Meeting Recap - December 13, 2016
Mark Beisswenger opened the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance and an Invocation.
Our lone guest today was Rotarian Frank Mabley from the Shoreview Arden Hills club.
Gerry Tietz announced that Todd Kruse has agreed to be our Club President for the 2018-19 Rotary Year. He also announced that John Ordway and MaryAnn Bawden have agreed to continue as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively, for the upcoming 2017-18 Rotary year.
Several Rotarians commented on their conversations with David Hoel regarding his broken leg. He's still taking pain killers, so he's a little groggy and tired at times, but he's getting gradually better and enjoys phone calls. He hopes to be with us for next week's Irondale Choir Christmas Concert at Risdall Advertising's new location. Glenna will be sending us an email with location and meal details.
Beverly has been dealing with pain from a leg problem which has prevented her from attending our meetings. Our prayers are with her as she recovers. Garry Johnson has graciously offered to fill in for Bev as the leader of our Homeless Student Initiative.
Nils reported that Peg is receiving therapy to shrink her cancer by blocking estrogen from being absorbed by the tumor. Nils and Peg are grateful for the support of the club at this difficult time.
Cindy Carlson is celebrating her 30th anniversary and Garry Johnson is celebrating his 39th.
Mark Beisswenger introduced our speaker, Detective Matt DeBoer. Matt is a 18 year veteran of New Brighton's Police Department, with 3 years as a Detective. Matt's topic was "Fraud". Matt outlined the many types of scams that criminals employ to fraudulently part us from our hard-earned cash. Some examples are:
- Your grandchild is in jail... bail is needed immediately.
- Your loved one has been kidnapped in Mexico...ransom is required.
- Your student tuition is delinquent...send cash or get kicked out of school.
- Craig's List scams
- You've already won!!! Send cash to process the award.
- IRS delinquency...provide us with your personal information to resolve.
- Late regulatory payments or filings scam (D.O.T. , etc.)
- Renting unoccupied property without the knowledge of the owner.
- "Spoofing" - using fake phone numbers, email addresses or web addresses to get private information.
- Credit card "skimming" to steal your credit card information at credit terminals or ATM's
Matt said that fraud is also very often perpetrated by friends or family of the victim, and that kind of fraud is often hard to prove and prosecute. Vulnerable adults are also the most common target for fraud of all kinds.
Matt offered a few common sense tips to avoid being the victim of fraud.
- Any "immediate" need for "cash or money order" should arouse suspicion.
- Take the time to "Google" organizations before offering information or sending money.
- Don't give your personal information to anyone over the phone. Reputable companies never ask for this information by phone.
- Maintain "control" of your credit cards at all times.
Matt, John and Mark are shown below.
