The Rotary Club of Kirkland held its regular weekly meeting online on July 27, 2020.
Attending were James Nevers, Dave Aubry, Margie Glenn, Gary Cohn, Dan Bartel, Joanne Primavera, Kristin Olson, Rick Ostrander, Rich Bergdahl, Patti Smith, Rick Walter, Don Dicks, Amy & Dave Mutal, John Woodbery, George Anderson, Stefan Landvogt, Steve Shinstrom, Dave DeBois, Brandon Honcoop, Mike Hunter, Joe Getzendanner, Russ & Tricia Stromberg, and Elizabeth Rusnak. Let me know if I missed anyone.
President James Nevers rang the bell at 6:21 p.m.
Rick Ostrander recited the Pledge of Allegiance while the rest of us stood, mostly mute, in order to avoid ‘out-of-sync-problems’ with our audio.
We began with Happy Dollars – several folks were very happy. Stefan Landvogt’s son learned to ride a bike today. Rick Walter was also very happy after a trip to Las Vegas. Other very happy Rotarians were Don Dicks, Kristin Olson, Rich Bergdahl, David Mutal, Trish Stromberg, and scribe Dave Aubry. All together, $240 Happy Dollars were donated.
Guests were Rosanne Cohn, Gary’s mom, and some high school students from PACMUN - Pacific NW Model United Nations – Shawdi Mehrvar, Spring Chenip, and Gloria Wang.
The last three guests gave a short presentation on PACMUN, explaining its purpose and how it works. They then solicited questions from meeting attendees.
Our speaker for the evening was Herb Weisbaum, the consumer correspondent from KOMO TV and radio in Seattle. He spoke largely about COVID-19 related scams and how people can be taken advantage of in these uncertain times.
Scammers may approach victims through robocalls, texts, emails, social media, etc. They will use various tactics and approaches in an attempt to get personal information, passwords, bank account numbers, etc. Remember, the government will not contact you by phone or electronic media. The government almost always uses the U.S. Mail.
Mr. Weisbaum does not recommend the use of debit cards as you have much less recourse after a scam than if a credit card was used. “Nomo Robo” can be used to screen robocalls on landlines.
Rotarians had some good questions about scams.
Mr. Weisbaum’s first principle is do not fall for a scam. Greed, gullibility, and fear are the motivators leading people to comply with scammers’ demands. Scammers may try to bully victims. He also recommends that you ‘freeze’ your credit report agency accounts, so they cannot be used in case of stolen identity to make purchases without your expressed permission. Annual Credit Report.com can be used to freeze your accounts on the three major credit reporting agencies.
We adjourned at 7:37 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
David Aubry - Acting Scribe