Spam e-mails are something that we all have had to deal with at least once in our lives. Usually, these e-mails come from some Nigerian prince asking you to transfer a donation in return for millions. These fraudsters are still making decent cash with these tricks and have gained quite a celebrity status in their homeland. There’s even a rap song called “Yahooze” with more than 3 million hits on YouTube by a Nigerian singer Olu Maintain, glamorizing the lifestyle of these scammers.
Phishing is a type of social engineering that uses emails designed to trick the recipient into clicking on a malicious attachment or website. Phishing scams are serious, annoying, and even dangerous – except when they’re funny. Some are out-and-out confusing, albeit poetic, in their creative use of the English language. While many, truly damaging scams are designed to covertly steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from innocent people, some hoaxes are just downright ridiculous. Obviously, I don’t want to downplay the threats that spam email can pose. Yet, sometimes I just have to laugh at the bad wording, regrettable misspellings, and sheer weirdness that appears in my email inboxes every day thanks to spam.
We’ve all accidentally opened an email from Keelung, Taiwan, and clicked off in 0 .2 seconds, imagining a horde of strangers running head-first into our bank accounts, arms flailing, our CVV number scribbled on a sticky note in their back pocket. But I wonder, do Southerners fall for these tricks more easily given our compassion for strangers and huge hearts? Is it our trusting nature, a weak spot, or our fear of missing out? Let’s face it, we are the first ones to bring a pie when you move into the neighborhood, volunteer to open our homes to the community, and simply cannot help ourselves from sharing personal details of our lives in the check-out line at Piggly Wiggly.
The principle of similarity is the moral compass that guides us. If we feel someone shares things in common with us, we immediately feel more trusting towards them. These similarities can be anything from sharing the same zodiac sign or political views. If you and the person on the other end of the conversation have too many points in common, our radars should be signaling that something is wrong. But as a Southerner, we are thinking, what are the odds? While common sense may tell us to pull away from the connections immediately, we tend to go emotionally overboard.
It’s easy to be deceived by a phishing scam. 97% of people globally can’t correctly identify a sophisticated con. I've heard of spam letters sent by time travelers, killer demons, and psychics — any crazy plots a person might imagine, you can probably find spam about it. And in the South, we’ve probably heard exaggerated tales of a crazy relative whose stories are stranger than fiction. One of the latest messages I received was from a “lawyer” who wanted to send me a huge settlement from legal suits against…wait for it…bad Nigerian spammers. I was asked to provide my bank account information to receive the money. Nice try, guys, but no thanks. However, I did extend an invite to the “lawyer” for our next family reunion. While I’m not biting, I’m sure he could find someone among us to take the bait. Well, it’s not his fault he was scammed by a Nigerian prince, too. Bless his heart.
Seafood Chowder
INGREDIENTS:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large pieces
- ½ bacon, cut into ½ inch pieces (I only use Wright's)
- 1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
- 1 small onion, minced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 stalks celery, minced
- 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
- 3 cups chicken stock (or seafood stock)
- 3 cups heavy cream
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1.5 pound piece of salmon, skin discarded and cut into 1-inch pieces (you can substitute any seafood at this point)
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- Chives for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large, heavy stockpot, melt butter over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring often, until bacon begins to crisp, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from the pan and set aside.
- Add celery, onions, jalapeños, scallions, and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the broth, potatoes, salt, pepper, and cooked bacon. Bring to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender about 15 minutes.
- In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch into three tablespoons of water until completely mixed. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the broth and bring to a boil. Let the soup boil for about 2 minutes to thicken slightly.
- Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and stir in the heavy cream. Layer the raw salmon on top of the simmering soup and cover the pot with a lid. Simmer for ten minutes, or until the salmon is cooked through.
- Top with fresh chives and freshly ground black pepper.
