01. Cell phones: I boxed up 3o used cell phones and mailed them to the 911 Cell Phone Bank. We should receive a few dollars from them for our TRIAD treasury and the phones will be renovated and reused, mainly for people who need them just to call 911.
02. GPS theft and usage.
03. Using definitive nicknames on cell phones that may be stolen.
04. Yesterday, I got a call saying that my credit card is expiring and asking that I push buttons. Surprisingly, caller ID showed a Westminster, Maryland telephone number and a name. I called the number to complain about the call. The woman who answered said that no calls had been made from there and hung up.
I was advised to wait and if the situation occurs again, to contact the telephone company.
05. Photo identification is now necessary at radiology sites and probably at all other medical places. Sounds like a good idea to eliminate some fraud.
06. The jury duty scam. This one is ongoing.
07. The census worker scam. Also still going on.
08. The home repair scam.. where you pay cash for a half-done job on a project that didn't need doing in the first place. Now there is another twist: the scammer insists that you walk out in the street to get a better look at what needs to be done.. and while out there an accomplice sneaks through the unlocked front door and steals small things that are easy to sell, but are often unnoticed for a while.
09. I spoke about my conversations with Joleen Sullivan, the head of the Carroll County Bureau of Aging. One of our suggestions for a very basic computer book for seniors met with a good result and several copies were bought for Carroll County seniors.
Also, another of our members complained about the $94 water bill she got, even though she was in the hospital for most of that time. She lives ten feet from the city line so she has to pay non-city rates. She and others have complained about the "tough luck" attitude of the people who send out those bills.
10. One of our members warned us about a company that has swindled some senior citizens out of thousands of dollars. The swindled persons should be contacting the States Attorney's office.
Next month (May 20, 2010, at 10 am at the Carroll County Senior Activity Center) we will be visited by Jessica Bullock, Carroll County Sheriff's Department Forensic Section. Jessica will talk to us about the latest investigation procedures and resources.
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