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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL !■ aESES U "S* : i l|||sPluli ▼ jMr V ' ~|| i 4.. ... • wKf Bk& JpHHraK ~ mpf*"' J 1 IJ jßy*j. |l£ k J , ‘*l *i I Btef-v ' vsti- jlh m ’ ggrif a|MLgjyße%* Ty taßfapi % _ -v. f /‘IhBHk B* * 1 vjiv JP* . *,4 ,4g |H3flr 1 jtjm '' I HBB| jldHwtV .% t * Submitted Brach Morin, center, Volunteer Coordinator with Heart of Ga. Hospice, poses with a group of volunteers who proudly show their certificates after attending the Hospice Volunteer Training Course on Sept. 18. Once trained, volunteers are qualified as Patient Care Advocates. A dinner was served. Sixteen individuals were trained as volunteers. Identity crooks on the prowl for your money Special to the Journal Identity crooks are making billions of dol lars off of people like you. According to Privacy Rights Clearing House, 8.9 mil lion people became vic tims of identity fraud last year, costing each victim an average of nearly $6,400. That amounts to $56.6 bil lion a year in fraud claims. Mike Sullivan, director of education for Take Charge America, a national non profit credit counseling agency, said financial scams are getting more sophisti cated and costing smart con sumers more cash each year. It s really up to consum ers to take responsibility for protecting themselves against fraud, he said. The Internet provides endless opportunities for scams. As technology advaances, scam artists are taking notice and using it to their advantage. To help keep you fraud-sawy, Sullivan described four com mon financial scams and how to avoid them: Phishing - The Internet is riddled with “phishing” scams. Phishing happens when crooks send fake e mails or use pop-ups to lure, or “phish,” financial infor mation away from a con sumer. The consumer is for Local teens form P.LN. club to help others Special to the Journal Today Erica Hudnall and Tabitha Lassiter decided it was time they made a differ ence in the world. Looking at Hudnall and Lassiter, you would think they were just like any other teenagers; but still, thought ful waters run deep. “My grandmother has Alzheimer’s and I want to do something to help her,” Hudnall. Her friend, Lassiter has a brother who died from Batten’s disease, and an inherited disorder of the nervous system that usually manifests itself in childhood. Up until a few weeks ago, Hudnall and Lassiter were just like any other two teen age girls, talking on their cell phones about boys and homework; but today, they decided it was time they got serious about a few things and let the world know about it. The two got together and made some notes on what they wanted to do with their futures, their spare time, and their spare cash. “Well, I thought to myself, if we could do anything to help people what would we do?” said 15 year old Hudnall. Both girls are students at Windsor Academy in Macon. “There aren’t any clubs at the school that aren’t focused around scholastics or sports,” said Hudnall. And she knows a lot about Volunteer certificate warded to a fake website that appears to be legitimate and he/she is asked to enter per sonal financial information, such as a credit card number or social security number, allowing the crook to steal his/her identity. Do not send any personal information over the Internet unless you are positive you know who is receiving the information and that the information is secure. If you are unsure, call the bank or institution that is requesting the infor mation and ask if you can provide it in person. Advance-Fee Loans - These scams guarantee consumers a credit card in advance for a fee before they even apply. These offers are illegal and often target people with credit problems. The credit crook will typical ly take off with your fee and the loan will never material ize. If someone calls you at home wdth this offer, tell the person not to call anymore and hang up. Legitimate credit offers never require up-front fees. IRS Impersonators - The Internal Revenue Service is in the process of a new, private debt collection effort, where a small seg ment of taxpayers who owe back taxes will be contacted by private sector debt collec scholastics. She took top honors last year for the high est average in the freshman class. After many note mak ing and taking sessions, the two came up with the idea of starting a club at the school and getting fellow students involved. “It just seemed that if it was something we wanted to do, other kids our age would be interested too,” said Lassiter. Hudnall stayed up nights after completing her home isSliil 'pli HUDNALL that is it didn’t look profes sional and well-thought out, it was no use,” said Hudnall. “My mom helped me a lot. “We decided we would have two charities we focus on a year. We chose Alzheimer’s Association for our first fundraiser.” “And then for the sec ond one we chose the Batten’s Disease Support and Research Association,” added Lassiter. When asked what the date was for their first fundraiser, “Oh, the club has Fabulous Friday each week where we tors. Scamsters try a variety of tricks to impersonate the IRS in hopes of tricking tax payers into divulging person al or financial information, 4 or even conning people out of cash. Keep in mind that all taxpayers who will be a part of the private debt collection effort will know they are in the program before they are contacted by a private col lection agency, so be wary of bill collectors that say they are working on behalf of the IRS. In addition, all checks collected by debt collectors should be made payable to the US Treasury - not com panies or individuals. If you suspect that someone is try ing to scam you, call the IRS at 800-829-1040. “Free” Credit Reports - There’s only one way to get a free credit report each year: www.annualcreditre port.com. The Web site www.freecre ditreport.com is very deceiv ing because “free” doesn’t really mean free. While the latter Web site does have a disclaimer, many consum ers are still getting duped. If you order a credit report from this site, you will be enrolled in Triple Advantage SM Credit Monitoring. If you don’t cancel within 30 days, you will be charged $12.95 per month. sell homemade cookies and stuff,” said Lassiter. “The first big event we have is the yard sale we plan for the 16th in the parking lot at the school. It will start at 7 a.m. and go until noon, so we need everyone to start saving up their unwanted items,” Hudnall said. It is evident the two girls are very excited at the pros pect of helping others as well as making the club success ful. “I am very proud of both of them. Erica made a fan tastic presentation to her principal and they had a great first meeting,” said Hudnall’s mother JaLynn. “Erica is very organized, so I had no doubt she could do it. Kids have so many things to deal with nowadays, for them to want to help other people is just wonderful.” To help the People In Need Club leave donations at Windsor Academy on Jones Road in Macon Monday - Friday during normal school hours. The items will be collected each day until the yard sale. “And please come visit the yard sale,” said.Hudnall. “And bring lots of money,” chimed in Lassiter. work to come up with a pre sentation to give their Principal, John Cranford. “We need ed for him to take up seri ously and we knew Prime Rib Seasoned to Perfection I-75 Exit 136 - 987-8877 Macs LOCAL fill 14J iP.ll, HJr r* 4 * - •• • ipW v .icra <l FL - y fPutem'Hui \ 1 —«* 1." l & f ! i.tfJ!rliiiiiMriiii ? Bfeg-, d/mrww 88l ’Jr -4L V ' . '/&< -BL. •• J ■ •-'** i* *« '**•* 'X'jjF : JKm . •* Lindsey Elementary School children were recently chosen by their teachers to be recognized because they represented the character word of the week, “kindness.” The following students show kindness to others. First row: Javaree Simmons, Ricardo Marquirez-Pablo, Robert West, Joshua Cannon and Nathaniel Shearer. Second row: Annie McCall, Laquae’zion Duncan, llario Aguliar and Travon Mace. Third: Darrin Clark, Jr., Matthew Rolle, Jani Johnson and Jimille Joseph. Not pictured: Thomas Gatlin, Darius Williams, Cierra Johnson and Markell Klein. Buy Now wm It might not be here tomorrow! ~, ... ■ Jy* HR Adult Crew Neck Sweatshirts Select Lee styles in assorted colors. Sizes S-2XL You PBy SOB 7 *' '■ -• Original ticket price sl6 Vassamtte Panties Select bikini and boylegs in fashion colors & prints. Sizes 5-10 You Pay s|47 Ongmal ticket price $4 - S 8 l! OUTLET Peach Shops at Byron, I 75, Exit 149, Byron, GA (478) 956 3275, Mon Sat 10 9, Sun 12 6, .www.vtfo.com Being kind to others Award winning effort K ;■ L, Misses Riders Jeans Select stretch mid-rise boot-cut styles. Sizes 6-18 You Pay STfS7 Original ticket prices2B Ladies Blouses Select Riders woven styles. Sizes S-XL You Pay $ 4 87 Original ticket price S2B Wrangler 023 THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2006 ♦ The David Perdue Elementary FOCUS students participated in the Plains, Peanuts and a President contest. Of 7,000 students who entered, Gena Jeziorski won second place in the fourth grade division. For her efforts, she received a certifi cate and an auto graphed copy of former President Jimmy Carter’s book, “An Hour Before Daylight.” Submitted ’ 3L ] Adult Hooded Sweatshirts Select Lee Pullover and Zip Front styles in assorted colors. Sizes S-2XL You Pay $/IS7 Original ticket price S2O - $26 Misses Tops Select brand name casual styles. Sizes XS-XL You Pay sjjß7 Original ticket price $11.74 Aradabttity, sue end style may vary horn store to store. 7A Submitted