Scammers At the Holiday
The holidays are the busiest time of the year for many people – including scammers. Oregonians lost 136-million dollars to holiday shopping scams last year, according to a new study. Although older people tend to lose higher dollar amounts to a scam, the Federal Trade Commission says scammers steal from young adults more often. Carmel Perez Snyder with A-A-R-P Oregon says the most common cons this year revolve around online shopping, charities and gift cards. She says victims of scams can feel embarrassed, but they should never be blamed for falling for a trap.
“A scam is just like somebody being held at gunpoint. They are robbed by very professional people who are very good at what they do.”
Snyder says crypto scams have been big this year, in which the victim is led through a series of steps that end up with all their money converted to cryptocurrency. Once the money has been converted, Snyder says, there’s no way to trace it or get it back. The best way to avoid scams, Snyder says, is to never give personal information to anyone over the phone. If they claim they’re from the I-R-S or your bank, hang up and call the agency or business to comfirm. Snyder adds if their request comes with a threat – that you’re going to be arrested, or you need to keep something a secret – it’s a scam. The goal is to play on people’s emotions, so they aren’t thinking clearly – and are more likely to follow nefarious instructions.
“They get them that way by making them scared, having a sense of urgency, making them think ‘this great deal is going to go away tomorrow.'”
Snyder says if you suspect a scam, it’s important to report it. You can call the A-A-R-P Fraudwatch helpline or the F-T-C, and even your local police. Even if they can’t do much about it, it’s critical that they’re able to track the scams going on in the community.
Elks Christmas Dinner
For several years, Florence Elks Lodge 1858 has hosted a free Community Christmas Dinner at the lodge on 12th Street. George Bandy says this year is no different.
“Christmas Day, the 25th a very important day. We’re going to have a community Christmas Dinner, it’s open to everyone in Florence, anyone and everyone. You can come in your pajamas; your tuxedo. So if you’ve got a tuxedo pull it out of the mothballs, put it on and come on down.”
Bandy says it is always a large turnout.
“Last year it was about 650, more or less. Lotta to go meals and a lot of people came in and sat down and visited the whole time. In fact some people were there for the whole three hours. It’s a community event, you get to know your neighbors.”
Doors at the lodge open at noon on Christmas Day and they serve until three. Bandy says they welcome additional volunteers to help out. You can call the Elks Lodge today at 541-997-2610, extension 5.
Whale Watching
It’s Christmas break and that means many families are looking for things to keep the kids busy or entertain guests visiting from out of town. The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is once again hosting Winter Whale Watch Week. It begins Friday, December 27th and runs through Tuesday, New Years Eve. Trained volunteers will be at 15 different locations on the Oregon Coast from ten AM to one PM each day to help visitors spot gray whales as they are migrating south to calving lagoons in Mexico. There are more gray whales to see off the Oregon Coast this year and having a trained volunteer on hand to give you tips about what to look for can improve your chances of spotting them. Four of the 15 Whale Watching locations are easily accessible from the Florence area, all of them are on or very close to Highway 101. One is south of Winchester Bay at the “Way Finding overlook”. The other three are to the north. One near Sea Lion Caves, another at Cape Perpetua, and the final one, at the Yachats State Recreation Area, three blocks off of the highway in Yachats. More information and a complete list of watching locations are on the State Parks website.
