F E B . 10, 1999
P age A 3
(Cfyc ¡Portland flibserurr
Making a Living Defrauding You out of Your Savings
Som e People M ake T heir Living
Defrauding Others O ut O fT heir Sav
ings.
N ow , state agencies are team ing
up to help seniors and others fight
fraud.
This guest opinion is by R oger
A uerbach, adm inistrator o f the S e
nior and D isabled Services Division.
Every day fraudulent schem es rob
people o f anything from a few dol
lars to their life ’s savings. The ea si
est targets are often people w ho are
elderly.
T he elderly m ay be the m ost v ul
nerable to scam s not ju st because
they are elderly, but also because
they often are m ore polite, more trust
ing and have m ore savings.
N ow , several agencies o f state
governm ent are w orking together to
reduce the am ount o f financial fraud
against O regonians, especially the
offering to those people, their ch il
dren and their care-givers:
Don't be pressured
C onsum ers are bilked out o f m ore
than $40 m illion a year by unscrupu
lous telem arketers. Bew are of:
Pressure to act im m ediately.
•Callers w ho w o n ’t let you call
elderly.
T hese are am ong the tips we are
back.
•Attem pts to get personal infor
m ation such as num bers from credit
cards, M edicare cards, telephone
calling card o r checking account.
R equirem ents to pay shipping,
handling or taxes before being sent
a "prize.
R eport suspicious calls to the O r
egon D epartm ent o f Justice C o n
sum er line: (503) 378-4320. (Stay on
the line to talk to a representative.)
R eview contracts
Seniors and others lose m illions
to dishonest salespeople w ho call
on the phone or at the door. W e
recommend:
■ F irst, com pare the offer to sim ilar
products available elsew here.
•If you buy, get all p rom ises in
w riting im m ediately. Read and u n
d erstand them . K eep copies.
■Never sign a contract you d o n ’t
fully understand.
R ep o rt suspicious tran sactio n s
to the O regon D epartm ent o f Ju s
If you believe a m edical product
or equipm ent m ay be helpful, co n
sult your d octor first.
Finally, h e re ’s a p ro d u ct w e rec
om m en d for p eo p le w ho h av e d if
ficu lty h an d lin g te lep h o n e sales
calls. E asy H ang U p, av a ila b le for
Justice consumer line(5O3 378-4320)
to check them out.
tice.
Beware of ‘great offers’
Som e people m ake their living as
con artists. P lease rem em ber:
•If an offer sounds too good to be
true, it probably is.
•D on’t be pressured into acting
right away; legitimate companies will
let you think about it.
■Never m ake bank w ithdraw als at
the request o f strangers or new ac
quaintances.
• * d o n ’t be fooled by people claim
ing to b e w ith a bank, charity or
governm ent agency.
•Call the O regon D epartm ent o f
Avoid vacation scams
•W inning a free vacation is ter
rific. But be cautious ifyou are asked:
To give your credit-card num ber
to collect your “ free” trip.
•To call a 900 phone num ber, for
w hich you will be billed.
•To com m it right aw ay w ith no
details in writing.
M ore inform ation about vacation
scam s is available from the A m eri
can Society o fT rav el A gents: (703)
ab o u t $20.
I t’s a sim ple d ev ice that attach es
b etw een the in c o m in g p h o n e line
an d the back o f th e pho n e. W hen
an o ffe n d in g ca ll is re c e iv e d , the
co n su m er sim p ly p resse s a b u tto n
on the d ev ice and h an g s up the
H O USTON - Two ne w minimally-
mvasive surgeries can help women
who experience heavy bleeding during
their menstrual cycle avoid having a
hysterectomy.
The procedures, uterine balloon
therapy and bipolar hystéroscopie cau
tery, are appropriate for two diferent
groups o f women.
Uterine balloon therapy is a proce
dure performed when tests determine
polyps o f fibroids are not found in the
inner lining o f the uterus. A probe
containing a heating elem ent sur
rounded by a balloon is inserted into
the uterus through the cervix. The
balloon is inflated with water to match
the contour o f the uterine cavity.
"The water is heated to 188 degrees
Fahrenheit for eight minutes,” said Dr.
Robert K. Zurawin, an assistant profes
sor o f obstetrics and gynecology at
Baylor College o f Medicine in Hous
ton. "The lining o f the uterus, the area
that sheds every m onth during a
woman ’ s period, is thermally destroyed
and reduced to a level where it can no
longer regenerate." The w omen who
will undergo this procedue, about half
will experience light bleeding or a nor
mal flow, and about 3 0 percent wi 11 ha ve
no bleeding at all.
The other procedure, bipolar hyst
éroscopie cautery, is perform ed when
polyps or fibroids causing abbormal
bleeding are found in the uterine cav
ity.
“A thin telescope about the size o f
a drinking straw is inserted through the
cervix and into the uterus,” said Zurawin.
“The dsmall scope is much less trau
matic to the uterus. The bipolar cautery
uses a safe, lower electrical current to
remove the polyps and fibroids in the
uterus."
Both surgeries are not recommended
for those women who still want chil
dren. Mostwomenwillexperiencepain
equivalent to menstrual cramps for
about a dat aftr surgery, and are usually
able to return to w ork or school within
a couple o f days.
“W om en were faced with needing a
hysterectomy to correct abnormal uter
ine bleeding now have new alterna
tives that do not require major sur
gery,” said Zurawin. "These are very
exci ting advances on women ’ s health. "
Happy
Birthday
Larry
Jackson Jr.
(Buggy)
D e e A n d e r s o n ’s lif e .
A n d e rs o n w as a s in g le
m o th e r o f t h r e e a n d g r a n d
m o th e r o f f iv e w h o h a d a d r u g
a d d ic tio n a n d sp e n t s e v e ra l
y e a r s in a n d o u t o f s t a t e a n d
f e d e r a l p r is o n w h e n s h e d e
c id e d s c h o o l w a s th e a n s w e r .
“ O n c e I g o t o u t o f p r is o n
a n d g r a d u a te d f ro m a r e h a b
p r o g r a m ," D ee s a y s . “ 1 n e e d e d
to g e t t r a i n e d in a m a r k e ta b l e
s k i l l to c o m p l e t e th e t u r n
a r o u n d o f m y li f e ."
S o s h e tu r n e d to th e W e s t
e rn B u s in e s s C o l le g e " b e c a u s e
I n e e d e d a g o o d j o b f a s t. I
f in is h e d m y O p e r a t io n s S p e
c i a l i s t ( C o m p u te r t r a i n i n g ) in
a b o u t a y e a r .. .n o w I ’m a b o u t
to g r a d u a te a n d I a l r e a d y h a v e
W e s te r n B u s in e s s C o lle g e , a
c a r e e r c o l le g e w ith c a m p u s e s
in P o r tla n d a n d V a n c o u v e r , o f
f e r s d ip lo m a a n d a s s o c ia te d e
g r e e s in c a r e e r - s p e c i f i c p r o
g r a m s u c h a s a c c o u n t in g , a d
m in i s tr a ti v e a s s is ta n t, le g a l a s
s i s t a n t , tr a v e l a n d h o s p it a li ty
m a n a g e m e n t, c o m p u te r a p p l i
c a tio n s a n d m e d ic a l a s s is ti n g .
" B e c a u s e o f o u r e x c e l le n t
f a c i l i t y , th e s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t
t r a i n in g th a t o u r s tu d e n ts r e
c e iv e , a n d h ig h d e m a n d in th e
c a r e e r f i e l d s f o r w h ic h w e
tr a i n , w e h a v e n o tr o u b le h e l p
in g g r a d u a te s f in d j o b s , ” s a y s
L a u r e l B u c h a n o n , D ir e c to r o f
a g rea t jo b .”
A n d e rs o n w o rk s as an o f
A d m is s io n s .
" W e h a v e w o r k in g r e l a t i o n
s h ip s w ith m o s t o f th e b u s i
nesses
in
P o rtla n d
and
V a n c o u v e r . T h e y k n o w th e
h ig h c a lib e r o f o u r g r a d u a te s ,
a n d th e y k n o w th a t w e w ill
f ic e a s s i s t a n t in th e c o m p u te r
d e p a rtm e n t
at
S ears
in
V a n c o u v e r a n d a s a f r e e - la n c e
c o m p u te r c o n s u lta n t.
A n d e r s o n ’ s f a m i ly , w h ic h
h a d a ll b u t d is o w n e d h e r , is o n
g r e a t te r m s w ith h e r a n d s h e
liv e s w ith a d a u g h te r a n d
w o rk w ith th e m to s e e th a t o u r
c u r r ic u l u m r e f le c ts t h e ir n e e d s
in th e r e a l w o r l d .”
P re s id e n t R an d y R o g e rs
s a y s th e s c h o o l is s u c c e s s f u l
b e c a u s e it o f f e r s a p e r s o n a l
g r a n d c h ild r e n .
Avoid Medicare scams
M edicare helps m illions o f older
A m e ric a n s . W e u rg e c a u tio n ,
though, if:
Som eone offers free testing or
screening in exchange for your M edi
care number.
♦Providers or salespeople say
they represent M edicare, w hich does
not endorse products or com panies.
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“ T h e y h e l p e d m e g e t f u ll f i
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