Ílíf JJo rtlan b (©bscruer lune 29. 2005 Page B3 L aw & J ustice Useful Tips to Avoid Becoming an Identity Theft Victim by Former Harlem Globetrotters visit the staff of Coast Industries, Inc. on Northeast Alberta Street. Harlem Globetrotters Visit Local Business C oast Industries, Inc., O regon’s oldest A frican A m erican-ow ned businesses had an all-star visit from a few form er H arlem G lobetrotters. M eadow lark Lem on, M arques Haynes, Tyrone “H ollyw ood” Brown, and Les “Pee W ee” H arrison recently graced the busi­ ness on N ortheast A lberta Street, now under it’s third generation o f leadership. C oast has experienced a lot o f grow th since its inception in 1957. A new adm in­ istration and a new look has been built around the block hom e o f the com pany at N ortheast Seventh A venue and Alberta street, doing business as Coast Janitorial Service and Em pire Security Service. The P h o to c o p y b o th sid e s o f e v ­ G regory E vans It’s not u n co m m o n to h e a r s to r ie s o f frau d d ue to u n au th o ­ r iz e d u s e o f an in d iv id u a l’s p erso n al in f o rm a tio n , h is is k n o w n as id e n tif y theft. A clo se frien d h ad his in fo rm atio n sto len an d it w as a n ig h tm are. W ith in a w eek, the th ie v es o rd ered an ex p e n siv e cell p h o n e p a c k ­ age, ap p lied fo r a m a jo r c re d it card , receiv ed ap p ro v al fo r a G ate w ay c o m ­ puter, m ad e c h a n g es w ith in th e D M V o n lin e, an d m ore. H ere are som e h elp fu l tip s to p re ­ vent y o u fro m b ec o m in g a v ictim : W h en w riting ch e ck s to pay cred it c a rd b ills, n e v e r p u t th e c o m p le te a c co u n t n u m b e r on the “F o r” line. Instead, p ut the last fo u r d ig its o f the ac co u n t n u m b er on th e ch eck . T h e cre d it c a rd co m p an y k n o w s th e rest o f the nu m b er. T h is p rev en ts an y o n e w h o m ig h t be h an d lin g y o u r ch eck from accessin g y o u r cred it card n u m ­ ber. business is part o f O reg o n ’s A frican- A m erican history and a sym bol o f success in northeast Portland. C oast has supported and has a strong relationship w ith Local U nion 49, provid­ ing fair w ages to its w orkers, w ho have contributed to the w orking class in this com m unity for over 40 years. P ut y o u r w o rk p h o n e n u m b e r on y o u r c h e ck s in stead o f y o u r h o m e phone. I f y o u h av e a P O B ox u se th at in stead o f y o u r h o m e ad d ress. If you d o n ’t h av e a P O B ox, use y o u r w o rk address. N ev er h av e y o u r social se cu ­ rity n u m b e r p rin te d on y o u r ch eck s. ery cre d it card , licen se, etc. in y o u r w allet. Y o u w ill k n o w w h at you h ad in y o u r w allet an d all o f the a c c o u n t n u m b e rs an d p h o n e n u m b e rs to call an d c a n c e l in the ev e n t o f th e ft o r loss. K eep the p h o to c o p y in a safe place. It’s a g o o d id e a to carry a p h o ­ to co p y o f y o u r p assp o rt w hen trav e lin g ab ro ad . W e ’ve b e e n to ld w e s h o u ld c a n ­ cel o u r c re d it c a r d s im m e d ia te ly in th e e v e n t y o u r in fo rm a tio n o r c re d it c a r d s a re s to le n . B u t th e k e y is h a v in g th e to ll fre e n u m b e rs an d y o u r c a rd n u m b e rs h a n d y so y o u k n o w w h o m to c a ll. Im m ed iately file a p o lice rep o rt in th e ju risd ic tio n w h ere y o u rc re d it cards w ere sto len . T h is p ro v es to c re d it p ro v id ers y o u w ere d ilig en t, an d this is a first step to w ard s an in v estig atio n if needed. P lace a frau d alert o n y o u r n am e an d social secu rity nu m b er. T h e fraud alert in fo rm s p o te n tia l cre d ito rs that th ey m u st call y o u and rec eiv e verbal co n sen t p rio r to o p e n in g an a c c o u n t in y o u r nam e. T o p lace a fra u d alert on y o u r nam e an d social se cu rity n u m b er, co n tac t the cre d it rep o rtin g o rg an iz atio n s. Gregory Evans is a computer ex­ pert and author. His website is wmw . ligattsecurity. com W algreen W orkers File Suit Local Plant to Produce Biodiesel Top drugstore accused of racial discrimination (A P) — Eleven black current and form er W algreen Co. w orkers in M ichigan and six other states have sued the ra tio n ’s top-selling drugstore chain, accusing it o f having a policy o f discrim inating against black em ployees. T he law suit, filed in U.S. D is­ trict C ourt in East St. Louis, 111., says the com pany has a “perva­ sive policy” o f steering black em ­ ployees to w ork in stores in areas that have m ostly black or poorer custom ers, using an internal sy s­ tem to categorize stores based on race and income. T he lawsuit, seeking class-ac­ tion status, also says that black em ployees are denied advance­ m ent opportunities because the com pany directs them to its stores with w orse profitability and work conditions, at tim es costing them bonuses often tied to store sales and gross profit. “W e’re surprised by the alle­ g atio n s becau se h isto rically w e’ ve cared about equal oppor­ tunity for all o f our em ployees," said Tiffany Bruce, a spokes­ woman for the Deerfield, 111. com ­ pany. T he law suit says W algreen engages in segregation o f its black w orkers and seeks un­ specified m onetary dam ages and a court order perm anently barring W algreen from the ques­ tioned em ploym ent practices. Will turn cooking oil into fuel for trucks and cars Plans to start a local processing facility for O regon’s first commercial plant to turn used cooking oil into biodiesel are in place to start produc­ tion in N ovem ber. SeQ uential-Pacific — controlled by SeQ uential Biofuels o f Portland and Pacific Biodiesel o f Kahului, H aw aii — said it has purchased an acreofindustrial land at Kelley Point in north Portland. T h e co m p an y said the p lan t w ould be cap ab le o f p ro d u cin g about 1 m illion gallons per year o f biodiesel, made from cooking oil and usable as fuel in diesel engines. The new s com es as som e Oregon legislators are seeking to jum p-start biodiesel production in Oregon, say­ ing it can create jo b s and help the environm ent. “W e w ant biodiesel to be a clus­ ter industry in the state,” said state Rep. Jackie D ingfelder, a D em ocrat w ho represents northeast Portland. C om pany officials said they have lined up investors for the plant that include country m usic singer W illie N elson; C am eron H ealy, founder o f K ettle Foods; John M iller, an O r­ egon businessm an; and Ron Tyree, ow ner o f T yree Oil, a E ugene-based petroleum distributor. “Biodiesel is the perfect fuel, when you think about it,” said Brian Jamison, board president o f the GoBiodiesel cooperative o f Portland. “The only thing we need to do is increase pro­ duction and get the w ord out.” BUSINESS directory Your Care Our First Priority « m c a r e c a in eke re c e n te r Dr. Marceline Failla Chiropractic Physician R ig h t S e r v ic e , R ig h t AFFORDABLE LO CK IQ? J T J T & KEY P r ic e 503-283-9170 Call for an appointment! Just Ask for: (503) 228-6140 Mike M cM illen M anager We are located at FULL LOCKSMITH - SERVICE • RE-KEY AND INSTALL LOCKS