Valley Toastmasters looks ahead

A tribute honored Maxine Kaufman for her years of dedication to Valley Toastmasters — helping to keep the club afloat after the passing of her beloved husband, Don, one of the clubʼs three founders.

The mission statement for Valley Toastmasters: to provide a supportive and positive learning ers that “Robocalls, spoofing, and phishing are common methods used by cyber criminals to gain access to personal and financial information. Smishing is a more recent technique used by cyber criminals that is particularly effective.”

It says, “Smishing messages appear to come from a trusted source like a bank, government agency, or store. The content and the type of link included in the message varies but usually contain a call-to-action with either a link or a phone number to call.”

Prevent Smishing

In addition to being able to identify a smishing message, it is important to know what to do if you receive one. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends:

•Donʼt click on links or telephone numbers.

• Donʼt respond to the message – that includes texting the word “STOP” to be removed from the list.

•Remove spam texts by deleting them.