We’ve all heard of it happening to other people …        Periodically, “60 Minutes” host Chris Wallace warns us all to be careful and never throw away ATM receipts, credit statements, credit cards or bank statements – shred or burn them!

    Never give your credit card number over the telephone, unless you make the call. Check your bank account monthly and notify the bank immediately of any discrepancies. Keep a list of telephone numbers to call to report the loss of your wallet, credit cards, etc. Report unauthorized financial transactions to your bank, credit card company and the police as soon as you detect them.

    For awhile, the neighborhood I live in had children who did not know (or could care less) that it is a federal offense to go into another’s mailbox and take any letters. I did my best to train them, but it has made me uneasy about getting any mail at my home address that includes bank statements or credit card numbers. Funny, when we were kids, I recall riding my bike all over neighbors’ yards and playing cowboys and indians through their bushes, but never going into the mail box.

    Now that I am a grownup and somewhat computer literate, I have to worry about an entirely new kind of theft: Internet fraud. That’s what I looked up to find out who to contact about someone using the Yahoo logo, requesting that I “update my confidential information” for their files.

    The real sadness in this story is that this is the second time I have been taken in by this ruse. My initial contact was a request from a hotel in Nigeria, where I “had lost my wallet and passport and needed $2,000 to pay the hotel and get a flight home. Wouldn’t you please send me the money ASAP?”

    Well, at that time, only a few friends were notified and they knew I would never go to Nigeria on vacation. This latest fraud involved a trip to Wales at a pleasant sounding hotel — and practically my entire address/contact list was deleted. The first call I received was at 5:30 a.m. last Tuesday morning – a friend asking, “What is going on?” Then followed many more calls and laughter (Hasn’t this happened to you before? When will you learn?)

    I was becoming grateful that none of my friends cared enough to bail me out – until I received a call that one of them had! Hooked! What a sick, sinking feeling in my gut.

    That’s what these crooks do – send notes to enough people from a contact list until someone responds. There’s nothing our local police can do as this is an international crime. I did report it to Yahoo and the FBI.IC3 or Internet Crime Complaint Center. But even they told me the chances were zero to nothing that they would be able to catch the criminals. So, never, never, ever give out confidential information such as your password to anyone on the internet. Even if the Yahoo logo appears to be legitimate. Never!

     And so, there it goes! Another crook gets away with theft. Be careful out there!

 

On the bright side …

    On March 3, Meridian Activity Center welcomes Kathy Shaw who is known for her crazy quilt patterns, embellishments and embroidery techniques. Anyone interested in hand crafting bags, wall hangings, jewelry, clothing construction will get something from this day class.

    We are inviting quilting guilds from other towns in Mississippi and nearby Alabama in hopes of getting enough artisans together to form a guild for East Mississippi and West Alabama.

    Meridian’s Magnolia Quilters meet twice monthly at the Center and are extending an open invitation to others interested in the quilting process. There is a fee for this class and lunch.

    The Activity Center will be open on President’s Day, which is Monday. Otha Barham and The Daydreamers continue to entertain on Feb. 25. We will begin registering for spring classes during the first three weeks of March, so if you are interested in one, give us a call at (601)485-1812.

    Meridian Activity Center is located at 3300 32nd Ave., off 29th Avenue and 36th Street.

    • Barbara Wells is director of Meridian Activity Center. E-mail her at mactivitycenter@gmail.com