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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 2017)
NATION Saturday, August 12, 2017 East Oregonian Page 9A Finally some relief from annoying robocalls? By TALI ARBEL AP Technology Writer NEW YORK — For Michael Rizzo, answering the phone is too often a waste of time. His Sports City Pizza Pub in Buffalo, New York, depends on customers calling to order wings, pizza and potato skins. But much of the time, it’s an automated message pushing a scam. “It’s getting to the point where it’s blocking other callers from coming in,” the 24-year-old bar owner said. Help is coming, if slowly. Over the past year, prodded by the government, cellphones have added new tools to counteract unwanted “robocalls.” The Federal Communications Commis- sion has proposed letting phone companies block more spam and is hoping to deter scammers with big fi nes. Experts say these steps are not a cure-all, but they’re a good start. Why is this happening? The federal and state “Do Not Call” lists are supposed to protect people from unwanted calls from telemar- keters. But scammers don’t care about breaking the law. Scammers reach people cheaply and easily using “autodialers,” which spew out a large number of calls automatically. It’s estimated that Americans receive tens of millions of robocalls every day. Not all of them are fraudsters, of course. Pharmacies send automated messages about prescriptions being fi lled. But too often, it’s this: you owe the IRS money; it’s Microsoft calling to fi x your computer; free cruises! And spam callers have tricky technology that makes a phone’s caller ID display a local or important-looking caller, like the IRS. Cracking down on “spoofed” numbers would make running a scam more diffi cult and save U.S. consumers millions AP Photo/John Raoux In this Aug. 1 photo, Jen Vargas shows the data of a recent robocall on her home phone in Orlando, Fla. of dollars, a group of state attorneys general said. What phone companies are doing Phone companies and independent apps can screen or block unwanted calls by checking them against databases of known problem numbers and analyzing suspicious behavior, like a number that’s calling lots of people on Do Not Call lists. Wireless carriers also have tools that fl ag incoming calls with warnings like “scam likely,” but they aren’t available on all phones, or to many prepaid customers. The versions from Verizon and Sprint cost extra. A few Android phones, including Google’s Pixel, screen spam calls for free. Jen Vargas, 39, a multimedia producer from Orlando, Florida, said her AT&T app fl ags and blocks some fraudulent calls to her cellphone, but she’s given up with the landline. “Very rarely do I pick up a call from a number I don’t know,” Vargas said. Apps including YouMail and Nomorobo offer relief on home phones for free, with limitations. With YouMail, your carrier must allow “conditional call forwarding,” which forwards calls if a line is unanswered or busy. Nomorobo isn’t available through all home phone providers and won’t work with older, copper- based landlines. You can also buy gadgets, some pretty clunky, that block calls on home phones. Verizon is also testing warnings about suspicious calls on a home phone’s caller ID display. Help from the government Phone companies can already block some calls that are being faked. The FCC has proposed rules to formalize that practice and permit them to block other calls they suspect are scams. That means Verizon can block a toll-free number that accepts calls for a bank but never initiates a call. Carriers would also be able to block calls they know aren’t legit- imate, like a number with a 911 area code. The rules still need to be fi nalized. Maureen Mahoney, a public policy fellow at the nonprofi t Consumers Union, said the development is “promising,” but won’t protect consumers from all unwanted calls. For one thing, “Do Not Call” lists don’t apply to certain types of callers, such as debt collectors and polit- ical campaigns. In addition, Mahoney said, the FCC rules would cover only faked numbers. Not all robocalls are spoofed. Consumers Union wants phone companies to make call-blocking tools available to all consumers for free. In the longer term, the FCC supports industry efforts to verify that callers are really who they say they are. Perhaps one day, you’ll see a green checkmark on your smartphone when the caller is legitimate. U.S. Telecom, the phone-company lobby, says rolling this out could take a few years, but would prove powerful against robocallers. The FCC is also seeking ways to stop annoying calls from dogging consumers when they change numbers. Today, if you sign up for Do Not Call but then get a new number, a marketer may not know and could pester you on your new line. What can you do? Robocallers aren’t going away, said Aaron Foss of Nomorobo, a call-blocking service for cellphones and home phones. “These guys are criminals and they’re going to fi nd their way around any system. But it’s our job to make sure we make it as diffi cult for them as possible.” There are measures for consumers to follow. • Don’t answer the phone if you don’t recognize the number. (Yes, this is imprac- tical on business lines) • Hang up on unwanted callers. Don’t talk to them or press any buttons. If you engage with them, they might fl ag you as someone who’s responsive and inundate you with more calls. Block the number after the call, if possible. • Use call-blocking apps. If you have privacy concerns, check the app’s policy to see if it’s sharing your call or contacts data with marketers. • Don’t give callers personal information, like bank account or Social Secu- rity numbers. Navy: Only woman in SEAL training pipeline drops out SAN DIEGO (AP) — The only woman in the Navy SEAL training pipeline has dropped out, a Navy special warfare offi cial confi rmed Friday. The female midshipman voluntarily decided to not continue participating in a summer course that’s required of offi cers who want to be selected for SEAL training, Lt. Cmdr. Mark Walton, a Naval special warfare spokesman, told The Associated Press. The Navy has not released the woman’s name, part of a policy against publicly identifying SEALs or candidates for the force. No other woman has started the long process required to become a Navy SEAL, Walton said. Another woman has set her sights on becoming a Special Warfare Combatant Crewman, another job that recently opened to women. They often support the see its fi rst female SEAL or Special Warfare Combatant Crewman. The entry of women in one of the military’s most elite fi ghting forces is part of ongoing efforts to comply with then-Defense Secretary Ash Carter’s directive in SEALs but also conduct missions of their own using state-of-the art, high-perfor- mance boats. She has started the various evaluations and standard Navy training. Offi cials have said it would be premature to spec- ulate when the Navy will December 2015 to open all military jobs to women, including the most dangerous commando posts. That decision was formal recognition of the thousands of female servicewomen who fought in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in recent years. CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASSES A UGUST 18 TH • 1:00 & 6:00 Red Lion PM 304 SE Nye Ave. Pendleton, OR Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State Multi-state: permit. Class includes: Required class to get an Oregon or multi-State • Fingerprinting & photo • Oregon gun laws • Washington gun laws • Interstate travel laws • Interaction with law enforcement • Use of deadly force • Firearm / ammunition / holster selection $80 or Oregon only: $45.00 360.921.2071 FirearmTrainingNW.com : FirearmrainingNW@gmail.com “Our Roots Run Deep in Morrow County” August 16-20, 2017 FAIR: www.co.morrow.or.us/fair th Wednesday, Aug. 16 Reptile Man & Kid Zone Scarecrow Contest The Junebugs Thursday, Aug. 18 th Reptile Man & Kid Zone Old Time Fiddlers Talent Show 4-H/FFA Conformation Murray's Wine Tasting Featuring: Joe Lindsay Nate Bosford 4-H Food Contest 4-H/FFA Small Animal Showmanship Ice Cream Social 4-H Archery Shoot RDO Tractor Pull Cory Peterson Band Friday, Aug. 18 th Reptile Man & Kid Zone 4-H/FFA Showmanship Ballet Performance 4-7 yrs. Master Showmanship Adult Showmanship Greased Pig Contest OTPR/NPRA Rodeo Music by: Dan Burns 3D Productions Saturday, Aug. 19th Reptile Man & Kid Zone Parade FFA Awards Buyers Luncheon Livestock Auction OTPR/NPRA Rodeo Music by: Dan Burns 3D Productions Sunday, Aug. 20th All Exhibits Released Morrow County Rodeo OTPR NPRA SLACK THANK YOU TO ALL OUR SPONSORS! Fair Admission: Ages 8 & Up $4 daily or $10 week 7 & under FREE (must be with Adult) Rodeo Admission: 13 & up $10 7-12 yrs. $6 6 & under FREE www.facebook.com/oregontrailprorodeo www.facebook.com/morrowcountyfairheppneroregon Dan Gleiter /PennLive.com via AP This Aug. 7 photo shows headstones at Carlisle Barracks Cemetery in Carlisle, Pa. Exhumed remains don’t match 19th century Indian child CARLISLE, Pa. (AP) — Remains unearthed at a Pennsylvania Army base don’t match the Native American child thought to have been buried there after dying at the govern- ment-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the 19th century, authorities said Friday. The U.S. Army said Friday the grave thought to contain 10-year-old Little Plume, also called Hayes Vanderbilt Friday, doesn’t match his age, and in fact contains two sets of uniden- tifi ed remains. The remains of 15-year-old Little Chief, also known as Dickens Nor, and 14-year-old Horse, also called Horace Washington, do match and will be returned to a Northern Arapaho delega- tion on Monday. They’ll be reburied in Wyoming’s Wind River Reservation. The grave with Little Plume’s headstone contains remains from a teenage male and another person of undetermined age or sex. They will be reinterred at the site. The government-run Carlisle Indian Industrial School, founded by an Army offi cer, took drastic steps to separate Native American students from their culture, including cutting their braids, dressing them in military-style uniforms and punishing them for speaking their native languages. They were forced to adopt Euro- pean names. More than 10,000 Native American children were taught there and endured harsh conditions that some- times led to death from such diseases as tuberculosis. The exhumations began early Tuesday at the post cemetery on the grounds of the Carlisle Barracks, which today houses the U.S. Army War College. Seventeen members of the Northern Arapaho tribe, including tribal elders and young people, came to Carlisle to take part in the process. In 2016, the tribe had formally requested the bodies be returned to them. “The U.S. Army honored its promise to reunite Native American families with their children who died more than 100 years ago at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School,” Army National Military Ceme- teries Executive Director Karen Durham-Aguilera said in a statement. “We are thankful to the Northern Arapaho families for their patience and collaboration during this process.” - EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY - Administrative Support / Inside Sales Great work environment. Super awesome team. Good base pay PLUS commissions. Retirement plan. Weekends off. Interested? We are looking for a motivated, confident individual to join our team at East Oregonian in Pendleton. This full- time position will do inside sales and provide administrative support to the advertising director and publisher. No media or sales experience? No problem, as long as you understand the importance of great customer service, working hard and a desire to enjoy your job. Could this be you? Benefits include Paid Time Off (PTO) and 401(k)/Roth 401(k) retirement plan. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048, Salem, OR 97308-2048 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com Come work with us! We are an awesome team. Send resume and letter of interest to EO Media Group, PO Box 2048 • Salem, OR 97308-2048, by fax to 503-371-2935 or e-mail hr@eomediagroup.com Come work with us! We are an awesome team.
