07 October 2013

Snow, Bears, Copper Mines, and Scammers

5:18pm


While we wait for the high winds to begin, sometime after midnight tonight, the snow line has now crept below the tree line. The general feeling around town is, "Gee, it would be nice if the snow would hold off, but looks like we're going to have some soon."  Ya think?


I've mentioned the proposed Pebble Mine, above the headwaters of Bristol Bay, which threatened the largest salmon spawning grounds in the world. A couple of weeks ago, the primary partner pulled out, expressing a desire to work on "less risky" projects. Today, the newspaper reports "Developers of the proposed Pebble gold and copper mine are laying off staff and ending contracts as a result of partner Anglo American pulling out of the project..." I can't say this hurts my feelings. I'll repeat for the record that I'm not opposed to the mine itself, but the proposed location couldn't be worse.


From the Chilkat Valley News: A 61-year-old Haines bow hunter said he decided to emulate a charging bear last week when he found he didn't have time to go for his gun. “I ran at it and waved my arms and shrieked like a woman,” said Don Nash. It worked. The bear stopped about 15 feet away and retreated, much to the relief of the local fisherman.


Lastly, the APD says a telephone scam is making the rounds in the Anchorage area.
Since late August, APD has received a total of 57 reports of the "Jury Duty" scam and in some cases the complainants actually provided funds to the scammers - in one case thousands of dollars, police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said in an emailed statement. Reports indicate the scammers are now using actual officer names. 

This time, phony callers are sometimes pretending to be police Chief Mark Mew or Capt. Bill Miller.

Police in August warned the public about a similar scam involving callers pretending to be police officers who told targets they'd missed jury duty but could avoid arrest by buying officers pre-paid debit cards.

Some folks reported that they've already paid thousands of dollars to the scammers. It seems P.T. Barnum was an optimist.

12 comments:

Teresa said...

Here's hoping the snow doesn't come too early for you. :)

And yes, there are always scam artists out there trying to make a buck. They are able to do it simply because people think they can pay their way out of things. *sigh* Or better yet, pay out a little money to get a lot of money (Nigeria here we come!). I mean really, is jury duty THAT bad? Wow.

Rev. Paul said...

Teresa, the scam is that the callers - claiming to be local cops - tell the victims that there's a warrant for their arrest for missing jury duty. They can get the warrant dismissed if they buy the caller a cash card.

Old NFO said...

I'd plan on snow... Just sayin...

threecollie said...

Oh, my, seems as if they would have/should have, known better I think. Oh, well.

joated said...

So the caller essentially is telling folks to bribe law enforcement officers who provide their "name" to get out of jail--and they agree to do so.

I don't know, but if an officer is going to solicit a bribe I don't think he would broadcast who he is. The stupid must be abundant in these scamees.

Rev. Paul said...

NFO, we're ready. Some are still in denial; mostly late arrivals from the Left Coast, I think.

threecollie, most folks would know better, but apparently the scammers are successful often enough to keep on going.

joated ... yeah, there's that. But we both know that people are no longer taught to think for themselves. Gotta have sheeple if you're going to "run" the country, ya know.

Sandy Livesay said...

Rev. Paul,

Scam artists love to prey on people especially the elderly who don't understand their just targets.

Rev. Paul said...

True enough.

Anonymous said...

On a different tack, that bowhunter had brass ones, eh?

gfa

PS - stay warm!

Rev. Paul said...

Indeed, Guffaw. But as Frank Zappa famously remarked, "Necessity is a real mother!"

Max said...

I'm not always very bright, but I don't understand how people can fall for scams like this.

The mountains look wonderful. The Farmers Almanac says we are going to get out butts kicked this winter, so let's get it started.

Snow, scams, debt limits, ACA... a storm is brewing.

Rev. Paul said...

You're absolutely right, Max. Batten the hatches and prepare for heavy seas...