Here at SparkNotes, we pride ourselves on our youthful technological savvy. But there are times when we're rudely reminded that no one is immune to web crimes.
Just a few weeks ago, I fell prey to a g-chat phishing scam. A chat popped up that said, "lol check out this video" and provided a link to a site called "Viddyho.com." I should have known that a chat from an offline friend was phishy--ehem, fishy--but the IM format looked legit. I clicked on the link and was taken to a site that had the clean aesthetic of professional web design and said, "Login to Google Talk." Never considering that scammers could do such a good job of mimicking Google, I typed in my user name and password to log in. This link came from a friendly source--from a google mail site: What could possibly be wrong?
I hit enter and immediately felt queasy. Something in me sensed that I had just given away my secrets, my identity. I went back to the g-chat tab and saw that my "friend" had now changed her message: "Don't click on that link! Viddyho is a scam, so sorry." As all things happen on the Internet, the site's true nature was revealed in a matter of minutes. I felt foolish and ashamed: Much worse than that time I dozed off in geometry class and slept through the period break and woke up to a room full of strangers and pool of drool. (Though I can take some comfort in the fact that I'm not alone; apparently cyber-crimes are currently on the rise.)
To fully cleanse myself, we will now make a full confession of our most embarrassing mistakes:
The Forgotten Fly: After changing out of our gym class sweats, we forgot to zip up . . . and our friends were oh so kind to point it out, loudly and with laughter.
The Sliding Boogie: Yes, we felt deathly sick with one of those killer colds, the kind where snot oozes from your nose and you feel like you're this guy. But we had an in-class essay exam and couldn't make it up, so we went to class anyway. Next thing we know, everyone's turning away in disgust, pointing--again--and laughing.
The Lunchroom Shuffle, aka Classic Comedy Pratfall: Turns out granola bar wrappers are just as slippery as banana peels.
The Misplaced Effort: Remember that time we dressed up in disco gear for spirit week . . . 7 days early? We thought everyone would forget, but thanks to our best friend's cell-phone camera and a special Facebook group for "Super Spirited Spartans," the memory lives on.
Come commiserate with us. Tell us it's not that bad. Share your digital scamming and other embarrassing stories in the comments.
Topics: The Internets
Tags: facebook
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