussels. No trouble getting the money back. There won't be (I am assured) this time either.
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John continuously rants about Bezos and he treats his employees. He mentioned to his golfing buddies that he could easily give all of his employees a hundred K and he wouldn't even miss it in the rounding.
ReplyDeleteOne of his buddies said but why would he do that??
It is appalling to see the gap. I won't shop at Loblaw's because of the Westons. They are horrible employers.
Our Dominions are now Metros. Definitely not the same caliber.
And Hilary Weston was one of our own Jackie. The unmitigated greed of these monsters never fails to stagger me. Though I am heartened by one multi, who insisted on halving his income and doing so much for the homeless and destitute in downtown Toronto. He never wanted his name mentioned. But he is the exception unfortunately. I only knew about it because I did the financial disbursements through a series of corporations.
ReplyDeleteThis is all stoked by the "achievable" American Dream.TM. Promoted by the bankrupt 10 times 45.
I shop at Coleman's here now, a locally owned company.
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