Bamboozle?

Dear Wealthy Affiliate members, safety specialists, security worry-warts.

Have you come across this word: bamboozle?

If yes, what does it mean or signify?

well, let's have a quick look at its origins:

Bamboozled
--- originated from British travels into southern Asia where some expedition members were lured into thick bamboo forests for various reasons and became disoriented in the myriad of thick growth.

It's more commonly used today as a verb in usage:
To bamboozle is to hoodwink, lead by the nose, or pull the wool over someone's eyes — you're tricking or fooling them.

Bamboozle may sound like a funny word, but anyone that's ever been bamboozled could tell you it's nothing to laugh about. (vocabulary dot com)
Further:

Two major meanings:

to confound or perplex."bamboozled by the number of savings plans being offered,"

OR:

to fool or cheat (someone)."Tom Sawyer bamboozled the neighborhood boys into doing it for him."

(Oxford)

What the heck?

Why are we even studying this word?

It will be clear in a nano-second!

Tossing the Bait out and then Taking the Bait? ... Careful !

You're likely to recognize these words when it comes to fishing.

Real fishing with a fishing rod & net to catch! ...

You put bait on your hook, cast or troll the line, and then, very patiently, wait for the fish to bite.

Sounds simple enough, yes?

However, (a Big However), what does it look like when someone is baiting you?

Twack, a fellow Wealthy Affiliate member here presented a 'somewhat' official-looking documentation at first glance --- and until you look at it more closely, what do you see?

Twack's wham-bam-thank-you

And, maybe, even more importantly, do you take the bait?

(recall those new shiny, objects?)

Technology has made digital baiting or bamboozlement rather commonplace.

Alas, take heed, and keep a half an eye out for any 'bamboozlement' ....

in many cases, it can be quite subtle in terms of an 'offering' of sorts ....

especially, those seemingly 'sudden' requests for dollars ....

and particularly, are they making a request for your data? ... and why do they need the data and the purpose for it? ....

Be vigilant and circumspect, especially when you did not place the order!

---- what they're doing is 'casting about' just like in fishing and casting ....

Why on earth are we discussing it now?

Because it is October 2020!

"October is Fire Prevention Month! ... annually, every second week of October Fire Prevention Week was named in commemoration of the Great Chicago Fire in 1871."

And i thought while we're on the subject, we may as well include security, especially, online security, too!

do keep aware, just in case someone has you locked on target! .... pleasant thought isn't it?

keep yourself and your systems safe and protected!

Just off the top of mind:

remember to run your scans, keep your disks clean, check your browsers and settings for the desired security and privacy levels, check the urls for legitimacy, ensure your software updates are done regularly or put on 'auto-pilot' and can you think of anything else?

anything missing?

best to share and we can all learn something new & helpful ....

well, that's it for now, folks!

thanks kindly for your attention & reading ....

keep well, keep safe & sound!
do click "Like This" and deposit your soaring replies in the boxes below .... cheerio ...