By Joe Rector
Amy and I are still working to repair the damage done by whoever managed to hack our phones or computers. New information has been relayed to companies, and I hope before long we can once again get on with our lives. For the life of me, I can’t get used to this cyber-stealing and invasion. Not only does this kind of crime lead to untold hours of rehabilitation of a person’s financial dealings, but it also constantly makes the individual feel as though he can never feel safe about his information being protected. I suppose that is why these lowlife criminals hit on us who are older. They know every trick in the book, while we know nothing.
When I was a boy growing up in Ball Camp, life was safe. Our little community included neighbors who all knew each other. Back then, adults were parents to all the children in the area, and they’d discipline us and protect us as if we were their own children. Our homes were safe; folks didn’t lock their doors when they left home. Besides trusting others, we knew that nothing in our homes, other than personal papers and family pictures, was too valuable to lose. Most of the children had only a couple of sets of clothes-school and play-and a pair of shoes.
The majority of people in Ball Camp didn’t have credit cards. Folks paid cash for new items. If they didn’t have the money, purchases were delayed until the kitty had enough money. I remember when my mother eventually got a Sears card. She and Daddy talked about doing so for a long time. That revolving charge account was used for emergency items and school clothes. That Sears card was metal, and salesclerks put it in a machine and zipped something over the top of it that would print the card’s information on a piece of paper. Then the dollar amount was written on the form.
Somewhere, we Americans lost our way. The blame for that lies squarely on corporations that began issuing lines of credit with limits far beyond folks’ means. Those companies consoled buyers, “Don’t worry; if you can’t pay the entire amount now, we’ll extend the payments and add just a little interest.” Bam! Before many people realized how easy the “buy-now-pay-later” was, they’d accrued huge amounts of debt, the kind of debt that few could pay off at the end of the month. Soon, customers were drowning in credit card debt, and as a result, they lost homes, declared bankruptcy, and ruined their financial lives for years.
Computers and cell phones made shopping easier. After simply hitting a few keys, before their eyes lay thousands of products and even more available credit. Anyone could have the best things and could buy them without leaving the comfort of home. In just a couple of days, those wonderful items were delivered. The bills came later, and then the reality of the debt hit like a small nuclear device.
Thieves learned how to hack into personal accounts and steal all they wanted. Folks lost their entire savings; stolen personal information was used to open up new accounts that would be the responsibility of the victims. Lucky ones had accounts with credit unions or banks that alerted them to fraud and froze their accounts.
Perhaps the cruelest joke of all is that many businesses today don’t accept cash; they accept payment through debit or credit cards. Of course, that opens the door for any criminal who might want to copy the information on that card for his personal purchases. Go figure.
Yes, I’m still raw about the fraud we’ve endured. Many of today’s things amaze me, but as far as finances are concerned, we’d all be better off if we could buy only those things for which we pay cash. Fewer pickpockets exist than hackers.
