“Free VZW msg. UR on track 2 incur charges for Minute, Data, or Message usage. Call 888-453-1922 NOW for additional information.”

Look somewhat legit? Well, it did to me since I get free messages from Verizon telling me about a payment that has been applied or what not. This text looked strikingly similar to the REAL ones I get from Verizon, but I wondered why there was a phone number to call. The real messages I get from Verizon never have a number to call back. So of course this made me a bit suspicious and curious. I ended up calling the 888 number only to hear an automated recording that sounded like the real Verizon recording, but there was a lot of static going on and well, it just didn’t sound legit. I hung up before anyone picked up. However, I forgot to block my caller ID before calling, so hopefully they don’t call me back. I then called the real Verizon customer service and told the guy about it and asked about my account just to make sure I really wasn’t going over my minutes. I asked the guy if there was anything Verizon or I could do to stop these scams, and his answer was pretty much, no. Unfortunately he told me, the number that the text is sent from doesn’t matter because it is passed from one person to another in a sort of chain. Neither Verizon nor myself would ever be able to track the person/s who sent it. He told me the only thing I could do was report it to the police, but I’ve done this before with harassing messages on another line, and it never goes anywhere. Basically, they just can’t do anything about it right now. I find that hard to believe given the technology we have today, but it may just be that it would be too expensive and take too much time. Eventually that number had to be changed, which seems like the only solution when this sort of thing occurs so frequently.

So, I just felt the need to share this in case you get one of these messages and are not sure what it means or what to do. I forgot to mention that when you do actually reach a person from the 888 number, they often will ask for you social security number or credit card number so “they can look up your account.” Uh huh, OK. That alone should raise a red flag, and is basically common sense not to give that info. out. But if you do, well I can’t really feel sorry for you becuase you’re just not using your brain.

If you ever do get a weird text message like this though, just do a Google search on the number and see what comes up. That’s exactly what I did and the first thing that came up was this:

http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-888-453-1922

Just read through that and see how many people have experienced the same scam. Some of them are actually pretty funny beause people will call the number (suspecting that it’s a scam) and then mess with the scammers. So now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

For your viewing pleasure… Looks like a pretty gnarly course. Not sure what they’re planning on doing with that rail/ramp contraption in the last photo, but I can think of a few things…hehehe. Anywho, you can check the photos out at the Ride BMX UK website.

Behind Bon Iver is Justin Vernon, a singer/songwriter from Wisconsin. “For Emma, Forever Ago” is his debut album and in my opinion it’s one of the most honest, emotionally charged albums i’ve ever listened to. The album was recorded primarily during a winter retreat to an isolated cabin in the in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin. If you haven’t heard this album, go forth and listen. Grab a nice warm cup of tea and your favorite chair and enjoy. Trust me, you will not be disappointed.

Click this link to Virb to listen.