by Natasha Tynes | Feb 27, 2022 | The Disturbing, Web/Tech
I have shied away from telling the story of how I was scammed because I was ashamed. How did I get fooled that easily when I pride myself on being a digital native, having worked in digital communications since the mid-nineties?
Shouldn’t I have been immune to the same old tricks of the online scammers? Shouldn’t I have known better?
I’m swallowing my pride now, and I’m about to tell you what happened.
Why now?
Maybe because I just finished watching Netflix’s The Tinder Swindler, and I was reminded of that sense of dread that took over me when I got scammed. That awful feeling of being violated. I felt I needed to tell my story so that others won’t fall for it. The story of how I was scammed for $1700 by online thieves who tricked me using the same sophisticated tools I frequently use from Upwork to Slack to Google Chat, and finally Zelle.
This story is not all doom and gloom. It has a happy ending, so bear with me.
It all started with a job posting on Upwork about a remote, flexible opportunity for Arabic-English translators.
I was looking for gigs as I was building my online content creation business during the early days of the pandemic. As a bilingual, translation is traditionally something, I always fall back on when looking for cash flow.
It never crossed my mind that I would be scammed while applying for translation opportunities on Upwork of all places.
A few days after I applied, I got a reply from someone saying the company hiring manager would like to set up an interview with me and that the job was with “Transperfect”, a well-known and respected translation company in New York. I looked up the person that responded to me on Linkedin, and her profile matched her name and picture.
The “interview” was done via “Google Chat ” which I thought was a bit strange but brushed it off as a millennial brave world thing.
The “manager” who interviewed me via chat asked good, standard industry questions, and I thought I gave them accurate, intelligent answers.
A few days after the interview, they contacted me and offered me a part-time remote translation job.
I was happy, especially as the pay was good and the work was flexible, and this gig would have provided me with the cash flow I needed to situation my content creation business.
The rush to buy
They invited me to join their Slack channel to attend my “orientation session” the next day.
I woke up early the next day for the orientation session, all excited. The session started with questions about what kind of equipment and translation software I had, and they immediately recommended that I buy a specific software and use a PC instead of a Mac.
The person chatting with me said the company would cover these costs and send me a “check immediately” to buy the software and the computer.
As soon as I got the checks and deposited them in my bank (and provided them with proof per their request), I was asked to buy the equipment from their “vendors” via Zelle, which I did quickly because I wanted to impress them.
Right after I made the second purchase, I started to feel uneasy. Why were they rushing me like that?
So I decided to call the company and speak to the person corresponding with me.
Someone picked up the phone and told me that the person I asked for was on vacation and that she was pretty much off the grid.
That was when I knew I had been scammed, so I went online looking for answers and found this article.: People who turned to Upwork to find freelance gigs say they’ve lost thousands of dollars to scams
I immediately called my bank and told them what had happened. They told me they would do their best to mitigate the situation, but they didn’t think they could get the money back since this was sent through Zelle.
I lost a total of $1,700. I didn’t have much money, and I sunk into a dark mood. How can I be so dumb?
Scam alerts to be on the watch for
Looking back at what happened, here are the scam flags I should have paid close attention to:
- The Gmail account.
- The “interview” via Google Chat without seeing anyone’s face on camera.
- The robotic-sounding answers to my questions.
- The constant pressure to buy the needed equipment immediately.
The thing that tricked me:
- The Slack channel with profiles of other “employees.”
- The stolen Linkedin profiles.
- The real name of the company.
- The” good” questions that were asked at the “interview.”
The happy ending
Six months after the incident, I received an unexpected email from my bank telling me that Zelle had managed to return the money. (Yes, I’m a forever huge fan of Zelle!)
I decided to do something unique with the money after getting it back. I didn’t want to spend it on something that I would forget, so I decided to invest in my health and mental sanity and got myself a Pelton bike that I regularly use.
Every time I look at the bike, I remember the story of how I got scammed and how eventually things were sorted out, and I ended up with a cautionary tale to tell.
As Philip Roth once said: “Nothing Bad can happen to a writer. Everything is material.”
*Photo by Mikhail Nilov from Pexels
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 21, 2022 | Writing
It’s no secret that you unleash your creative juices when you walk. Famous creatives like Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg have been known for being big walkers.
German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who walked with his notebook every day between 11 am and 1 pm, once said:
“All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Nietzsche.
Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher and an author who himself was a walker, wrote a famous lecture called Walking in which he said:
“You must walk like a camel, which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when walking.” – Henry David Thoreau.
In an interview with writer David Perell, Morgan Housel, author of the Psychology of Money, said “If I ever get some sort of writer’s block, or I’m just trying to think an article through, I go for walks. I go for two or three walks per day, and that’s where all of the writing happens, and I usually take notes when I walk.”
I’m a walker. I take a couple of strolls a day, mostly to exercise my dog and get some fresh air. When I walk, not only do I get energized, but I also unleash the big magic, as Elizabeth Gilbert calls it. My strolls prompt my creative mind to do its thing.
I’m not unique in this regard. According to a study by Standford University, a person’s creative output increases by an average of 60 percent when walking.
Most of my ideas, a plot for a novel, an idea for an essay, a YouTube video, or an Instagram reel, get conceived during my walks.
A big takeaway from my walks is to capture those ideas quickly, or they will simply vanish, disappear into the ether.
Creativity unleashing tools
So while I walk, I always have my iPhone and Airpods to make the most of my time. Here is what I use while I walk:
- Spotify: To listen to podcasts. I love interviews with creatives and content creators.
- Audible: To listen to audiobooks. I love consuming self-help books when I walk.
- YouTube: Every once in a while, I listen to guided walking meditation on YouTube, which clears my mind and reboots my system.
- Fitness +: To listen to guided walks.
Capturing tools
The tools mentioned above help unleash my creativity. I listen to a story of a prolific creator or a self-help book, and the ideas keep flowing.
Here is how I quickly capture the idea before they get sucked into a black hole:
Apple Notes: I organize my notes into folders. So if I have an idea for a blog post, I stop my walk, and I immediately jot it down in the blog posts folder.
Notion: Sometimes, I add ideas directly to the social media calendar I created on Notion.
Otter: I use it if I don’t feel like typing, so I keep walking and record my voice notes.
Do you use creativity unleashing tools when you walk? How do you capture your big magic?
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 16, 2022 | Immigrant life
When I first came to the US, I used to spend hours on the phone with potential scammers because I thought it was rude to hang up on people. I would listen to them telling me how I won a cruise to the Bahamas, how my car warranty has expired, and how my Google business listing is not showing up correctly. I would just listen quietly and answer their questions because I didn’t want to hurt their feelings, you know, it’s rude to hang up on people, and just like a good Arab, I would have to say goodbye ten times before hanging up. My mom would be proud. I used to argue with my American husband about how he handled them. “You can’t just say I’m not interested and hang up the phone; it’s rude,” I would say to him.
“They are scammers. You don’t waste your time on them, ” he would respond. “It doesn’t matter. You can’t just hang up!” I would say and then storm off. I knew I was right. I thought I was right.
Now, 17 years later, I would hang up the phone the minute I heard them let out their first breath. No hellos, no goodbyes. As soon as I terminated the call, I immediately added their number to my blocked numbers list, thanks to the magic of the iOs.
Assimilation 🇺🇸 at its best.
*Photo by Vlada Karpovich from Pexels
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 10, 2022 | Books, Fiction
As fiction writers, sometimes we fall into the trap of everything being permissible when it comes to writing, that the sky is the limit, that we can create build as we wish. We give birth to characters and kill off others.
We can do to our heart’s desire, but is that true? That question has been haunting me for a while. When do we draw the line when it comes to fiction creation, or do we even have to?
During a recent conversation with young Jordanian-Canadian author Sara Badawieh, I asked her about the concept of “airing our dirty laundry” in fiction and if fiction authors should do that in the name of telling an accurate story?
My question came in reference to the domestic violence/honor crime plot in her most recent novel Dalia.
Are we, as authors, specifically as Arab/Jordanian authors, risk empathizing negative stereotypes of Arab men being violent and abusive by writing about these issues? Are we making it worse for the Arab image in the Western media and Western culture?
Or are we staying away from telling an important story by saving ourselves the trouble of getting into a controversial debate or stirring the beehive? What path must we, as fiction authors, take?
I asked this question to my Twitter friends, and I got this answer from communications professional Olamide Francis.
“I think it should be balanced. Say the truth. Point out the good, bad and ugly.”
That was one of the best answers I got on this dilemma.
Tell the truth, but stay balanced. You can watch the whole conversation on my Youtube Channel here.
What are your thoughts? Should fiction authors air dirty laundry?
Photo credit: Photo by cottonbro from Pexels
by Natasha Tynes | Feb 8, 2022 | Writing
In a recent episode of our podcast ExpaTalk, we interviewed Syrian-Canadian poet and author Jackleen Salman who told us an anecdote about her late father.
He used to ask her, “When will you stop writing?.” Her response would be, “I will when you stop gardening.”
I have been thinking about this question for a while now.
When will I stop writing?
I know for sure that I won’t stop writing. I don’t know how many years I will be granted in this life, but what I know for certain is that I will keep writing until I’m physically and mentally able. The career that I chose is not one you retire from, and I’m okay with that.
While reading the book Ikigai by Hector Garcia and Frances Miralles, I learned that Japanese people never really retire. Many of them keep doing what they love for as long as their health allows.
There is no word in Japanese that means retire as in English. According to National Geographic reporter Dan Buettner, having a purpose in life is so important in Japanese that the idea of retirement simply doesn’t exist there.
This story also brought to my mind a line from the highly-acclaimed musical Hamilton. In the musical, Alexander Hamilton is being asked:
“Why do you write like you are running out of time?”
“Write day and night like you’re running out of time?”
I do write like I’m running out of time. Every day that passes, I run out of time, and I want to keep doing it as long as I have time left.
Will you ever stop writing?
To listen to our podcast (in Arabic) with Syrian-Canadian poet and author Jackleen Salman click here.
Photo by Lisa Fotios from Pexels
