Tuesday, July 9, 2013

AT&T, Hackers, Little Village Street Market: La Garra Sat., July 20th, Movie Review, Free Haircuts & Manicures

          BACK ON TRACK: I had to take a break from writing the Sallas’ Column because I was overwhelmed and exhausted with family obligations and community involvement. I’ve missed informing, educating and entertaining my readers.
          WORDS OF CAUTION. Never, ever give your password to anyone, this includes AT&T or Yahoo! Recently my computer was hacked into and the hackers took control of my emails. They sent out a false and disturbing email to all of my contacts. The email said I was in the Philippines, robbed, and lost all of my papers and I needed $1,200 to get back home. Luckily, several of my friends knew I was here in Chicago. Fortunately many of them called me immediately to tell me they believed my computer was hijacked.
          A WEEK BEFORE my contacts received this bogus email I received a notice from AT&T and Yahoo with a message requesting my email address confirmation and passwords. The notices were in a threatening “WARNING” message stating I would lose my email service if I did not “confirm” or “comply. Hackers are so clever because the message looked “official”. The message looked authentic and displayed the AT&T and Yahoo logos, color, and professional language. But it was bogus! I became a victim of a phishing scam. Phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.  Do not become a victim of phishing, if you receive a suspicious email, especially if your being asked for your password, birth date, or social security number, click “spam” on these bogus messages and your electronic carrier representative will investigate.
          I AM NOT happy with the internet service I’m receiving from AT&T. In trying to remedy the hacker situation I had to talk to AT&T representatives and technicians from Southeast Asia, Texas, California, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Florida.  Each of them put my on “hold” for several minutes only to transfer to another technician.  AT&T, from this experience, must be outsourcing technician service with foreign representatives. These representatives are hard to understand and the problem gets lost in translation. I was so frustrated that I finally requested to speak with only an American AT&T service representative. Unfortunately I lost two weeks of emails which can never be retrieved but this issue has been resolved and I am able to receive all my emails.

     LA GARRA: The 2nd Annual Street Market “LaGarra” of Little Village will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2013 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at 26th St. to 25th St. & Central Park Avenue. Featuring clothing, household items, food, refreshments, pony rides and a horse for adults to have a photo opportunity. Sponsored by the Little Village Community Council. Wanted: Vendors, call 312/286-3405 for more information.

Fernando Morfin on his horse "Casanova"
                                                    MOVIE REVIEW: "The Lone Ranger" starring Johnny Depp as Tonto and Arnie Hammer as the Lone Ranger is a wild western thriller with lots of action packed scenes. Young kids will enjoy seeing this movie with an explosive ending. It's good entertainment. However, the movie is not receiving good reviews. I give it two stars.
           FREE HAIRCUTS: On Saturday, July 27, 2013, the students from America's Career Institute, Inc. will be giving free haircuts and manicures at the Little Village Community Council, 3610 W. 26th St. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. No appointment necessary.