Rotary Spoke 01 30 17

Posted by Murry Awrach on Jan 30, 2017
 

President Susan Carabbio Speaks to Rotary About Elder Fraud

 
Attending were 15 Rotarians and one visiting Rotarian, for a total of 16, on a partly cloudy, but relatively mild winter's day. It included a lovely luncheon with pulled pork, string beans, mac & cheese, chicken wings, and various cold cuts. As usual, Patty prepared wonderful chocolate chip cookies, along with cut up fresh fruit, and the usual nice hot and cold drinks. Raffle gifts were donated by Arlex Oil , Shattuck Ace Hardware, and the Rotary Club of Lexington.  The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Charlie V., First Verse of America by Charlie V., and the Invocation given by PDG Jack M.  Charlie V. very capably led the Welcome Song for our one guest, Rotary Club of Burlington PP and retired Fire Chief of the Burlington Fire Department, Paul Thibault. Happy dollars were donated by PP Don M. in celebration of his daughter Kristin's having given birth to twin baby boys! Congrats to you PP Don!  I (PP Murry A. - that's me! ) donated 20 happy dollars for the warm sunshine, swimming, and boating that my wife Pam and I enjoyed last week in St. John. First Vice President Lori M. was fined by PP Dan B. for being late with the bulletin – but she still got it done!  But PP Jim S. paid the fine for trying to defend VP Lori.  PP Jim S. was also fined for leaving a table with a guest to sit with Michelle G. Thanks , who had been sitting alone at a table – which was very nice of him!  I just don't understand nice Rotarians getting fined for trying to be nice to others!  I guess we are a great Rotary Club with a great sense of humor in the air!
 
Announcements: 
 
  • President Susan reminded everyone that the Polar Plunge is this Saturday, February 4.  She and PP Dominic S. will be participating, and she asked everyone to try to at least be there or donate in any way that they can. 
 
Saturday, February 4, 2017 
snow date TBD 
Cape Ann Motor Inn on Long Beach, Gloucester. 10:45am check in, coffee and snacks; 11:15am into the water!
 
  • Also, President Susan advised that the Rotary Club of Bedford is hosting a meeting at Middlesex Community College, as part of a program to enlist new and younger members into their club. PP Susan said that she and PP Jim S. are working to launch in September a program to encourage new membership, including corporate membership. 
 
  • President Susan announced that on Saturday, April 1, at the Fallen Church, there will be a memorial service for PP Doug Holmes. 
 
  • PP Dan B. advised the club of a new app for smart phones, which has a calendar, which the current app we use, Club Runner, does not.  He said Club Runner may update, possibly including having a calendar as part of their app, and the final results will be seen in due course.
 
Our speaker today was our very own President Susan, ‎VP, Market Manager at People's United Bank. 
 
Susan enjoys teaching money management.  Today, Susan spoke on Senior Fraud and Exploitation.  She said that 36 billion of these cases in the U.S. arose last year.  IRS fraud, in which the perpetrator files a tax return in the name of someone else and receives that person's benefits, ended up at about 21 billion cases noted in the year 2016.  Susan made a point that everybody is at risk. Items stolen include money, but also property and any type of valuable belongings. Don't be fooled by someone calling and saying they are from the IRS. Hang up the phone! The IRS will always mail you notifications; they will not call. 
 
There are several case types that fall into the categoryof fraud and exploitation:
 
1). power of attorney abuse, 
 
2). theft of signature – forging, such as a check writers signature, 
 
3). people don't read their bank statements, and you do have 30 days in which to make claims to regarding false information on your statement, 
 
4). check your credit card statements each month; many people do not do this,
 
5). grandparent scams, in which those folks are called by someone to say that their grandchild is in danger or is being held hostage, and a large sum of money is requested by the caller,
 
6). illegitimate bank checks being cashed at banks, in the name of someone else who has that account number; banks are working to try to catch these thieves right on site, if they can,
 
7). ATM machines will give out a maximum of $1000, which offers some protection from false account users, 
 
8). a number of checks written from one account and dispersed to different people; each person cashes his or her dispersed check at the same time as all the others do, resulting in a significant amount of money being taken from the person to whom the account really belongs. 
 
OF NOTE: Susan said that senior citizens have to be aware that they are threatened, because of their trusting nature as they get older, and that their family and close ones must be informed and learn to protect their senior members of the family or friends.
 
Thank you, President Susan, for preparing such a well organized and informative presentation. We learned much from you. 
 
The 50/50 raffle was won by none other than PP Spencer B. Need I say anymore?!!!   :) Congrats, PP Spence!
 
PP Murry A.