Fraud Warning – “CaDMV” Text Message

I renewed the registration for one of our cars yesterday, and today got a fairly credible text message from 833-608-1722, claiming to be the California DMV (“CaDMV”) and that I must update my contact information. The text directed me to a website, which redirects to realidcalifornia.com — again an imperfect but surprisingly credible phishing site.

I’m posting this here in the hopes of warning people who get similar text messages that this is a complete scam. But since I’d just engaged with the DMV’s website only 24 hours earlier, it felt far more authentic than it otherwise would have.

If anyone can shed light on the mechanism for connecting that website visit to my phone number, I’d love to hear it. Malicious cookie or other malware on the DMV website that they don’t know about? Something else?

While We’re at It…

What is the proper etiquette these days when someone is a no-show on a conference call? How long do you officially have to wait before you give up?

(I propose 8 minutes.)

A Modest Proposal for Zoom Etiquette

I hereby propose the following for use in Zoom and other video-based meetings:

If a person is trying to speak but inadvertently has their microphone “on mute,” simply hold your hand over your mouth to indicate visibly that you are unable to hear them.

Palette vs. Pallet vs. Palate

Palette – a board on which an artist mixes colors (or the range of colors he/she uses)

Pallet – a wooden frame upon which goods are stacked for shipping

Palate – the appreciation of taste in your mouth (also physically the roof of your mouth)

Let’s work on this, folks.

Planning Ahead

Domain names that are unavailable:

covid-20.com
covid-21.com
covid-22.com
covid-23.com
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covid-42.com is available. For now.