“Each day you you must push yourself harder and propel yourself further than the day before, so that you are better prepared and more open for what the future will bring your way. We can never be comfortable where we are, for growth is never stagnant.“—Natasha L. Foreman
Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Natasha L. Foreman.
I just received this email today (see below). I hope that none of you have fallen victim to scams such as this, even when the email comes from someone you know.
Think first.
Unless the person has no family or extremely close friends, why would they be sending a mass email to you and a group of other people you may or may not know? Why wouldn’t they just make a collect call to you or someone else? They don’t have anyone’s phone number memorized?
Think about it.
Don’t reply to the email, just send it to your spam folder and make sure it’s deleted.
Read the email below and honestly tell me if you would have responded with additional questions, believed the plea for help, or not. Tell me what do you see wrong with the email and the wording. What are the red flags?
Good morning!
I really hope you get this fast. I could not inform anyone about my trip, because it was important. I had to be in Manila,Philippines for a program. The program was successful, but my journey has turned sour. I misplaced my wallet on my way back to my hotel after I went for sight seeing. The wallet contained all the valuables I had. Now, my passport is in custody of the hotel management pending when I make payment.
I am sorry if i am inconveniencing you, but i have only very few people to run to now. i will be indeed very grateful if i can get a loan of ($1,850USD) from you. this will enable me sort my hotel bills and get my sorry self back home. I will really appreciate whatever you can afford in assisting me with. I still have some cash in my account but I cant access any here right now, I’ve already canceled my credit card and am at the public internet library where am making use of the free internet access I promise to refund it in full as soon as I return. let me know if you can be of any assistance. Please, let me know soonest. Thanks so much.
Muhammad
Looking over the above email ask yourself these questions?
1. Why would the hotel have his passport? All travelers know that we’re to have our passports with us at all times, like appendages.
2. Why wouldn’t he contact the program and individuals that he was with in the country? The organizers of the program could assist him.
3. Why couldn’t he tell someone where he was going? He said he couldn’t tell anyone in advance that he was leaving the country because he had to leave urgently, as though it was an emergency, but then says it was for a “program”. Well, there’s no urgency in that, and even if it was, that wouldn’t stop a person from informing at least one other person of where they were going, what hotel or location they would be staying, etc.
4. Most importantly, and the biggest red flag of all, why didn’t he just call a family member or friend collect, and request the money? If no one will accept the charges for his collect call then they definitely won’t send him $1,850 USD!
Don’t fall for the okey doke!
Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Natasha L. Foreman.
I’m a self-proclaimed “foodie”. I love food. I love good food. I love healthy food. I love not-so-healthy food, and I love food that could make me gain ten pounds just looking at it.
So it shouldn’t be a surprise that I absolutely love BBQ, and that I won’t just settle for any kind of BBQ. By the time I was in 9th grade I had already made my own concoction of BBQ sauce, and came up with a way of making my ribs fall right off the bone. That’s a skill, by the way—so I don’t play when it comes to BBQ!
Well, one of my dear friends reminded me that the Hoodie Awards were right around the corner, and it was time to vote. I won’t lie and say that I’m actively engaged in the process and festivities, but when I know there are certain businesses in the “hood” hoping to get exposure, kudos, more customers, and potentially more revenue—-I make the time to promote, nominate and/or vote for them.
The category I’m focused on, if you haven’t figured it out already is—BBQ restaurants, and the best BBQ. Who has the best BBQ in the United States? Where in the “hood” can you find the best BBQ? Where is the best BBQ with the best customer service, and overall best experience?
Well folks my vote is going for Bludso’s BBQ in Compton, California. If you search and find a Bludso’s location anywhere else, it’s not the real one! The original and real Bludso’s is located in good ole’ Compton, California, the city where I’ve spent many days as a child and an adult.
Compton, where I used to tutor kids at the community college every Saturday for two years. Compton, where I have family.
Compton, home of Centennial, Dominguez, and Compton high schools, and the Barack Obama Charter school.
Compton, where a lot of famous people are from (or lived for a period of time)—even former President George H.W. Bush and his wife Barbara lived in Santa Fe Gardens apartment complex in the 1950s (when it was a predominantly middle class area).
Compton, the city recently designated as an “Entrepreneurial Hot Spot” and one of the best places to start and grow a business, according to independent economic research firm, Cognetics, Inc.
There’s a lot of good, great, interesting, and newsworthy things and people coming out of Compton. So why be surprised that there’s also some yummy BBQ in Compton off of Long Beach Boulevard, between Alondra Boulevard and Cypress Street?
Bludso’s won last year’s Hoodie Awards for best BBQ. That means a lot of folks agree with my friend that, “the food is delicious and customer service is impeccable!!!” and with three exclamation points, I think you can tell that this comment shouldn’t be taken lightly!
Bludso’s BBQ has held the number one spot in the nation for best BBQ as awarded by the Hoodie Awards, and folks want to make sure that it remains in the top spot this year, and for many years to come.
Today from 6:00am-6:00pm PST you can vote online at steveharvey.com for Bludso’s BBQ (or any other BBQ place you naively think has a shot at winning).
If you live or will be in the Los Angeles area, you should stop by and try it out for yourself.
Bludso’s BBQ
811 S. Long Beach Blvd., Compton Ca. 90221
(310)637-1342
Follow them on Twitter: @bludsosbbq1
and use the contact information that I provided above to vote for them at steveharvey.com
You can vote for whomever you like, and if you think you know of a place better than Bludso’s, tell me about it. I’m always ready to chow down!
Copyright 2013. Natasha L. Foreman. All Rights Reserved.
“Church is WITHIN, not a physical manmade structure but the spiritual one-ness that you have with God. That doesn’t mean (or promote) avoiding the physical structure we call church, because that is where we go to worship, praise, connect, and have fellowship with other believers. It means that you can have church several times a day every day, and anywhere you choose if you so choose”.
– Natasha L. Foreman
This quote was motivated by this video shared by Daily Lift: http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=RkAgL8mKq9Y&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DRkAgL8mKq9Y%26feature%3Dyoutu.be
Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved Unless Otherwise Noted. Natasha L. Foreman. Paradigm Life. http://theparadigmlife.com
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