Newspaper Page Text
The True Citizen, Wednesday, November 10, 2021 — Page 7
IjplFOR THE RECORD
Military families and veterans more likely to lose money to scams
BETTER BUSINESS
BUREAU
November 9, 2021
Service members, military
spouses, and veterans all re
ported higher likelihoods of
losing money and higher me
dian dollar losses to scammers,
according to the 2020 BBB
Scam Tracker Risk Report.
Published by the BBB Institute
for Marketplace Trust (BBB
Institute), the study analyzes
scams reported to BBB Scam
TrackerSM, spotlighting the
latest fraud risks facing con
sumers. Veterans reported a
median loss of $133, military
spouses reported a median
$132 loss, and active-duty ser
vice members reported a me
dian loss of $269 - all of which
were higher than the $115
median loss reported across all
consumers in 2020.
“Historically, we’ve seen
higher median losses reported
by the military community,”
says Melissa Trumpower, BBB
Institute Executive Director.
“2020 was the first year, how
ever, that we also saw higher
rates of military consumers
losing money to fraudsters.”
The likelihood of loss re
ported across all consumers
was 46.4% in 2020. Veter
ans reported a slightly higher
likelihood of loss at 46.8%.
Military families reported the
highest likelihoods of loss at
50.8% for military spouses and
59.7% for service members.
“The biggest factor contrib
uting to these higher likeli
hoods of loss across the board
was the increase of online
purchase scams and scams
perpetrated online in general,”
says Trumpower. “Consider
ing most people made online
purchases more often than
they normally would in 2020,
this was an expected shift that
is nonetheless alarming. In
a BBB survey of over 5,000
individuals that reported scams
to BBB Scam TrackerSM in
2020, 43.1% said they spent
more time online due to the
pandemic, and 57.1% said they
made more purchases online
because of the pandemic.”
Online purchase scams were
the riskiest scam type for ser
vice members and veterans,
with the riskiest type of item
purchased online being pets
and pet supplies. The riskiest
scam for military spouses in
2020 was employment scams.
This included flexible, work-
from-home opportunities found
online that often involved fake
check or reshipment scams.
“We continue to work with
our partners to combat scams
that target the military and
share prevention messaging
through BBBs serving com
munities throughout North
America,” Trumpower said.
LEARN MORE
To learn more about BBB’s
Military and Veterans Initia
tive, visit BBB.org/Military.
For more highlights from
Online scams rise during CO-
i
u
VID-19 pandemic: 2020 BBB
Scam Tracker Risk Report,
visit BBB.org/RiskReport.
Go to BBB .org/ScamTracker
to report a scam, learn more
about other risky scams in our
scam news feed.
BURKE COUNTY JAIL BOOKINGS NOV. 1-7
Kenneth Derril
Eason, 30
Columbia Rd.,
Martinez
WPD, Nov. 7
Investigative hold
Barry Steven
Johns, 55
Pressley Lane,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Nov 1
Stalking - misde
meanor
Stephen Robert
Rell, 52
Nita Walden Rd.,
Blythe
BCSO, Nov 7
Battery
Dennis Lorrie
Tucker, 39
Autumn Pd., Hep
hzibah
WPD, Nov 5
Theft by taking -
motor vehicle
Amanda Michelle
Holsomback, 33
Alien Chapei Pd.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Nov. 5
Bench warrant-
felony
Addrianna Shantea
Cooper, 29
MLKDr., Miiien
BCSO, Nov. 4
Safekeeping for
Screven County SO
(probation violation)
Khiry Rahmond
Malik, 31
Goshen Lane
South, Augusta
WPD, Nov. 6
Failure to appear
-Municipal Court -
housing for WPD
Heath Eric
Reid, 47
Jennings Rd.,
Augusta
BCSO, Nov, 2
Contempt of Supe
rior Court - order to
revoke bond (traffick
ing meth, etc.)
Jaquez Jnee
Paschal, 30
Cates-Mead Rd.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Nov. 3
Probation viola
tion - felony (armed
robbery)
Guy William
Campbell, 36
Pecos Rd., Hephzi
bah
BCSO, Nov. 6
Driving while license
suspended or
revoked - misde
meanor; safekeep
ing for Grovetown
Dept, of Public
Safety.
Thomas Franklin
Shepard, 74
Screven St., Sardis
BCSO, Nov. 4
Child molestation,
public indecency 1st
or 2nd conviction -
misdemeanor
Micheal Lyle
Strickland, 52
Ben nock Mill Rd.,
Augusta
BCSO, Nov. 3
Possession of
hydrocodone;
safekeeping for Ga.
Dept, of Community
Services
Malik Taylor
Maloyd, 24
Manderson Circle,
Hephzibah
BCSO, Nov. 6
Light reducing
material affixed to
windows; probation
violation for finger-
printable charge
- felony
Dillon Michael
Jaworski, 29
Hadden Pond Rd.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Nov. 1
Accountability Court
sanctions - revoking
probationer proba
tion; probation viola
tion for fingerprint-
able charge - felony
Craig Anthony
Harris, 36
Connock Court,
Grovetown
BCSO, Nov. 1
Use of a commu
nication facility in
commission of a
felony involving con
trolled substances (2
counts)
Arrie Vernard
Williams, 39
East 7th St.,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Nov. 3
Contempt of State
Court - misde
meanor; speeding
in construction
zone; driving while
license suspended
or revoked - mis
demeanor; child
support lockup order
(3 counts)
Keldridge Gordon
Samuels, 34
Tomoka Court,
Waynesboro
BCSO, Nov. 3
Use of communica
tion facility in com
mission of a felony
involving controlled
substances; transmis
sion of photos/videos
depicting nudity/sexu
al conduct; safekeep
ing for Ga. Dept, of
Community Supervi
sion (Augusta)
CO
LU
BCSO: Burke County Sheriff’s Office;
SPD: Sardis Police Department;
O
WPD: Waynesboro Police Department;
DOC: Department of Corrections
LU
GSP: Georgia State Patrol;
MPD: Midville Police Department;
DNR: Departmentof Natural Resources
DISCLAIMER NOTICE: ALL ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW
1022 N. Liberty St v Waynesboro - 706-551-0876
BURKE EMA REPORT
The Burke County Emergency Management Agency re
sponded to 95 patients’ calls during the week ending Nov. 7.
Of those, 65 resulted in transports, including 35 to Augusta
hospitals. Thirty four of the transports were determined to
be emergencies and 31 were non-emergent.
The agency also answered 24 fire calls during the week.
They included one fire/smoke alarm, one structure fire, one
vehicle fire, one outside trash/waste or dumpster fire, 14
rescues, two motor vehicle accident rescues, one power
line down, two public service calls and one unspecified call.
Indicted
person, related to a prior con
viction for domestic violence;
and possession of metham-
phetamine;
• Rodney Eric Strickland,
42, of Waynesboro, charged
with possession with intent to
distribute methamphetamine;
possession of a firearm by a
convicted felon; and posses
sion of a firearm in furtherance
of a drug trafficking crime.
Criminal indictments con
tain only charges; defendants
are presumed innocent unless
and until proven guilty.
Agencies investigating these
cases include the ATF, the FBI,
the U.S. Marshals Service,
the Georgia Bureau of Inves
tigation, the Savannah Police
Department, the Richmond
County Sheriff’s Office, the
Savannah Police Department,
the Burke County Sheriff’s
Office, the Wrightsville Police
Department, and the McDuffie
County Sheriff’s Office.
The cases are being pros
ecuted for the United States
Continued from front
by Southern District U.S. At
torney’s Office Assistant U.S.
Attorneys, including Henry W.
Syms Jr., Patricia G. Rhodes,
Tara M. Lyons, Jennifer A.
Stanley, Marcela C. Mateo,
Steven H. Lee, Joshua S.
Bearden, and Special Assis
tant U.S. Attorney Darron J.
Hubbard.
Under federal law, it is illegal
for an individual to possess a
firearm if he or she falls into
one of nine prohibited catego
ries including being a felon;
illegal alien; or unlawful user
of a controlled substance. Fur
ther, it is unlawful to possess
a hrearm in furtherance of a
drug trafficking offense or vio
lent crime. It is also illegal to
purchase - or even to attempt
to purchase - hrearms if the
buyer is a prohibited person or
illegally purchasing a hrearm
on behalf of others. Lying on
ATF Form 4473, which is used
to lawfully purchase a hrearm,
also is a federal offense.
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