Monday, December 5, 2022

Uh-oh!?

Uh-oh! We have been hacked! So, apparently someone has hacked into our computers and we had a rude discovery over the weekend. They managed to get way too much from our account. Thankfully hubby checks our accounts regularly and it was caught quickly. Our credit union will refund the money into our account and file a police report against the perpetrators. Apparently they have their URL and some names. I hope they get them! It’s ridiculous that you have to worry about these kinds of things. If people just put half the effort into working at a job and doing honest work as they do into stealing, this world would be a lot better place wouldn’t it? But, meanwhile our accounts have been closed and we’re going through the process of redoing everything. Including our computers being wiped clean, hopefully, of anyone being able to do this again. That means I can’t comment on any of your blogs because I have to do that on my laptop. I can make posts on here, but I can’t comment on anybody else’s. I will be reading them though. Never fear! I’ll be thinking of all of you and hopefully it will only be a few days before we get our computers back. Meanwhile this is an absolute mess to try to clean up.

But hey, it’s not all bad news! Dennis, my sister Melanie and I went to a concert last night in Kearney, Nebraska. After that we stayed the night at a Holiday Inn express only about a block away from the venue. We were able to walk to the concert and walk back to our hotel room! Our kids bought us VIP passes to see the acappella vocal group “Home Free.”  These tickets are our Christmas and birthday presents from our kids. Mandy and Brad bought ours and Tim and Chaela bought Melanie’s. It was absolutely wonderful. It’s Melanie’s third time seeing them in concert, but our first. She has had us hooked on listening to them for the past several years, but we’ve never been able to attend a concert before.

The VIP tickets got us into a Q & A a session with the guys. We were given some swag and CDs and were able to watch the Soundcheck. We also had second row seats right in the center. It was absolutely wonderful. There were two other groups that sang a couple of songs before Home Free and they also sang a few songs with the group. The entire concert lasted over three hours! It was a great gift and we were blessed with wonderful sunny skies and temperatures in the 40s for our trip. There’s always a chance of snow and ice this time of year and since it was a 3 hour drive each way, we were praying for good weather.

Here is Home Free, the main attraction. Love these kids. 😍 The guy on the left with the cowboy hat is from the group Texas Hill, and he came out to do a song with them that they co-wrote. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen these five guys use any kind of instrument in their singing.

Brooke Eden and Ernie Holter, really good singers too.

These are “our” guys. They’re about the same age as our kids and we just love their sense of humor and the way they interact with each other and the audience. They aren’t really “performing” in a sense because they talk to the audience constantly and include them as part of the show

My handsome guy and yours truly.

My big sister. We sure love each other and are enjoying being together again after so long apart.

We took this photo from our hotel. See that building in the background? That is the venue for the concert. We just walked down that road and walked back after the concert. Everyone else had to pay $10 to park at the arena, but we had free parking at our hotel! And it was good exercise. Because, get this, we were sitting on top of a hockey arena for five hours! The walk warmed us up. Between the VIP stuff and the three singing groups it literally was five hours. I had a sundress and flip-flops on, but luckily had taken a sweater with me. Everyone was freezing, including the people singing. It was warmer outside after the concert than it was inside, so I’m guessing it was probably about 40F inside! I am always so hot because of my medication‘s and I had no idea that it was an ice arena. Nobody did. No one was dressed appropriately for being in 40° temperatures for that long. We’re hoping that none of us get sick from it, especially the singing groups, because they have about 20 more concerts to do this month. We must not have been too cold, because we went back to the hotel and got the car and went and got ice cream shakes!😂

As we drove home on interstate 80 this morning I saw this flock of white birds lift up from a cornfield and stay in this tight formation as they flew westward. It was impossible to see what kind of bird they were, but it was fascinating to watch as the cloud of white undulated as they disappeared from sight.

On that note I will close. I did knit most of theway there and back but I can’t show you what I made. As I said, I’ll be back commenting on your blogs as soon as I can but I will continue reading every day. Take care my friends and enjoy December.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy

18 comments:

  1. Oh my! How terrible to be hacked and especially into your financial information! That is awful! Could it have happened at the hotel? Or was it before that? Just wondering. I guess we just can't be too careful these days. The concert looks like it was fun, even if it was that cold! Wow! I'm surprised people weren't warned it was an ice arena! Glad you survived it! I wonder what that flock of birds was? Looks amazing! Hope everything gets straightened out for you soon. God bless you all and have a blessed and beautiful rest of your week.

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of our credit cards got hacked last week. Thankfully, it seems that is as far as they got. Everything else is in order. Steve is keeping a good eye to make sure it stays that way.

    He started getting 100s of spam emails. That is what tipped him off.

    I'm sorry your hacking went way further. Hope it all is cleared up soon.

    The concert looks like fun. I have a friend that really enjoys Home Free.

    Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love to listen to the Home Free videos on YouTube. They are a talented and fun group. The largest flock of birds I’ve seen have been in Nebraska since they are in the Natl. Migration Flyway. I hope you get the computer hack straightened out.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yikes! so sorry to hear about the hacking. I'm glad you caught it quickly though.

    The concert sounds wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I've never heard of Home Free so will have to look them up. Glad you had a nice time at the concert. In 40 F degree temps I would definitely be looking for something hot to drink or eat. I just don't understand how people sit around thinking about how they can swindle someone for the day. They are just such a waste of time and space. Causes so many problems for the victims of their scams and hacks. Sure hope they get their comeuppance. And hope you get things sorted out soon. Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm so sorry that you were hacked-it seems even the places we think are safe are vulnerable. What a wonderful concert! Glad you had the opportunity to go and enjoy it with family. Home Free is one of my favorites!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry to hear you were hacked! It's an awful feeling knowing there are those out there that has that ability. We check our account almost daily, it's something that needs to be done so we can catch these things quickly. Sounds like a wonderful evening out on the town. Good to see you having a good time.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm sorry you were hacked but glad you found out so quickly.
    The concert must have been a wonderful experience ( except for getting so chilled). Stay healthy!! You cannot catch a cold before Christmas.

    ReplyDelete
  9. So sorry to hear you were hacked. Glad Dennis discovered it quickly. I have the two factor ID...where a code is sent to my phone before I can get into the account...so they would have to have my phone. Hopefully that would stop someone. Scary world out there.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So sorry you were hacked.It happened to me several years ago and since then I've paid for a program to keep our computer safe. It's crazy the number of hacking attempts it stops in a day. What a special gift the concert was, so glad you enjoyed it... even if you were cold! I hope everyone stays healthy.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a wonderful outing! A special gift and you and your husband looks so happy! And so do you and your sister!
    Hackers - what a bad word!!! A friend recently had her car broken into. She had put her purse under the seat and they broke her car window and took it. The police say there is a ring in the area called a Felony Lane Gang. They steal checkbooks and write checks and try to cash them at area banks, then move on to a new city. They tried to cash a check for a few thousand on her account and put "funeral expenses" on the memo line, looking for sympathy. Our tellers were trained well and tried to hold them at the drive thru in the further lane (hence the name). She spotted the police and took off on a police chase (which actually pass in front of us at an intersection, if you can believe it) which they had to abandon for public safety. The bank's cameras did get a very clear photo of her, though. These people are despicable!! And we all pay for their crimes. It makes me so angry.

    ReplyDelete
  12. No fun to get hacked!! That happened to us lately as well, via credit card company. Looks like all of it is off our account now.
    Nice concert you went to. I am glad you took a sweater with you. I do as I never know how cool it will be in there. I think I've heard of that group of singers.
    It's been cold in our area in OR. Snowed on Sunday when we left for church and quit snowing when we left Denny's after our lunch. It wasn't cold enough for it to stick on the ground but a few other places had some snow that stayed on the ground. Take care and God bless you my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. A concert in an ice arena? I've heard of everything now. I can't wait to share this with Daughter, the ice skating instructor. She knows all about freezing in a rink. She does in 10 hours a day...lol.
    So sorry to hear of your hack. I just had to change my Amazon password because of suspicious activity. It's that time of year, I'm afraid.

    ReplyDelete
  14. So glad to hear that you had a great time at that concert, even if it was a bit chilly inside! What a great gift from your kids! Sorry about your getting hacked. Yes there seem to be some crazies out there that have nothing better to do. It happened to us about 3 years ago. Always a shock. Hope all will be fine for you soon as we head closer to Christmas. Take good care and know how much I enjoy your posts! Praying for the crazies and everybody this Holiday season.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Stinkers--I think it is such a nasty crime; I'm sorry. The concert/family time was good for you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh dearest Betsy so sad to hear this, as you say it’s such a waste of a good life to be lived profitably. I was with a health firm that was hacked and they stole all personal info too and you can list your info with a secure site and they put a watch out if your info is used to open an account or something as way of identity theft. I’ve done that for a year,
    They’re called Equifax, credit and identity protection. Think they’d be in USA. but is such a horrible thing, in olden days I had my wallet stolen lost money cards and license everything but somehow it’s not as bad as hack or being broken into.
    Praying it’s sorted without too much hassle. God bless all doing it for you.
    Glad you had a beautiful night with your sister, I now live near mine and I love it too.
    Thanks for Sharing, God bless and keep you safe, and all those you love, hugs Shaz in Oz.x

    {Wonderful Words of Life - Shaz in Oz}
    {Calligraphy Cards - Shaz in Oz}

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh Betsy, I'm so sorry that you were hacked. What a mess that must be to straighten everything out. You do the neatest things...the concert! It sounds sssso fun. I just love the picture of Piper and the baby in your last post. Piper is so pretty. Bet she was a great babysitter.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Being hacked is not fun. It's happened twice to me in the last two years. Just hate having to close the account and change all my auto payments. Ugh. I'm familiar with Home Free, and enjoy their music very much. Attending a live concert must have been a thrill. So glad you were able to do that. Hugs.

    ReplyDelete