2A AUGUST 23, 2012
THE GLOBE, CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C.
BaseLegal Base Legal By M.S. Archer
Employment, rental scams targeting military For a variety of reasons, service members and their families are prime targets for scam artists. This article addresses two of the current types of scams, which target service members because they move around so much. Troops are often looking for a rental residence, which makes them prime fodder for rental scams, and their civilian spouses are often looking for employment, making them great targets for employment service scams. Unfortunately, things are not always what they seem. The homeowner advertising a great, low-cost house on Craig’s List or some other internet site may not even own the property he claims to be renting. He’ll ask you to provide the first month’s rent and a security deposit before agreeing to send you the keys, which you will never get. He’ll have some wonderfully convoluted excuse why some other company’s sign is in the front yard, or why he can’t get you into the house before you fork over your cash. He may even require you to fill out a detailed questionnaire to allegedly determine your ability to pay, but in reality it is to elicit information from you in order to perpetrate further frauds through identity theft. There are any number of employment scams that promise to get you a job, or offer riches for doing virtually nothing or present some phony business opportunity. Many scams revolve around cashing a check or a money order. For example, if you sign up to be a mystery shopper, you will be sent
a check or money order that looks quite genuine, but is not. You will be instructed to cash the instrument, use some of the money to make purchases at local store, provide a review, to put some of the money into your pocket as your pay, and return the rest. Eventually Western Union or the bank will realize the instrument is a fake, and you will be stuck reimbursing them with the full face amount. Other business opportunity scams involve processing medical insurance claims, stuffing envelopes, conducting on-line searches, or doing some other activity at home. And of course, pyramid schemes, where you will supposedly become rich after your initial buy in by recruiting your friends into the fraud. These scams are often characterized by pressure to act quickly, stories of fantastic riches, and companies only with internet sites and no physical addresses. With such high unemployment, it is not surprising that phony employment counseling or job placement scams are popular. There are legit firms, to be sure, but it can be hard to tell the difference. Some warning signs are high up-front fees, guarantees you will find a job, pressure to act immediately, oral promises that don’t appear in the written contract, and offering “previously undisclosed” federal jobs. There aren’t any. They are all announced on www. USAJobs.gov. Of course, once one scammer has taken you for as much money as he thinks he can get, he may sell your
information to other scammers; you are now on a sucker list the scammer community figures are easy marks. There’s a chance you will be contacted by a phony detective or loss-recovery specialist promising to get your loss reimbursed, but you have to pay an up-front fee, cash a phony check at the bank, or provide personal financial information. If you have been victimized: - Report these matters to the police. Even if the police fail to catch the perpetrator, the law enforcement report may assist you in undoing identity theft damage. - Take action to prevent further ID theft losses. The Federal Trade Commission published a detailed outline of steps identity theft victims can take at /www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/ idtheft2012 - Report matters to the FTC military consumer sentinel, to the N.C. Attorney General, to your legal assistance office, and to your friends and colleagues. - Scam victims can also request assistance from the N.C. Attorney General’s office at 1-877-5NO SCAM or from the military liaison at 919-7266000. - If the host web site, for example Craig’s List or Lejeune Yard Sales, has a means of reporting fraud, use it, but be careful not to disclose personal financial information. - Be especially wary after the first victimization; you are even more of a target now.
July 2011 - June 2012 Annual Wastewater Performance Report The Annual Wastewater Performance Report is presently available to users and customers of the Marine Corps Installations East – Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant. As a result of the North Carolina Clean Water Act of 1999, owners and operators of wastewater treatment and collection systems are subject to important reporting requirements. All systems, including the plant aboard the installation, are required to publish an AWPR to summarize the treatment works’ and collection system’s performance over a 12-month period. The AWPR is a report card to provide facts about wastewater treatment for the base and Marine Corps Air Station New River. A description of the wastewater treatment process performance and deficiencies is also provided in the AWPR. The AWPR is available to users and customers of the treatment plant. For copies of this report or for additional information contact the Camp Lejeune utilities director at (910) 451-5024. The AWPR is also posted on the environmental management department web page www.lejeune.usmc.mil/emd.
In an effort to be more fiscally savvy, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed to cut about 10 percent of funding for military moves. Do you think longer tours, potentially up to five years, at one duty station will benefit or hinder service members, their careers and their families? They would save moves if they planned ahead a bit on schools and commands. So many people move and then get selected for school or a command. They have to move again in less than a year.
Laura Hyatt Hinder. Some tours are nightmares.
Greg Jeppson As a spouse with kids, I would like longer tours at each duty station. I’ve been married to my husband seven of his eight years in, and we’ve lived in three states during our marriage (not including the state we got married in). I would love the opportunity to get more deeply entrenched in a community, to be more able to make and keep friends, to not be in a constant state of moving. My kids feel the same way. While I can’t say if it will be of benefit to our service members or not, I think it would definitely be of benefit to their families.
Amanda Rodgers My husband has been at the same command since May 2006. It sucks in every way imaginable.
Julie DeChaine To be more fiscally savvy? How about the Senate cuts 10 percent of their pay and 50 percent of their retirement across the board, and leave our military alone? Just saying. Heather MacFarland I think it will add some much needed stability to the lives of families already under a tremendous amount of stress. Angela Cardoso WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CAMP.LEJEUNE WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CAMPLEJEUNEGLOBE
Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations East — Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Brig. Gen. Thomas A. Gorry Public Affairs Officer Capt. Joshua Smith
with Randy Reichler
Persian Gulf health care reform In August 1990 U.S. troops moved into Saudi Arabia marking the start of Operation Desert Shield, and the morning of Jan. 17, 1991, the coalition launched a massive air campaign commencing the start of Operation Desert Storm. It was 22 years ago almost 700,000 service members, of which the U.S. made up 74 percent of the coalition forces, were deployed to the Persian Gulf. Immediately after the war, veterans began complaining of several illnesses and symptoms ranging from rashes to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Those veterans, who enrolled in the Veterans Administration health care system, completed over 2 million outpatient visits for health care and more than 20,000 inpatient admissions in the VA health care system. The VA is improving care and services for Gulf War Veterans through initiatives outlined in the 2011 Gulf War Veteran’s Illness Task Force Report. These include the evaluation of a clinical-care model specifically for Gulf War veterans and enhanced education for health care providers about Gulf War veteran’s concerns. Additionally, a VA Gulf War Research Strategic Plan
was developed to address effective treatment for the symptoms experienced by some Gulf War veterans, and to guide efforts toward improvements in its diagnosis, the understanding of genetic and biological factors related to the illnesses, and the application of research findings in Veterans’ health care. The VA recognizes several presumptive illnesses, which may be linked to Gulf War veterans, such as brucellosis, campylobacter jejuni, coxiella burnetti, malaria, mycobacterium, tuberculosis, nontyphoid salmonella, shigella, visceral leishmaniasis and west nile virus. This presumptive recognition simplifies the application process for benefits. All Gulf War veterans are encouraged to contact a VA environmental health coordinator at 1-877-222-8387 if they participated in any operation in the area to include Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom or New Dawn. The coordinator will provide a survey form and set up a physical examination. For more information about the illness or assistance the VA may be able to provide, please contact the Retired Activities Office at 451-0287.
Retired Military Breakfast Located at the Ball Center (Old Staff NCO Club) Saturday Social hour will begin at 7 a.m., with breakfast at 8 a.m. All retirees, active duty, reserve, veterans and community friends are invited to attend the breakfast. For more information, contact Retired Sgt. Maj. George F. Meyer at 938-1610.
Public Affairs Chief Staff Sgt. Theresa Seng theresa.seng@usmc.mil Publisher James M. Connors jim.connors@pilotonline.com Managing Editor Ena Sellers ena.sellers@pilotonline.com Assistant Managing Editor Amy Binkley amy.binkley@pilotonline.com Layout Editor Sarah Anderson sarah.anderson@militarynews.com Sports Editor Jessie Heath jessie.heath@pilotonline.com This Department of Defense newspaper is an authorized publication of the DOD. Contents of The Globe are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, the DOD, or the Public Affairs Office, Camp Lejeune, N.C. The Globe is published by Landmark Military Newspapers of N.C., a private enterprise not connected with the DOD or the U.S. Marine Corps, under exclusive written contract with Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement of these products or services by the DOD, the U.S. Marine Corps, or Landmark Military Newspapers of N.C. Everything advertised in this publication shall be made available for purchase, use or patronage without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, or any other nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user, or patron. If a violation or rejection of this equal opportunity policy by an advertiser is confirmed, the publisher shall refuse to print advertising from that source until the violation is corrected. The editorial content of this publication is the responsibility of the Public Affairs Office, Camp Lejeune, N.C. Any questions may be directed to: Commanding General, (Attn: Public Affairs Office), Marine Corps Base, PSC Box 20004, Camp Lejeune, N.C. 28542-0004. For distribution and advertising inquiries, call 3479624. Mail subscribers: Any notices to report a change of address need to be sent to: Landmark Military Newspapers - NC, 1122 Henderson Dr., Jacksonville, N.C. 28540. For advertising questions or to submit free trader ads, call 347-9624, ext. 101.