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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (March 16, 2016)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL March 16, 2016 11A Different ways scammers steal money Move around and live longer BY MATILDA CHARLES Another study of seniors ages 50-79 has concluded that we can live longer if we’re more active. This one comes with some fancy credentials: It was run by the Centers for Dis- ease Control and Prevention. The difference between this study and previous ones that showed that activity makes us live longer is that this study was monitored. Other studies used self-report- ed information about the level of activity. This time research- ers used activity monitors worn on the body, so the information was certain to be correct. They then tracked those people for eight years. They learned that moving doesn’t have to in- volve weights and sweating at the gym. Easy activity — even making the bed, mopping the fl oor and walking around the neighborhood — all count as activity that can help us live longer. Here’s the bottom line: If we’re fairly active, if we get up and move around for 30 minutes, we’ll live longer. This can be either light or moder- ate physical activity. Sweaty workouts are not required, but moderate-to-vigorous activity is especially benefi cial. If we get an average amount of ac- tivity and only move around for 10 minutes a day, we can improve our risk of mortality by one-third. (But, once we’re up and moving, why stop at 10 minutes? Wash one more win- dow or walk one more wing of the mall during senior walking mornings, and we’ve just low- ered our mortality risk.) If we’re not at all active, if we let ourselves be extremely sedentary, we’re fi ve times more likely to die. BY MATILDA CHARLES The U.S. Senate Aging Com- mittee has made a list of the top 10 frauds targeting seniors based on calls to the Fraud Ho- tline. Some of these have been around for many years, and the number of victims keeps grow- ing: In one year alone, seniors lost $2.9 billion due to scams. 1. IRS Impersonation Scams 2. Sweepstakes Scams 3. Robocalls/Unwanted Phone Calls 4. Computer Tech Support Schemes 5. Identity Theft 6. Grandparent Scams 7. Elder Financial Abuse 8. Grant Scams 9. Romance Scams/Confi dence Fraud 10. Home Improvement Scams There are ways to avoid be- coming a victim: Step 1 is to use Caller ID and an answering machine. If you don’t recog- nize the number that’s calling, don’t answer. However, scam- mers now know how to “spoof” phone numbers and can make it appear that the number is com- ing from anywhere. Answer- ing a scammer call does two things: It lets scammers know that someone is at that number, and it puts you in the position of being a potential victim. Which makes Step 2 even more important if you get a scam call: Hang up, quickly. You’re under no obli- gation to talk to anyone you don’t know on the phone, es- pecially if they ask you for in- formation or make you uncom- fortable in any way. Step 3 is to get details about how each type of fraud is perpetuated. The committee has put together a 48-page guide that describes each one in detail. Go online to www.aging.senate.gov and search for “Fighting Fraud Guide.” If you’ve been a victim of fraud, or even if you were contacted but didn’t fall for the scam, call the fraud hotline at 1-855-303- 9470. If you’re a caregiver or have a senior parent, get the guide and go over it together to make sure your senior understands how to handle potential scams. Scam: Seniors used as drug mules BY MATILDA CHARLES Seniors have long been the victims of scams: identity theft, lotteries, fake computer tech support, IRS impersonation, fake charities, home repair, utility sign-ups and more. Now there’s one that’s beyond com- prehension — seniors are being conned into being drug mules in foreign countries. These drug- mule scams usually start online with seniors being enticed by romantic relationships. Once trust is built up, the senior is asked to travel internationally, with the scammers making the arrangements that go through multiple countries. On one leg of the journey, the senior is asked to carry a package or ex- tra piece of luggage. One such senior, age 77, is a former pas- tor who never even had a traffi c ticket. He’d been involved in an online romance, which was a scam. For years he’d been sending the woman money, to the detriment of his own fi - nancial situation. Eventually he was convinced to transport “real estate documents” from South America to London for his online friend. Unbeknownst to him, the weighty packages contained cocaine. He was ar- rested and sits in a European prison. According to testimony at a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing, 145 seniors have been arrested by foreign governments for trying to smuggle drugs, and 44 of them are still in prison. Great Care in a Great Place. Right here in Cottage Grove. At PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center, we care for every body, every day, in every way that we can. personalized primary care digital imaging physical therapy laboratory services outpatient services emergency department open 24/7 1515 Village Drive, Cottage Grove PeaceHealth Medical Group 541-767-5200 PeaceHealth Cottage Grove Community Medical Center 541-767-5500 peacehealth.org/cottage-grove