Reported by Wynn Taylor
President Joan reminded us that this is Family month and that Rotary is a family over a million strong. After the singing of O Canada, Anne Sims said Grace.
President Joan reminded us that this is Family month and that Rotary is a family over a million strong. After the singing of O Canada, Anne Sims said Grace.
David Westler introduced
our one guest, our Guest Speaker, who is also a Rotarian: Rosalind Scott
Mary Canty reported on the Health of
the Club: Cards were circulated for Doug
McDougall, a former member,
who passed away recently, and whose Service is at the Cadboro Bay United Church, Saturday
the 15th at 1:00 p.m.; Hans Ockermueller has
not been feeling well, and is having blood tests. Myrna
Wright, a good friend of Rotary, had an unfortunately bad fall and is in an
induced coma in hospital. Please keep this vibrant woman in your thoughts
and prayers.
Announcements:
President Joan reported that we had sold 282 poinsettias for a profit of $1,370.08.
John
Jordan announced an opportunity to give a gift to the widows and orphans
in Rwanda on behalf of a family member or friend. Some suggested donations
would be a goat or a Rwandan Hot-Point Stove at $20. John will provide cards
informing recipients of your gift in their name.
Rod
Sim said that there has been a good response to the Salvation Army
Kettle program and that there are a few holes
for this Friday and Saturday. Check your email from Rod and contact him if you
can fill a hole.
Sergeant-at-Arms Will Carter, being a history buff,
challenged us with a 'this week in history' quiz. In this week in history
Edward the What abdicated from the British Throne. The members had to put up
the number of fingers indicating which Edward he was. All those not displaying 8
fingers were fined. In a similar vein: how many times did the Wright Brothers’
Kitty Hawk fly on her maiden day of flight? The correct answer was 4. As
sweaters are not normal apparel for Victoria, those wearing sweaters had to pay
for their sartorial choice. Be warned that next week's theme will be red and
green. Tom Croft was fined for having his green map of Oak Bay in the local
paper. Rod and Brenda Sim are celebrating their 13th Anniversary.
Happy
and Sad Dollars:
Joan
Firkins made a mistake in the Duty Roster and needs greeters but she also
received a cheque for $150 from a member of her Oak Bay Lawn Bowling Club
towards the purchase of a Rotary Smart Board. Tav McPherson is going on a three month search for dry golf courses
in New Zealand. Heather Aked shared
Alexander's amusing wish-list letter to Santa. John Edgell is returning to Mexico for three months in January.
Peter
Sou won the draw, but drew a black marble.
September
Smith introduced our Guest Speaker, Rosalind Scott, the Executive Director of the Vancouver Island
Chapter of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Rosalind's Topic was The
Top Ten Scams of 2012.
That old French adage that the more things change the more they stay the same seems to hold
true for the world of scamming. A hundred years ago the number one scam was
door-to-door magazine salesmen; in 2012 the number one scam remains the
door-to-door salesperson who has widened their offering of wares.
To deal with this individual we should first of
all not let them in our house and then not make any decision to purchase on the
spot. Take their proposal and say you will get back to them.
The second most common scam relies upon the new technology of the Internet.
If you receive an email from your bank saying
that they are in need of information from you, this a sure sign that it is NOT
your bank. People pretend to be someone you trust, even the BBB, in order to
get information useful for Identity Theft. This is the Trojan Horse scam. You should have malware on your
computer to screen most of these scams out and if you receive any suspicious
e-mails, you should read them carefully. Scams will often make detectable
mistakes. Regrettably there is no legislation currently on the books in Canada
to protect us from these forms of phishing, so we should be alert.
Gold-buying scams
entice us to sell our jewellery for their gold content. Unfortunately, as pure
gold is a soft metal and jewellery gold is a mixture, there is not as much gold
in jewellery as we may think and the scammers are often after the precious gems
set into the jewellery. If you are in doubt about the reliability of a
purchaser, call the BBB.
In the Microsoft Scam someone pretending to
be from Microsoft says that something is wrong with your computer and that they
need some information to fix the problem. If this request is unsolicited it is
usually a red flag and someone is seeking personal information on your
computer.
Charities can be scams; often
the percentage of donations, which goes to administration, is very high - the
actual money going to the designated charities is very low. The BBB has a list
of reliable and unreliable charities.
Financial Elder Abuse is
very common here on Vancouver Island. This is where a caregiver or family
member takes advantage of a senior. Look for unpaid bills and missing things -
were they broken or taken? The BBB has a TV program, Scam Watch, which
highlights this problem.
Group Coupon Buying
can be a scam if you don't know what coupon you are buying. Read the fine print
regards expiry date and other restrictive conditions or you may find that
“great deal” forever elusive. It is amazing how many people sign contracts
without reading them.
Reverse Mortgages
usually target seniors. The TV ads promoting them usually come from the USA,
which has a different banking system than ours. If you own your home, a line of
credit is better than a reverse mortgage. They say: If the bank won't give you
credit, we will; but you will have to pay dearly for it.
Phone fraud
often targets business with multiple lines. If you have phones accessible to
many individuals you should consider protecting them with passwords.
Credit and debit card frauds
often try to take small monthly amounts from your account, hoping that the
small amount will be below the radar and that you won't notice. Read your
monthly statements, and if there is something you don't understand...ask!
More information on scams is available at vi.bbb.org.
After an animated question period, Wendy Townsend thanked Rosalind. Our
meeting ended with the singing of God
Save the Queen.
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