Week 6
Monday
We told the clients not to come and so we took turns in clearing the snow - so that the cars could come and go - and we scooped walkways to the apartments.
Whilst we were doing that, someone had to keep an eye on the fire...
The thaw should begin tomorrow. There has been a lot of local skating, but it has not been cold for long enough to ensure an Elfstedentocht - I think the authorities are more than a little relieved - they don't have to worry about huge crowds and the Covid implications.
Fraud
Every now and then something catches my attention on the TV news. During the week there was quite a session on WhatsApp fraud.
15% of Netherlands users have been caught out with fraud. The messaging app is quite popular in Europe, so I imagine that fraud is also occurring in other countries.
slachtofferhulp.nl (VictimHelp) has information about it as well but it seems that there was a huge rise in numbers during the Covid year.
From the website, translated by Google.
WhatsApp Fraud
In WhatsApp fraud or SMS fraud, a family member or close acquaintance asks you to transfer a substantial amount per WhatsApp or SMS in the short term. However, it turns out not to be a relative or close acquaintance, but a con man.
Scammers are often very good at making you believe that they really are your daughter, brother or good friend. They text or text about your kids, your work or something that happened recently. The scammer found this data on the Internet. On the Marketplace where you have sold something, on Facebook or, for example, LinkedIn.
Some of them were quite large sums - over €5000,00
Of 700 WhatsApp fraud reports per week, two-thirds succeed: 'Bizarrely many'
Seven hundred reports of WhatsApp fraud are received every week by the Cybercrime team East Netherlands, which consists of 17 people. Ten of them work full-time to connect and solve as many of these app issues as possible.
"700 a week, that's a bizarre amount," says Yoanne Spoormans, within the Cybercrime team an expert in so-called friend-in-emergency fraud, better known as WhatsApp scams. "It should be noted that in two-thirds of the cases these reports are a successful fraud," adds Cees van Tent, team leader of the Cybercrime team of the East Netherlands police that resorts to Apeldoorn.
From here, the members of the team perform online investigative work for the whole of Eastern Netherlands, from Nijmegen to Nijkerk and Winterswijk to Wadenoijen. In addition, interrelationships and criminal scam networks are exposed throughout the Netherlands.
And we have an election coming up...
...so there is some weird stuff on TV. One chap was pushing an old woman around in a wheelchair down by the beach - she was going on about how she has known him since he was a child, blah, blah...and was certainly going to vote for him...
Then he was "outed" by a magazine that revealed his text messaging...
Far right leader Thierry Baudet and several candidate MPs for his party Forum voor Democratie were spreading racist and homophobic comments in Whatsapp chat groups as late as last summer, according to revelations in the new issue of EW Magazine. The news weekly cites extensively from chats circulating in two FvD groups. In one chat Baudet messaged others in the group that white people had an average IQ of 110, while Hispanics had 90 and Afro Americans 75. He also asked Gideon van Meijeren and Yanick Chevalier, numbers six and 23 on the party list, would they mind if their sister ‘came home with a negro’. ‘Hell no,’ was Van Meijeren’s answer. In other chats, ‘homo’ is widely used as an insult, EW said.
Oh dear, I guess far right says it all. From an English language Dutch podcast, I learnt that there are 44 political parties contesting this election. I think it is better in some ways than totally "one or the other" - they are usually forced to negotiate and compromise in order to form a Government - one in particular a few years ago was known as The Purple Coalition - because of so many political "colours" being represented.
Also on TV...
We've just about "finished Netflix", so we looked at a Dutch Channel offering a range of series -including one called "Flikken Maastricht". We think Flikken best translates to "Coppers" - a police/detective series - of 15 Seasons!! - So we have about 150 episodes to watch. We're halfway through Series #2.
(I have to read the Dutch subtitles as well as listen).
It is set in picturesque Maastricht - and so whetting my appetite to get down there with the boat.
Snow Photos
On Monday, I made the mistake of taking Boeke into the forest as usual. He loved it at first, but after a while his feet clogged up with snow and ice - he sat down trying to lick it off. In the end, I had to carry him home! More exercise for me...
By the end of the week the snow had been well walked on and so Boeke could handle it a bit better - he dragged me into the forest more often than not. On Friday, I found myself daydreaming - that the snow was good enough to ski on - apart from the obvious missing feature... it also took me back to a period when I was a bit rudderless (or at least anchor - less). A nice group of policemen and women had "adopted" me - I became a foundation member of the Victoria Police Ski Club - and they tried (with little success) to teach me to play Bridge. They were such a nice group - but we are now more than 40 years on...and yet they stay in my mind as they were then.
I also reminisced about a Fire Brigade skiing trip with a group of firefighters - I think I had been promoted by then - one of the firies was a real-life opera singer! I remember just like it was yesterday that he sang The Wind they Call Maria (and others) over a few beers... I think it was the thought that our firefighters had so many more talents away from work - that made the biggest impression on me.
Janny's Mum had her first vaccination...
A bit of a relief to get that started - they'll get to the 70 year olds soon enough!
I missed three haircuts, so Janny finally had a go at it...Luckily, it's beanie weather...
The curfew has been extended to the 3rd of March - the Dutch word for curfew is "avondklok" - literally "evening clock".
Exceptions include walking the dog, funerals, work, international travel, medical emergency.
My helper had a go at getting rid of the cobwebs...
Ben got more modelling work in Spain... subject to having Covid tests...
Ben had to pay his own flight and accommodation - the return flight cost only €75,00 and his room also €75,00. (He had a cat and a dog in seats near him on the plane!).
Strange that you have lockdown & curfews but people (incl. Ben) are still allowed international travel. Have the number of deaths in Spain for example, gone down that much?
ReplyDeleteOur low numbers of cases here have all originated from international returned travellers. It would be fantastic if they all had to have negative tests like Ben before they get on a plane to return home.