Okay, I'll bite in hopes it may help others. Apparently we are getting a few new to the world folks here...so...here's some capsule info:

1. Be suspicious of anyone calling you 'out of the blue' with some special offer or grant or no cost anything. Best bet: hang up!

2. NEVER, and I mean never, give out private information to anyone you don't know if THEY initiate the contact. You can never be SURE of who you are dealing with. Would you go out and shout your personal income, tell all about your lifestyle habits, your sexual habits, or medical history to a group of folks in a mall? No? Then don't give your personal info to strangers.

3. Bank info, credit card info, and especially Social Security Info puts you in the middle of the mall yelling at the top of your lungs to anyone who will listen. Don't be a patsy. The cost? Your very identity, your money, and possibly even your life. No exaggeration here. Try getting medical care if your identity is compromised.

4. A word about surveys: DON't is a safe rule unless you have an on-going, initiated by YOU, contact/relationship with the person. If you do a survey, don't feel you have to answer all questions. They can ask anything they want but you don't have to answer...remember that.

5. WATCH your credit cards and ID (driver's license etc). NEVER lay them on a counter...keep them in hand. When you get a card back from someone who took it to process it, CHECK that you got YOURS back. If someone is on a cell phone while processing your card, watch carefully that they don't take a photograph of your card with that camera equipped cell phone or you could face some nasty charges on your next statement and endless hassles to boot.

It's a jungle out there full of predators so act defensively, folks, or pay the price.

Sandi Bowman