All My Data! - Episode One: Phishing

To help keep things fresh, we’ve decided to write this blog as though it were a scene from a daytime soap opera. Accordingly, please read all dialogue as though it is either being whispered, shouted, or forced out in anguish by an attractive cast of characters.

Data—ones and zeroes in sequence—runs the world… even in the quiet cape town of Oak Falls. Let’s check in on the residents of this little town, but beware. Threats exist even here, so make sure you’re keeping a close eye on… All My Data!

Derrick Lutz sighed contentedly, looking out over Oak Falls from his penthouse suite at the Lutz Hotel, his family’s crown jewel and primary source of the fortune he was in line to inherit. Smiling, he poured himself his daily health tonic and chugged it down, the bitter, herbaceous taste of the greens no longer bothering him. He finished putting on his suit, adjusted his tie, and walked to the elevator.

He emerged into the lobby of his family’s nest egg, nodding and smiling at Bella Bianchi, the young lady he had hired as the morning concierge. She smiled back, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she answered a ringing phone.

“Lutz Hotel, how can we improve your stay today?”

Derrick smiled, glad she was sticking to the script. He pointed to her, then to the coffee machine, then back to her. Bella continued her phone conversation but nodded back at her boss in confirmation. Moving to the lobby’s complimentary coffee machine, Derrick poured a cup each for himself and Bella—his black with extra sweetener, hers regular with one cream and one sugar. As he did so, he could only just overhear what Bella was saying to the person on the other end of the line.

“Oh, you’re with Oak Falls Electric? Okay, may I ask why you’re calling?”

Always the professional, Bella diligently took notes as she listened to the caller.

“I see. Well, I don’t have that information, but if you don’t mind being put on a brief hold, I have someone here who can sort this out. May I put you on hold? Thank you!”

Nodding, Bella pressed a button on the hotel’s telephone and set down the handset. Derrick had already returned with her coffee, so he handed it to her.

“Do you need me for something? I think I heard Oak Falls Electric…”

Bella nodded. “Apparently, they had a bookkeeping issue of some sort and needed to confirm the financial information we have on our account.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. Here, let me pull it up.”

Derrick slid his muscular frame behind the desk beside Bella and pulled up a file on the desktop’s notepad titled IMPORTANT INFO. He picked up the phone and removed the hold.

“Hello, this is Derrick Lutz. I have the information for the Lutz Hotel account.”

A voice chimed in on the other end of the line. “Okay, thanks. I need to reset your account’s financial data and access information. Can you give me…”

Derrick succinctly and professionally provided everything the person on the other line requested, from the account credentials to the company’s banking information. Once the call ended, he turned to Bella and gave a quick thumbs-up.

“All set!”

Bella smiled and returned to her station just in time to check in a family who had traveled to the hotel for a vacation. Smiling, she asked, “Name?”

“Brott, we’re the Brott family.” The father smiled back as he attempted to wrangle an excited child by his side.

Bella nodded and pulled up their reservation information. Suddenly, her smile vanished.

“Um, Mr. Lutz? Can you look at this for me?”

Derrick turned back, puzzled. Bella knew her stuff, so something was up if she was asking for help.

“Sure…”

The owner returned behind the desk, looking at the monitor quizzically. Bella pointed to an email notification that had popped up.

“Here, I’ve never seen this before.”

The notification showed an update from the hotel’s financial institution, Oak Falls Credit Union, confirming that a $500,000 transfer had been completed.

Derrick’s face went white. He picked up the phone and called the credit union, and the person on the other end confirmed that the transfer was completed. When he tried to reverse it, the receiving account had been emptied and closed. The money was gone.

He looked to Bella, panic setting in. He looked up the number to Oak Falks Electric and dialed. The person who answered confirmed no calls had been made and no issues in the hotel’s information had been discovered.

The call that Bella answered and that he had taken had been a scam… a scam that had just cost the hotel half a million dollars.

TO BE CONTINUED…

***

On the next All My Data!, we’ll see what will happen next. Will Derrick recover financially? Will Bella keep her job as concierge? Will we find out who kidnapped Paloma Cortez? Tune in to find out!

All My Data! is presented thanks to ImageSys LLC, one of the best IT support providers Gaithersburg has to offer. Keep this blog on your radar for our next episode, and call 301-740-9955 for any IT assistance your business needs.