Okay, I know that many of you had received an e-mail saying that I was in trouble in the Philipines and needed money. I assure you, I am alive and well and in the United States. And, trust me, any checks that I receive will be destroyed. It was a scam. Some hacker decided to entertain himself by stealing my contact list, e-mail account, and just making a heck of a lot of trouble for me. I now have a new account and my new address that you can contact me by is: bob.zeller@aol.com. I am sorry about any inconvenience and/or any trouble that this hacker may have caused.
I have found that it is easy to laugh about it this morning, but I can assure you that it was no laughing matter yesterday.
Turtle on log
In keeping with my practice of including a photograph with any post, this is a turtle that I photographed many, many years ago near Lajitas, Texas. It was shot on film. I included this image, because many of you enjoyed my previous turtle photo. I do, at times, photograph creatures that aren’t of the avian variety. You can click on the image to see an enlargement.
Texas Tweeties by Bob Zeller 
Oh that’s the bad side of internet. Hmmm.
Good to see you and your photos, Bob. 🙂
Thank you very much, Nandini. I have it all corrected now I think. 🙂
Another turtle! Thanks, Bob. Sorry you had to go through all of that. Seems nothing’s secure anymore in our new digital lifestyles. Just roll with the punches. At least you didn’t get your identity stolen — I hear that’s painfully hard to remedy.
Here’s a link you might be interested in, about placing email links in blog posts (where I found your new address). Spammers are relentless. Don’t trust ’em. Especially not with a $2,100 check. http://en.support.wordpress.com/links/email-links/
Thanks so much for the comment, Shannon. I think I got away lucky, re your comment about identity theft. Many thanks for the link. I will check it out.
I get at least a couple of these a week from the accounts of different people I know. Sometimes solicitations, sometimes malware. Very unfortunate.
Thanks for the comment, Jason. I, too, get some from others. Very bad. 😦
Glad you’re safe and sound, Bob. It is a running scam. Unfortunately AOL’s e-mail is horrible for security. Almost as bad as Yahoo! I love Google’s GMail… Never had a lick of problems. Love the turtle, too, Bob.
Thanks for your comment, Jim. I appreciate it.
Ha ha – I sent “you” an email saying you were hacked and “you” said you weren’t hacked, but “you” still needed money. I have now changed your email address. Thanks!
Thanks, Cindy. When you send the check, I will tear it up. 🙂
Glad you are fine Bob and that you got this all sorted out!
Love the turtle.
I am great now that that’s all over. Thanks, Mia.
I’ve heard of those kind of email scams. Glad you’re roaming freely, anyway! Cute turtle, too! 🙂
It seems that there is always something going on with me. It makes life interesting. 🙂 Thanks, Jo. 🙂
Beautiful colour and markings on the turtle. Good photo. Bad hacker.
Thanks, Jane. 🙂
Glad you got your email issue straightened out. I have been there and it’s a huge pain.
Gotta love Mr. Turtle!
Thanks for your comment and compliment on the turtle, Phil.
I didn’t receive the Email, or if I did, it went to my spam folder where it belonged. Did you notify WordPress, or did the hackers get your contact list elsewhere?
I had to put my new notification e-mail address on WordPress, but everything else i fine. Thanks for commenting, Jerry.
When I received that email I knew it was a hack job. I went through a couple of years ago with some not very nice folks from Nigeria. Take care and I love turtles. Had one when I was a kid growing up. Sunshine in Pagosa Country today..so headed out for a drive and see what critters are out and about.
Thanks for the comment, Syl. Have a nice drive. 🙂
Wow, Bob. I didn’t get that email from you, but last week I did get one from someone I know but who would not normally email me: she was hypothetically robbed in England. Same kind ot thing; I figured it had to be a hacker/scam. No fun. Thanks for posting. And thanks for the turtle. It’s beautiful!
Those scams seem to be spreading around. I’m glad that you again, liked the turtle. Thanks, Lisa, for the comment. I appreciate you. 🙂