Mill Stream Places Flags
Category: Community Service
Community Service Committee and information
Fraud Watch- Spotting Fake QR Codes
QR codes are everywhere – from restaurant menus to package tracking. But where there is innovation, there are criminals exploiting them for fraud. QR codes are now being used by scammers to lead you to phishing websites, where they may steal sensitive details like banking info, login credentials and more.
Before acting on a QR code in the real world, check for signs of manipulation (a sticker over the original QR, for example). And you don’t have to use a QR code – if you’re at a restaurant, ask for the printed menu. Also, look at emailed or texted QR codes with suspicion; the point of them is to link you to a website when you’re not otherwise online.
Just like when clicking links, it is important to use caution when scanning QR codes to ensure the source is trustworthy.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
Five Minutes at Valley Grange
This video was produced as part of our Community Celebration. You can also read the story in the local paper, the Piscataquis Observer.
Fraud Watch- How to Make Yourself a Harder Target
Criminals are always looking for ways to get your personal information to use in criminal activities. The good news is that there are many steps you can take to help protect your data and minimize its value to criminals. Here are three:
Create stronger passwords: Better protect yourself by using strong and unique passwords or passphrases or consider using a password manager to store and generate strong passwords securely.
Use multi-factor authentication: A second layer of defense to your accounts makes it harder for cybercriminals to gain access. Check account settings for two-factor authentication, two-step verification, or multi-factor authentication, and follow the setup instructions.
Keep your operating system updated: Sometimes those updates are to patch a known vulnerability; set yours – and your antivirus protection – to update automatically.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
Community Service/FHH – May 2025
By Brenda Dyer, MSG Community Service/FHH Director
(207) 608-9193
This is the time of year to start gathering items to display at the local fair. What a great way to show the community what the Grange does. This could lead to canning classes, craft sessions, quilting, plant and gardening care, woodworking, art and photography, soil types, bugs and their contributions to agriculture, and education in general. The projects can be simple or challenging, and the list is endless. The MAAF (Maine Agricultural Association of Fairs) theme this year is “Be A Farmer.” You do not have to use this as your Grange exhibit theme, but you may.
I would like feedback on what Community Service means to your Grange, members and non-members. Please respond by June 30, 2025, to:
Brenda Dyer
MSG Community Service Director
9 Marial Ave
Biddeford, ME 04005
Continue to work on reports and enjoy spring!
Family Health & Hearing
May is Mental Awareness Month. Do something for yourself. Read a book, listen to music, go to the beach, watch a movie, take a walk, go bowling, go to the garden, do a puzzle, etc., which are a few suggestions for having time for YOU. Also, checking on neighbors, volunteering, visiting family and/or friends, etc., can be mentally motivating to others’ mental health.
Fraud Watch- Fake Checks
Checks might seem like something from the past, but scammers often use fake checks in their crimes so they can exploit the time it takes for them to bounce. During that waiting period, scammers will ask you to act on those funds. But once the check bounces, any amount you acted on is gone. This tactic shows up in several scam types from fake job and work-from-home scams (the fake check is to purchase equipment from the “employer” or for you to wire or otherwise send funds to “vendors”), to a seemingly innocent overpayment you received where you’re asked to send part of the money back.
It’s important to know that, just because the check looks like it cleared, it doesn’t mean it has – it can take time for a bank to validate a check, but the federal rules are to make the amount available, usually within 24-48 hours. Use caution when accepting a check: ensure it is validated by your bank and reject seeming overpayments where you’re asked to pay back the overage to the sender.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
Fraud Watch- Sweepstakes Scams
Who wouldn’t want to win thousands or even millions of dollars, or the chance to go on a luxury vacation? There are many legitimate sweepstakes and contests out there, and the idea of winning some fabulous prize can be mighty alluring. Criminals get that, and they exploit our excitement to score that big check or dream trip.
When a sweepstakes or a contest is fraudulent, there is often a big red flag: you must first pay upfront fees or taxes to get your prize. No legitimate sweepstakes or contest requires upfront payment. Another clue is if you are asked to share sensitive information to receive your prize, such as your Social Security number or bank account information. Again, this is something perpetrators do, not legitimate entities.
If you find yourself reacting to an out-of-the-blue communication with a heightened emotion, and it comes to you with great urgency, let that be an indicator or a fraud attempt. Take an “active pause” – consider what you are being confronted with, what you might know about it, and then react with intention. That moment of deliberation could be what keeps you safe.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
You’ll Miss Us!
a “webatorial” by MSG Communications Director
Walter Boomsma
Seth Godin wrote an interesting post suggesting that when people move away, cards and cake should read, “You’ll miss us” instead of “We’ll miss you.” He points out that the community remains.
One of the more powerful sentences in the short post was, “When a marketer serves a community, they create the conditions where they’d be missed–because the ideas or products or services they bring are important, not simply tolerated.“
With apologies to Seth, I changed a word or two. “When a Grange serves a community, they create the conditions where they’d be missed–because the ideas or services they bring are important, not simply tolerated.“
My revision raises a question for Granges. Would your communities miss you if you were gone? Would they even notice? Are you important or simply tolerated?
One of the challenges we face as an organization is relevance in communities that are loosely defined and increasingly diverse. If our vision is narrow and our goals are limited, we will be missed by an ever-diminishing number of people. For example, not everyone likes potluck suppers.
Seth’s short message is that marketers should see a worthwhile goal of creating ideas, products, or services that the community would miss.
Maybe it’s time for Granges to figure out what they can create and offer that their communities would miss.
Fraud Watch- How to Avoid Fake Check Scams
Several scams rely on convincing the target to deposit a check as a first step of the crime. They then convince the target to use the money in a specific way. For example, in some work-from-home scams, the “Company” will send a check for deposit, and then once it “clears,” they direct the target to purchase needed office equipment from the company’s “catalog.”
The catch? The check was fake and it bounced, and the equipment catalogue was fake, too. The money the target spent on “equipment” came from their own money. And, the equipment never comes.
Even though a check deposit may appear to be cleared on your banking app or website, the process can take several weeks. The criminals rely on most of us not knowing this, so they get us to deposit and then quickly transact against the deposit. When the check is determined to be fake, the target is out that money.
Be suspicious anytime someone wants to send a check that you then must act on with some immediacy – making purchases, paying a fee or sending funds to a third party for example.
Be suspicious anytime someone wants to send a check that you then must act on with some immediacy – making purchases, paying a fee or sending funds to a third party for example.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.
Fraud Watch- TSA Deadlines and Real ID Scams
The deadline is coming – in fact, it’s almost here. Beginning May 7, 2025, airline passengers need an enhanced driver’s license, known as Real ID, or a passport to board a plane. This change is based on a recommendation of the 9/11 Commission as a way to improve airline safety. Beware — anytime there is a deadline there will also be scams.
Most Real ID scams will likely be phishing attempts that appear to be from a legitimate source, such as your state DMV or the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Be wary of emails, texts or phone calls claiming to be from these agencies — or another state agency — and never click on links. These government offices will not contact you about Real ID. It is an optional license and is up to each individual to obtain it on their own.
For more information about obtaining a Real ID, contact your state or local DMV office or visit dhs.gov/real-id.
Be a fraud fighter! If you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Report scams to local law enforcement. For help from AARP, call 1-877-908-3360 or visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network at aarp.org/fraudwatchnetwork.