Page 6 - Reedley Exponent 12-27-18 E-edition

CHECKPOINT Continued from page A1
officers out on the streets, a makeshift booking center was set up inside the park- ing lot near the college. Com- plete with folding tables and chairs as well as a sectioned off area for field sobriety tests, officers and police ex- plorers made sure all every- thing was running smoothly.
In one of the folding chairs near the processing area sat a man with hand- cuffs on, looking down at the floor and quietly pondering the decisions he’d made for the night.
Several feet from the man in handcuffs, a slew of tow trucks with their engines idling were positioned and ready to tow away impounded vehicles at the direction of of- ficers.
Kincaid said aside from the Reedley officers working on the sobriety checkpoint en- forcement, they also received help from other departments as well.
“We have two officers from the Sanger Police De- partment and one officer from the Selma Police Department here helping out,” he said.
Kincaid said they want to remind the community of the dangers of driving while in- toxicated.
“It’s been quite a while since Reedley has had a DUI checkpoint,” he said. “We have assisted with other communi- ties but with an agency this small, it’s hard to do it on your own.
“Getting the resources to- gether, we want to send a mes- sage that we’re out here, we want to keep the streets safe and we do see a fair amount of DUI’s throughout the week and month and year that our officers just get while out on patrol.”
Kincaid said that any time officers perform any kind of traffic stop during their nor- mal shifts, it also serves as a DUI investigation, and lately they’ve seen an influx of im- paired drivers.
“So this is the same thing, we are just communi-
FREE TRIAL Continued from page A3
offers very carefully before they take the plunge.”
Free trial offers can be a legitimate way for credible companies to introduce new products, provided that the company is transparent about the offer and its terms. How- ever, fraudsters have turned such offers into a global multi- billion-dollar industry, one that grows every year.
Available FTC data shows that complaints about “free trials” more than doubled from 2015 to 2017, and BBB has received nearly 37,000 complaints and Scam Tracker reports over the last three years, though not all of these complaints involve monetary loss. In addition, victims in 14 resolved FTC cases col- lectively lost $1.3 billion, and consumers making reports to BBB lost an average of $186.
An examination of the BBB complaints and reports found that victims span all income and education levels, while a review of complaints to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) from 2015 to 2017 shows a fairly even spread of age ranges. However, the BBB reports show that 72 percent of victims were female, likely because many free trial offers involve skin care products geared toward women.
One consumer from Los Banos in Merced County called a company to sign up for a free trial of Vape Pens. They autho- rized the charge for shipping and handling, and during the call, the recording asked if they wanted to add additional products, and a subscription, to which they said no.
One month later they were charged $69.99 for a subscrip- tion.
The consumer called the company and they told the consumer that they were sending the bottles anyway, and when the consumer asked how, they explained that the subscription was never can- celed, to which the consumer explained that they never agreed to sign up for a sub- scription.
FTC data on free trial of- fers strongly suggests that most such enterprises operate in the U.S. and Canada, though
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
Officers from the Reedley, Sanger and Selma police departments stopped and spoke with motorists along West Manning Avenue just east of I Street in northwest Reedley at a DUI enforcement checkpoint on Dec. 21. Reedley police officials said it was the first DUI enforcement checkpoint inside the city limits in about 10 years. A total of four DUI arrests were made, and 21 people were cited for driving without a license during the checkpoint period. Three more were cited for driving with a suspended license, and six vehicles were impounded.
Social Security scam a threat to seniors
Contributed
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office reminds senior citizens to be aware about calls from people claiming to be from the Social Security Adminis- tration attempting to get information and scam se- niors.
The administration re- minds the public that they never will call and ask for a customer’s Social Securi- ty number, and will not ask for payment or threaten to withhold benefits when on the phone.
If you’re worried about a call from someone who claims to be from the So- cial Security Administra- tion, get off the phone. Then call the real SSA at 1-800-772-1213.
PARKS Continued from page A2
emergency and rescue ser- vices will be limited.
There will be no NPS- provided visitor services at Sequoia and Kings Can- yon National Parks, includ- ing public information, re- strooms, trash collection, and facilities and roads maintenance.
Services such as lodg- ing, restaurants, and other services provided by the parks concessioner, Dela- ware North, and walks and programs provided by our park partner Sequoia Parks Conservancy, will continue. For reservation informa- tion and a complete list of services, please visit their websites, www.visitse- quoia.com and www.sequoi- aparksconservancy.org.
Because of the federal government shutdown, NPS social media and web- sites are not being moni- tored or updated and may not reflect current condi- tions. All park programs have been canceled.
The Reedley Exponent A6 Thursday, December 27, 2018
cating with everybody, and most people going through here tonight are not DUI so they’re moving right along but we just let them know why we’re here, and that we’re conducting a DUI checkpoint.”
For the vehicles that were stopped and questioned, Kin- caid said they looked for ob- jective symptoms of impair- ment.
“Odor of alcohol, red wa- tery eyes, slurred speech, that kind of thing, basically when we conduct a regular traffic stop we are also looking for those signs.”
According to the Fresno County website, co.fresno. ca.us, nearly 23,000 people are killed every year in alcohol re- lated collisions.
People convicted of DUI-
the companies do sell exten- sively outside the U.S. and frequently employ overseas credit card processing. A 2017 study by the Canadian Anti- Fraud Centre (CAFC) found that the credit card transac- tions at the center of the scam were processed through banks in 14 countries.
The report recommends:
• BBB urges credit card companies to do more to en- sure victims receive charge- backs where key conditions are not adequately disclosed. Because this fraud is depen- dent on the use of credit cards, more effort is needed to iden- tify and combat deceptive free trial offers employing credit card systems. Also, it would helpful if they could do more to educate their customers.
• Additional criminal pros- ecutions of this conduct are needed. The FTC and BBB have done much to address the issue, but do not have the ability to bring criminal charges. Only criminal prose- cutions are likely to deter this type of fraud.
• Social media sites should do more to curtail such decep- tive advertising.
• International coopera- tion is needed to combat this fraud. U.S. and Canadian law authorities need more informa- tion about victims from other countries. In addition, evidence and other key information may be located in a variety of coun- tries around the world.
• More consumer educa- tion is needed from news me- dia and consumer groups like BBB.
What to do if you believe you have been a victim of a free trial offer fraud:
• Complain to the compa- ny directly.
• Call the customer ser- vice number on the back of your credit card to complain to the bank.
• Complain to www.bbb. org
• Report the fraud to www. bbb.org/scamtracker
• Report it to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or call 877-FTC-Help
• Report it to Internet Crime Complaint Center, or
IC3
• Report suspicious, con-
fusing or misleading ads to BBB Ad Truth.
related offenses can face jail time, suspended licenses, and plenty of fines.
Those factors alone make it not worth driving while in- toxicated, said Kincaid.
Overall, he most of the residents who went through the checkpoint were coopera- tive and understanding.
“Some people kind of slow down and try to figure out what’s going on when they first drive through here,” he said. “Some people turn around because they didn’t want to wait in the line. And sometimes yes it happens that yes it can be an impaired driver, or other times it could be someone who just frustrated with the line, and that’s why we’re trying to move it along pret- ty quick.”
Juanita Adame / The Exponent
Officer Noel Johnson with the assisting Sanger Police Department spoke to an eastbound driver at the DUI checkpoint on Manning Av- enue east of I Street in northwest Reedley the evening of Dec. 21.
COMING SOON!
February 2019
Community Guide and Business Directory
Mid Valley Publishing is looking forward to working with all of you to produce a beautiful, informative and user-friendly publication that will bene t the entire community. e guide, used by the public to locate products and services, will be made available to Reedley residents and visitors. It will be distributed at restaurants, placed in local hotel rooms and will also be distributed throughout the year at several events and locations.
e guide is scheduled to be released in February of 2019. Janie Lucio, advertising executive with the Reedley Exponent, will be in contact with Reedley businesses and organizations over the next couple of months to discuss advertising opportunities. Please note that Greater Reedley Chamber of Commerce Members receive a FREE listing in the directory and will also receive a discount on a purchased advertisement in the guide.
If you are interested in this advertising opportunity, you may contact Janie Lucio direct at: (559) 638-2244 or janie@midvalleypublishing.com. You can also contact the Chamber at (559) 638-3548 or info@reedleychamberofcommerce.com.
Call Janie Lucio at 638-2244 to Reserve Space! Deadline January 31, 2019
Discover
2019Community Guide & Business Directory
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