Urgent Appeal

I saw this loser heading my way as I prepared to take a picture of the Tower Bridge in London.

He was hairless, like yours truly, but nowhere near as gorgeous, of course.

His eyes were bugging out of his head as he walked in front of a guy aiming his camera at the bridge and flipped the two-fingered salute—a variation of the American middle finger.

I was on vacation and didn’t want to deal with freaks, but I realized that all big cities have their lunatics.

I didn’t make eye contact as he walked by me—I am a New Yorker, after all--but I watched him until he was gone.

To be quite honest, the incident paled in comparison with the belligerent costumed characters and aggressive desnudas who stalk Times Square on any given day.

But a few days later I saw a poster outside my hotel with the douchebag’s face under the words “Urgent Appeal.”

City of London Police have released a CCTV still of a man they are looking to speak to in connection with a number of harassment incidents in the vicinity of the Tower Bridge,” the flyer said.

I don’t know if the cops ever found this bum, but I feel like I’m battling with his twin brother somewhere out in cyberspace. I went to my bank last week and learned that the hack of my account was much worse than I thought—much, much worse.

I don’t want to give out any numbers, but it seems this prick has been syphoning money from my savings account since July. Yes, I should’ve been more aware of my finances, but clearly my bank was asleep at the switch too.

Tower Treasure

I sat in one of the cubicles while one of the bank executives showed me a list of fraudulent transactions. This is where my mother used to sell life insurance, where I used to visit her or call her when I lived out of town.

This place used to be a sacred place to me, but now it felt more like a hellhole.

The police are involved and today I spoke with a detective who says it’s a case of grand larceny and he intends to subpoena my bank—soon to be ex-bank.


I’m getting welcome messages from various financial institutions that think I’ve opened an account with them and I’m contacting them to say I most definitely have not. 

I have to give a super-secret password every time I call my bank, while the goddamn hackers can walk around my savings account like it’s a public men’s room.

I’ve spent over $100 on security software for my computer because the bank claims I’ve got some kind of malware in my computer—even though I believe this is horseshit. So, far I’ve found nothing.

And I’ve been losing my temper with the bank, the software company, and myself for getting neck-deep in this misery. All my attempts at anger management have gone straight down the crapper as I've yelled, screamed, and screamed some more.

After the meeting, I staggered toward the bank’s exit door. I stopped at the place where my mother’s desk used to be and I prayed to her, asking for strength and courage to get through this disaster.

I felt like crying and running away, but that’s no solution. And I know my mother wouldn’t want me to do that. She’d want me to stand tall, face my problems, and give them all the two-fingered salute.

Comments

Bijoux said…
What a nightmare, Rob. And now half of America has to worry about the Equifax fuck up. Dont blame yourself. I truly believe there's not much a person can do. Although keeping all your money under a mattress and only paying cash sounds like the best option now.
Rob K said…
Thank you, Bijoux. This has been so stressful! I'm hoping some day I'll be clear of it, but right now it just seems like it'll never end.
Ron said…
Rob, Bijoux took the words right out of my mouth....."What a nightmare!"

Glad to hear you got the police involved and that they're going to subpoena your bank.

What blows me away is that this person has been doing this since JULY and your bank didn't notice anything fishy going on about the money coming out of your savings account!?!

Oh trust me, I'd be losing my temper and screaming too. BIG time!

And it's ironic you mentioned about the possibility of having malware in your computer because I will sometimes get warnings on my own computer that certain websites have malware and that my computer has been infected and that my security software needs to be replaced; offering to sell me the replacement. However after putting it through several scanning's using my current security software, I find nothing.

It's getting to the point where I hate to do anything on the internet, in fear of being hacked. I've become very untrusting of the internet; especially doing online banking.

I know this can't be easy for you with wondering what the hell is going on with your account. But keep the faith, it will all work out in YOUR favor. I know it.

Take care, buddy!

Rob K said…
Hey, Ron, how's it going?

I have to admit the whole thing has been terribly stressful. I really like my bank doesn't care and is just feeding me a line about hacking.

I spoke to an Apple repairman today and he assured me that Macs don't get the type of malware my bank is describing. They're just trying to pin the blame on me and it's pissing me off.

I see all these ads praising online banking, but I'm so spooked now I'm willing to stand on lines and snail mail all my checks.

Thanks so much for your support, buddy! I really need it now!

Take care.

Jay said…
An absolute nightmare. I am so sorry that this is happening to you, Rob. I cannot get my head around the mentality of people who do this - they MUST know the distress it causes, both financial and emotional, and yet they seem not to care. I simply do not understand people. I seriously hope you get this sorted out soon and that it never happens again.
Rob K said…
Oh, Jay, thank you so much for your support and concern!

The internet does make other people distant--or even non-existent in the eyes of the hackers. And they're just scumbags to boot. God damn the whole pack of them.



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