Remember the days when you didn’t carry a computer in your pocket or purse, and when you weren’t able to receive phone calls anywhere at any time? I think about those good old days every time I receive an unsolicited scam text on my iPhone: That uncleared USPS package missing the zip code, or a Roku subscription about to expire, or an opportunity to protect my financial future with precious metals that are trending up.
And then, during the last three months, I’ve received two unpaid toll road notices.
“Toll Roads Notice of Toll Evasion: You have an unpaid toll bill on your account. To avoid late fees, pay within 12 hours or late fees will be increased and reported to the DMV.”
And, “E-ZPass final reminder: You have an outstanding toll. Your toll account balance is outstanding. If you fail to pay by March 28, 2025, you will face penalties or legal action.”
Have you received any of these? In the April 6 Forbes Magazine article, “Fake Toll Messages Are Flooding Phones In A Nationwide Scam,” Alex Vakulov offers ways to protect yourself. Here are several of his suggestions:
1. Assume all unsolicited payment texts are scams. Toll authorities do not send payment demands via text with links. Period. Go to their official website or app directly.
2. Do not respond or click. Replying — even with “Stop” or “Who is this?” — tells scammers your number is active. That means more scams later.
3. Don’t assume a text from a known company or organization is legit. Never trust a link.
4. Monitor your bank and credit statements weekly. Look for tiny “test” charges. Fraudsters may test stolen cards with $1 purchases before more significant fraud.
5. You can also block texts on your smartphone. Use a call/text firewall app such as Hiya or Robokiller. But I found that after a trial period, you will need to purchase a subscription. And neither was simple to set up — at least for me!
6. Use Apple’s and Android’s built-in tools. They will block all your calls and texts except those in your contacts list, but you may miss legitimate texts because they are not in your contact list: a new doctor’s phone number, or a verification code from your bank.
Losses to text scams have skyrocketed since 2020, but the more scams that are reported, the faster the campaigns can be blocked. You can report scams to the FBI at www.ic3.gov or the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. And if you send me any text scam you receive, I’ll share them in my column, too.
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Brain Tease: Now, this mathematical exercise is keeping me occupied when I can’t fall asleep at night.
Use exactly four 4s to form every integer from 0 to 50, using only the operators +, −, ×, /, () (brackets), . (decimal point), √ (square root) and ! (factorial).
Example: 0 = 44 – 44; 1 = 44 / 44; 2 = 4/4 + 4/4. For the rest, you are on your own.
(For those of you who don’t know — which included me — a factorial is the product of a given positive integer multiplied by all lesser positive integers; e.g., factorial four (4!) = 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 which is equal to 24. Okay, that is your math lesson for 2025!)
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The actor, comedian, and filmmaker, and “2,000 year old Man” who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “The Producers,” directed the hit comedies “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein,” was Mel Brooks. I received correct answers from Mike McFarlane, Doug Nelson, Rebecca Abrams, Judy Kiser, Donna Mollet, Lana Tepfer, Shelley Hinatsu, David Liberty, Dave Lutgens, Rhonda Spies, Pat Evenson-Brady, Kim Birge, Bruce Johnson, and Tom Shaefer, this week’s winner of a quilt raffle ticket. And last week, while reading Coach Wooden’s Pyramid of Success, I missed Pat Evenson-Brady.
This American humorist achieved great popularity for her newspaper humor column describing suburban home life, which was read by more than 30 million readers by the 1970s. For this week’s “Remember When” question, what was the name of this humorist who also wrote 15 books including “The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank?” Email your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788, or send it with a bowl of cherries.
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Well, it’s been another week, awed by the mysteries of life. Until we meet again, I’d listen to my body more if it wasn’t always lying.
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“So this is my life. And I want you to know that I am both happy and sad, and I’m still trying to figure out how that could be.” — Stephen Chbosky
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Nutritious home-delivered and in-person meals are available at noon Monday through Friday unless otherwise noted.
Seniors of Mosier Valley (541-980-1157) — Wednesdays with music on second and fourth Wednesdays; Mt. Hood Town Hall (541-308-5997) — Tuesdays; Hood River Valley Adult Center (541-386-2060); Sherman County Senior and Community Center (541-565-3191); The Dalles Meals-on-Wheels (541-298-8333).
In Washington, call Klickitat County Senior Services: Goldendale office (509-773-3757) or White Salmon office (509-493-3068).
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