Scammers pretend to be Aleksei Oleinik
People using messaging apps pretended to be Aleksei Oleinik and scammed a Russian circus owner out of $650. Huh?
“Three men were detained for using a variety of messaging apps including WhatsApp and Telegram to scam unsuspecting victims during the coronavirus pandemic. Among the victims are Russia’s famed circus owner Edgard Zapashny.
According to Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk, the fraudsters would contact famous people, masquerade as one of their friends, before requesting them to urgently transfer funds for medical emergencies.” – via Bloody Elbow
In the hierarchy of dumb scams, this one has to be up there. Scams are generally dumb, but if pretending to be somebody is the plan, maybe make it someone the person you’re scamming can’t, or won’t, directly contact? Seems like kind of a big hole in the scheme.
Maybe I’m judging a bit too harshly. The preliminary damages from the alleged series of scams totaled around $60,000. While the scammers have been caught, I’m sure there are some fun ways to quickly spend 60 grand of someone else’s money. Maybe that says more about me, though. Huh.
Ketlen Vieira doesn’t feel safe, but is moving on
Ahead of her bout at UFC 253, her first since the beginning of the pandemic, Ketlen Vieira shared her concerns about fighting under the current circumstances, but indicated it was time to move on. Huh.
“It’s never safe because we’re scared, we’ve seen many fights fell through because someone tests positive but has no symptom,” Vieira said in an interview with MMA Fighting, “But I saw that life has to continue, that the UFC was giving people opportunities to fight, so I decided to get back to training in a safer way, with a small group of people, so we moved on. It had to be like this, we couldn’t just wait. It’s time to move on.” – via MMA Fighting
This quote doesn’t exactly jump off the page, but it, like the Covington situation, is a reflection of what’s going on the America and across the globe.
Many people don’t feel safe. Many people are scared. And many people know that life has to continue. Obviously in a different, much safer way than before. But, life does have to go on. Whether that’s in the Octagon, or more broadly applied to our everyday lives.
Does that mean pulling a Florida and acting like COVID-19 doesn’t exist? No. But just because we don’t feel safe, and are rightly scared, doesn’t mean we can’t push forward. Everyone is facing difficult circumstances right now, and it’s refreshing to hear from someone as strong and brave as a professional fighter speak out about the vulnerability we’re all feeling.
Ketlen Vieira doesn’t feel completely safe fighting during a pandemic, and that’s understandable. While physical health is important, we can also hope her identity is safe. Or at least safer than Aleksei Oleinik’s. At leat Colby Covington’s racist “gimmick” is safe. Dana White and the UFC are making sure of that.
Huh? for the road
Tito would definitely have a portrait of himself hanging in his bedroom pic.twitter.com/eyxwJFPbGG
— caposa (@Grabaka_Hitman) September 24, 2020
