I hope that you have been able to keep warm during this recent very cold spell and please spare a thought for those who are not as fortunate as ourselves. Once again the news has recently been published of the death of one person who remained in her home for EIGHT years without anyone noticing, and another in Perth of a man who had died 2 years previously and remained undiscovered. Please keep an eye out for your neighbours and if you notice that they have not been out and about for a day or two, do the friendly thing and knock on the door and see if they are ok. It could mean so much to that person to think that they have not been forgotten. Just think if it were you in a few years time or if it were affecting your family we could all do with a friendly face and some compassion these days.
We had a very informative talk from Linda Blackburne from the Office of the Public Trustee at our last meeting regarding wills, enduring power of attorney and advanced health directives. We have some leaflets if you want further information and the Public Trustee can be contacted for free advice on a range of services including free will making, deceased estate administration, financial administration for people with incapacity amongst other things. Phone 1300 360 044.
Our speaker for the July meeting is Howard Triffitt regarding the supply and installation of CCTV, security products and systems. Again a very informative talk I am sure and I hope you will come along to the PCYC at Crestmead to see the displays and ask any questions you may have of this increasing way of protecting your homes and property.
Well as you can see from the statistics we have had another good month of crime detection and limiting the amount of crime goes to the reporting of crime through the POLICE LINK number 13 14 44 thank you to all those who are using this number for non urgent crimes.
This is making a huge difference to the allocation of police resources. As you will see from the report in the Logan West Leader for July 13th there is an article on our NHW group and the partnership with the police and our NHW group thank you to all involved. With such a large area we need as many volunteers to help so please come along to our meetings or just give me a ring.
Take care Geoff
SCAMS
The Internet provides a medium whereby unscrupulous operators can target consumers, with the marketing of illegal schemes and scams. Some of the more common scams include:
· Get rich quick schemes
· Miracle health products
· Competitions & lotteries
· Pyramid/referring selling/multi-level marketing
· Nigerian loan/investment scams
· Work at home schemes
With the advancement of technology, email has become a fast and efficient method of forwarding unsolicited scam information to bulk recipients. Your address could have been obtained from various sources, including a virus affected address book that automatically sends or forwards mail without the knowledge of the user, or from online databases.
Be sceptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts. Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
The inquirer relies on some form of response on your behalf to continue the communication. Previous experience gleaned by law enforcement bodies indicates that if you do respond, the sender has obtained confirmation of an identity that they may later use to facilitate the commission of other offences. If you receive this type of email, it is recommended that you delete or ignore it without responding to the inquirer.
Be cautious when responding to special investment offers (especially through unsolicited e-mail) or when dealing with individuals/companies outside Australia, as problems can be experienced with locating the person and with the difference in laws.
Don’t invest in anything you are not absolutely sure about. Do your homework on the investment to ensure that it, the individual or the company is legitimate and inquire about all the terms and conditions. Check out other web sites regarding this person/company, however don’t automatically judge them by their web site. Don’t invest in anything based on appearances.
Just because an individual or company has a flashy web site doesn't mean it is legitimate. Web sites can be created in just a few days and after a short period of taking money, a site can vanish without a trace. There have also been instances of websites being set up that ‘mirror’ the genuine website.
Misleading or deceptive conduct, or conduct which is likely to mislead or deceive is likely to contravene section 52 of the Trade Practices Act. Contact the Australian Competition & Consumer
Commission if you think that you have been the subject of this type of conduct.
There is ample information available on the Internet in relation to scams currently marketed worldwide and the precautions to follow.
Some of the following links offer advice on spotting cyber scams and methods to protect you from becoming a victim:
www.scamwatch.gov.au
www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/8135
www.ifccfbi.gov
www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au
To subscribe to weekly updates of scams, send an email to:
FairTradingUpdate@dtrft.qld.gov.au
Remember “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”
Now for the sad part of my message it is time to say goodbye to two of our local police officers Adam Allanson, who although he has only recently been at Crestmead police station, has been a great police liaison officer and very supportive of the NHW team. We wish him well in his new posting out in the country and thank him for his great job at Crestmead. Also leaving but on promotion to Senior Sgt is Col Henderson who has been with us all the way since we have been involved with NHW.
He was OIC at the police beat and has been such a great help with the work we have done with NHW, we could not have managed without his help and guidance. We wish you well Col in your move and promotion and hope that you will look in on us if you happen back this way in the future.
WATERFORD WEST STATE SCHOOL FETE SATURDAY AUGUST 27H
We will be holding a raffle and have giveaways at the school fete at Waterford West State School in John Street Waterford West so please come along and support us.
CRESTMEAD COMMUNITY CENTRE MARKETS
1st Saturday of the Month 10am to 2pm
New Stall holders welcome please contact 3805 1423
PCYC DROP IN NIGHTS FRIDAY 4PM TO 6.30PM
Come along and make new friends, watch a movie, play games in the park, or board games. Use the computers, try out a music instrument, sports and have a free meal and drink. Ages 10 - 17. Fully supervised activities contact PCYC for more details 3805 4100.
ENTERTAINMENT GUIDES
STILL ONLY $65
SAVE YOURSELF HEAPS
AND
HELP NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE COMMUNITY
