Easter 2022

Easter Sunday was a working day in Sharjah. I avoided the volley of greetings, forwards and other images on Whatsapp from regular friends and once-in-a- blue-moon messengers  in the morning as I got about my morning chores with V's help - he made the mutton stew and me the appam and I must say it was better than what I do. The  truth is he invests his heart and souls and artistic skills into making something whereas I am just trying to finish a chore quickly.

We had an office meeting at lunchtime, and since the boss spoke in Arabic, the translators helped us non-Arabic speakers understand what was going on. I skipped an office iftar dinner invite that night and went instead with the family to Amritsar, a Punjabi restaurant that has recently opened a branch in Qusais. It was tasty though a bit spicy, and we stuffed ourselves till our nose. The hubby complained the food didn't agree with him and that he spent a sleepless night, once again promising himself that he would stop eating out.

The best/worst part of my Easter greetings was a call in Botim as I was leaving office. Coming from +33, I learnt later it had its origin in France or was routed through France. Thinking that it was from some relative abroad, I took it and was greeted by someone with a semi Arabic accent (or was it African?). He said he was calling from Dubai Police's CID dept -- something clicked in my brain and I though they were calling to return my Tommy Hilfiger cap lost at Expo :) -- and some blah blah after that about something being wrong with my bank or Emirates ID (I didnt hear that part clearly or dont remember as I immediately remembered some newspaper articles about fraudsters calling to get your bank and other details. He said I had to share my Emirates ID to set things right and prompted me with 784 (the starting numerals of every resident). I told him I had no intention to share it and cut the call. Of course the police wont call me on Botim and neither are we asked to share anything on phone - they would call us over if something is wrong. 

Covid era has seen fraudsters on the rise, trying to make some quick buck. A colleague lost 8k through apple.com where no OTP or alerts came while the credit card transactions were being made. A couple of days later, I read a post by a Li contact about how she lost 2.5k the same way, albeit from another bank.

Time to be wary in these times when online transactions have made 'ife easier - though often unsafe.