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DECEMBER 26 - JANUARY 1, 2019
TIMES-HERALD
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your weekly connection to local news & entertainment
calendar of events ➤ page 3
Newnan police, children enjoy Christmas shopping spree BY MELANIE RUBERTI
PHOTO BY MELANIE RUBERTI
Eleven-year-old Damien Hall, left and Darreal Obie, 8, show off their new bikes while shopping with Newnan Police Officer Daniel Godfrey. The boys were shopping for presents during NPD’s annual “Christmas with a Cop” campaign.
melanie@newnan.com Some of Santa’s helpers were out in force Saturday morning – only these elves were dressed in blue and arrived via a patrol car motorcade complete with lights and sirens. T he “elve s ,” a l s o known as the Newnan Police Depa r tment, escor ted 4 8 ch i ld ren to a big brea k fa st at O ’ C h a r l e y ’s r e s t a u rant before heading to Walmart on Highway 34 for a holiday shopping spree. The officers and their unofficial police partners participated in NPD’s third annual “Christmas with a Cop” campaign. There was no secret which part of the day the kids – and officers – liked best as they grabbed buggies and raced into the store. “Shopping – and then m aybe r id i n g i n t he police car,” said Tamaya Taylor, 9, with a smile on her face. She and Lt. Tate Wash-
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Tips to avoid holiday scams NTH STAFF REPORTS
news@newnan.com Holiday shopping season is here, a nd t h at pre s ent s plent y of opp or t u n it ie s for sca m mers to spoil your celebrations. But with a little prepa ration a nd vigila nce, shoppers ca n cut down on the threat of becoming scam victims. “ We ’ r e o u t t h e r e buying, and scammers a re tr y i ng to take a chunk of that,” sa id K at her i ne Hut t , national spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau. She sa id most holiday sca m s a re va r iations on scams we see t h roug hout t he yea r, but there a re some that are unique to the season. Many involve online shopping, which 55 percent of all consumers will use this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation. “The people who are t r y i n g to s te a l s t u f f know there is going to be h ig her t ra ff ic a nd more people who a re n o t i n t e r n e t- s a v v y,” sa id M ich ael Br uemmer, vice president of con su mer protec t ion for t he credit repor ting agency Experian. Here are some of the most common holiday s c a m s , a c c ord i n g to the BBB and Experian:
Gift card scams
G i f t c a rd s a r e t h e most popula r items on holiday wish lists, with 60 percent of con s u mer s s u r ve ye d saying they would like to receive one this holiday season. That creates many opportunities for fraud. The BBB advises g i f t c a rd pu rc h a ser s to look at cards before buying them in order to make sure the packaging hasn’t been tamp ere d w it h a nd t h at t h e c a r d ’s p e r s o n a l identif ication number is not exposed. Scammers somet i mes pu l l the account and PINs from cards, then place the cards back on r ac k s a nd wa it u nt i l the cards are purchased. Then they can strip the value out of t he c a rd s before t he purchaser is aware of what happened. T he Fe der a l Tr ade Commission warns against using gift ca rds to pay for a nything other than merchandise from the compa ny t h at i ssued the card. “A nyone who dema nds pay ment by gi ft ca rd is a lways, always, always a scammer,” w rote Jen n i fer Leach, assistant director of the FTC’s Division of Consumer and Business Education, in a blog post earlier this year. The FTC also encourages victims of g i ft ca rd sca ms to report the incidents to the agency.
Fake retail websites “Any malicious link c a n be m ade to lo ok l i ke A m a z on . com ,” Experian's Bruemmer said. The sites often have similar web addresses – “amazon-shop.com,” for example – and look v i s u a l ly ident ic a l to t h e re t a i l site s t h e y are copying. But if you attempt to buy a product, you’re just giving s c a m m e r s yo u r p e rsonal data and a credit card number.
Donation scams Li ke other online scams, donation scams of te n r e ly on ph ony websites designed to lo ok l i ke t he re a l thing. “ Yo u h a v e t o p a y rea lly close attention t hat you’re not goi ng to the wrong site and not click ing on the l i n k s t h at a re su spicious,” Bruemmer said. Not all of those scams are digital. Unsolicited phone calls are another common sou rce of phony donation requests, accord i ng to A A R P ’s Fraud Watch Network. Charities can be verified through such sites a s Cha rit y Nav igator or Give.org.
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PHOTO BY SARAH CAMPBELL
Allison Morimoto, program manager for Niagara Cares, and Scott Sinson of the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation put together items for the outdoor classroom at the Newnan/ Coweta Boys and Girls Club.
Niagara, Ripken Foundation help at Boys and Girls Club BY SARAH FAY CAMPBELL
sarah@newnan.com The Newnan/Coweta B o y s a n d G i rl s C l u b n ow h a s n e w f i t n e s s equipment, a renewed outdoor area and some fresh paint thanks to an effort by Niagara Cares and the Cal Ripken Sr. Foundation. T he Ca l R ipken Sr. Foundation headed up t h e p r oj e c t a n d p r o v ided a wea lt h of f itness equipment for the club a nd the g ym, a nd volu nteers from the local Niagara Bottling Company and
Home Depot spent two days painting, putting together equipment and work i n g on i mprove ment s i n t he outdoor area. Representatives from t he Ca l R ipken Sr. Fo u n d a t ion w i l l a l s o train staff on the new fitness equipment, said L au ren O dom , s en ior executive director for t h e N e w n a n /C o w e t a Club on Wesley Street. The foundation is putting together a f itness curriculum that will be u sed at t he club, a nd w h e n i t i s c o m pl e t e , staff will be trained on the curriculum, Odom
sa id. T he equipment and training will “help u s bet ter ou r hea lt hy lifestyles program,” she said. The facility needed a fresh look as well, said Odom. The club serves b e t we e n 1 0 0 a n d 1 2 5 k id s p er d ay w it h a n after school program. Ne w f it n e s s e q u ip ment and inspirational sloga ns w i ll be i n t he g ym. T he ga rden is being renovated to crea t e m o r e o f a n o u tdoor classroom-type of space, Odom said, and
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