QA Graphic
March 1, 2021

COVID-19 Credit Debit

There is no law to avoid paying your debt.

There seems to be a lot of scammers trying to take advantage of people during the pandemic. Back in September, I got this strange voice mail:

Apple Transcript

This is the transcript done by Apple:

???Hello please listen carefully the new law CV 19 - makes a current credit card balances in certain price of the loans and lines of credit, not a collectible and not enforceable so um do the current situation that we're all facing the new laws helping to stop predatory banks and lenders what we all get back on track if you want to find out how much of your debt will be your race please just call me back at 619-900-2845 again 619-900-2845 thanks take care??????

Fun Facts

As of today, there has been no law about loans or credit card debt not being collectible or enforceable.

The phone number: 619-900-2845 is the same number on the caller id. It registers to no person or organization - at least nothing found online.

Notice that the voice message never indicates the company/financial company that they represent.

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November 22, 2020

Credit Card Voice Mail Scam

Couple of Robot calls that seemed very similar

I get a lot of Credit Card scams on my cell and landline. This past spring I got a couple of voice messages that seemed very similar. These were left on my cellphone about 24-hours apart.

I am thinking these are going to the same call center in some foreign country.

Call From: (302) 501-7927 - NEW CASTLE DE

Apple Voicemail transcript:

Hello. This is Alice calling from the underwriting department regarding your Discover credit card account based on your recent payment activity and balanced you are eligible for an interest rate reduction to as low as 1.9% to take advantage of this limited-time offer please call card member Services directly at 1-800-694-0048. Once again, that's 1-800-694-0048. This will be the only notice you received and this offer is only valid for three business days. Thank you.

Call From: (302) 306-2083 - HARTLY DE

Apple Voicemail transcript:

Hello. This is Elizabeth calling from the underwriting department regarding your Capital one credit card account based on your recent payment activity and balance you may be eligible for an interest rate reduction to as low as 1.9% and there is additional information. I need to confirm your eligibility or so please return my call directly in the underwriting department at 1-800-258-6019. Once again 1-800-258-6019 and will be the only notice you receive and this offer is only valid for three business days. Thank you.

Avoid These Scams

Any company that "cold calls" you with an interest rate reduction offer is likely a scam. Especially if they need to "verify" your credit card number so they can look it up.

Have fun with these calls, never give any legitimate information.

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July 5, 2020

Student Loan Forgiveness

Listen to the Voice Message from a Student Loan Company.

I don't have any active student loans, but I still get someone trying to scam people that do. In this voice message, the caller puts some pressure to make sure that I call back.

If your looking some some student loan help, there's lots of legitimate places that can help: studentaid.govL Student Loan Forgiveness and Usa.gov: Replay Student Loans.

Listen to the Voice Message

Transcript

Apple supplied the following transcript:

???Hi my name is Rachel Cooper and my ????????????_ ??? ??? 0157 I'm calling you today in reference to your student loans I need to discuss your payment options with you as soon as possible um it looks hear that there is an urgent changes to your account ??? ??????????????? ??????????????? recently so if you can go ahead and give me a call back the number is 866-230-8249 I'm also going to go ahead and give you a reference number to have handy when you do a call back it will just make things a little bit easier on ????????? ????????????_ and that reference number is 25243??????

Don't fall for these scams. Make sure that you know more about the company before giving any confidential information.

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June 21, 2020

Final Cut Pro

Decided to switch from Filmora to Final Cut Pro

I have decided to take the plunge and purchase Apple's Final Cut Pro. This means that I won't be using Wondershare Filmora for Video editin.

Final Cut Pro Logo

Filmora is a great application, but I have been playing around with Final Cut Pro and found that its a much better application for my needs. I like the text editing capabilities and I find that it is much easier to align videos from multiple angles.

Over the next few week's I'll share some of the cool features and highlight techniques that highlight the advantages of using Final Cut Pro.

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September 1, 2019

Classic Internet Commercials

A collection of personal technology commercials

Here are a couple of classic technology commercials from my movie collection:

  • Iomega Zip Drives
  • WebVan
  • Sun Microsystems

More Videos to Come

Over the next few weeks, I'll reach into my person VHS collection and pull some more classic Internet/technology commercial from the late 1990s and early 2000s.

My collection also has a lot of great classical Infomercials including Don Lapre, Matthew Lesko, Tom Bosley SMC and Jeff Paul's Shortcut to Internet Millions.

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May 19, 2019

Medicare Scam

Audio Clip of a phone scam that I got back in February

This week's Audio clip was from a call I got back last February. The guy started the call asking for what areas do I experience pain. I missed the first few seconds as I was trying to setup up the recorder.

The call came in on the landline, I put the phone on speaker and turned on the Voice Memo recording on the iPhone XS Max.

Medicare Call Recording

Great call to listed to:

Notes on the Call

Clearly this is a scam as they are trying to steal my "Medicare Number."

The caller must think I am an old person as his tone changes slightly during the call - almost as if he thought he had a chance of getting someone's Medicare ID.

Did you catch the part where the guy says he's on a secure line! Seriously. Did they really think that I would fall for that? Did he forget that the caller-id was spoof to trick me to answer the phone? How does one secure just one side of a phone conversation.

At the end of the call, I hung up the phone since I didn't have a card and don't have to spoof.

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October 7, 2018

Framingham Commuter Rail Radio Station

Have you ever listen to the radio station at the train station?

At the Framingham MBTA Commuter Rail station there is a radio station that lets people know what's going on. Unfortunately, most people are busy with their smartphones to listen to a radio station. They get updated information from social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Framingham1640
Framingham MBTA Station is 1640 AM

Strange Recording

On September 14th, I was in my car at the Framingham station waiting for the p508 train, 7:40 AM train, and had the radio running. I recorded the following clip:

I thought the clip was strange since the p508 is a very popular train. Shouldn't they at least have something useful on the radio? Maybe it will go away soon as an expense cut. Before it goes away, check it out the next time you're at the Framingham Station or any of the MBTA stations, and see what's on the radio.

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September 2, 2018

Mill Hill Club

Back in the 1980s and 1990s the Mill Hill Club was a popular place to go for the hottest dances and nightlife entertainment.

Here???s a clip of the Mill Hill Club from the 1990s during its peak period.

Gone but Not Forgotten

The Mill Hill Club Building was torn down in 2014 to make room for an Assisted Living Facility

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August 26, 2018

Pufferbellies Nightclub

Pufferbellies Nightclub Radio Commercial from 1988

As the summer of 2018 starts to whine down, I thought it would be good to look back to the summer of 1988.

Pufferbellies Nightclub was one of the popular Nightclubs on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It was the place to go for some fun after a day at the beach. Here's an radio advertising that played on Cape 104 during July 1988:

Pufferbellies Nightclub Today

In 2015, the Pufferbellies Nighclub complex was sold to Hy-Line. They plan to use the property for off-site parking for future ferry goers.

Pufferbellies was located at 183 Iyannough Rd, Hyannis - next door to the former Christmas Tree Shops that was on the railroad tracks on 28.

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May 27, 2018

Cape Cod Traffic Report

Listen to the traffic on a July weekend in 2002 and 2004

Traditional the Memorial Day weekend kicks off the Cape Cod summer fun. Plenty of New England residents will be making the long drive to Cape Cod over the long weekend.

Back in the 1990s, there were a couple of radio stations that were rocking the beaches of Cape Cod - WKPE (Cape 104) and WQRC.

Cape Cod Traffic

2002 and 2004 Cape Cod Traffic Report

Here???s the July 4th Day Traffic Report from 2002 and 2004. It???s a snapshot of how long it took trying to get off the Cape after a fun weekend.

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