Page 15 - Abacoa Community News - September '19

Abacoa, Page 15
Commissioner’s Update

Consumer Protections – An consumer. The telephone number is (561) 712-6600. to your computer or network to install programs like
The division investigates more than 500 cases annually
Important Aspect Of Public and have recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars each Ransomware that can lock you out of important files on
your computer. These scammers lure their targets into a
Safety year for consumers. false sense of security by using the familiar, trusted logos
Towing services doing business in Palm Beach County of established, legitimate companies, or pretend to be a
By Commissioner are required to obtain a license through Consumer Affairs. friend or family member. They make it seem like they need
Hal Valeche The county has established maximum fees companies can your or someone else’s information quickly, or something
Ha ve you be e n charge for private property impounds and police-directed bad will happen, and they tell you lies to do this.
victimized by an tows. Vehicles for hire, water taxis and nonmedical There are steps you can take to safeguard yourself from
unscrupulous business or transport companies also must obtain licenses through becoming a victim of phishing, including:
solicitor? Are you tired Consumer Affairs. • Be cautious about opening attachments or clicking on
of dealing with robo calls Home caregivers seeking an ID badge through links in emails.
or spoofing calls, Internet Consumer Affairs must undergo a state and national • Do your own typing in your search engine rather than
phishing and other attempts fingerprint background check. Information on caregivers clicking on a suggested link.
to trick you into giving holding valid ID badges is available at the above website, • Turn on two-factor authentication for logging into your
away valuable personal or by calling the office number. account.
information for fraudulent Telemarketers must follow rules promulgated by the • Back up your files to an external hard drive or cloud
uses? Palm Beach County’s Consumer Affairs Division Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that include storage.
may be able to help you. a prohibition on spoofing. Spoofing occurs when a caller • Keep your security software up to date.
The Consumer Affairs Division is a county government deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your If you become a victim, Consumer Affairs can assist
agency under the Public Safety Department that caller ID display to disguise their identity. This practice is you in reporting the incident and filing a complaint with
administers our ordinances for consumer protections often part of an attempt to trick someone into giving away the Federal Trade Commission and other applicable
including moving, water taxis, towing, vehicles for hire, personal information for fraudulent purposes. Since you enforcement agencies.
and home caregivers. Their investigators and staff provide may not be able to tell right away if an incoming caller is Should your HOA or neighborhood organization
licenses, conduct investigations and informal mediations, spoofing, be careful about responding to any request for be interested in having Consumer Affairs provide
and other activities to ensure compliance. The division personal information. If you suspect a caller has falsified a presentation on their services and more detailed
works to help consumers make informed decisions about caller ID information or you think someone is violating information on how you can protect your property, identity
businesses and avoid unlawful, deceptive and unfair trade the rules for protecting the privacy of your telephone and finances, please let me know or contact the division’s
practices. number, contact Consumer Affairs to assist you in filing Investigator and Outreach Coordinator, Terry Newton at
While the division does not rate or recommend any a complaint with the FCC. (561) 712-6548; tnewton@pbcgov.org.
product, service or company, they can look up a business Phishing occurs when a scammer uses fraudulent emails As always, please contact me if I can be of assistance
you may be interested in hiring for any history of or texts, or copycat websites to get you to share personal at (561) 355-2201, or by email at hvaleche@pbcgov.org.
complaints, or to verify proper licensing or registration. information such as account numbers, Social Security
Additionally, a member of the public can also review numbers, or your login IDs and passwords. Scammers use
business information reports about previous consumer your information to steal your money or your identity or
disputes in the division’s database at www.pbcgov.com/ both. Scammers also use phishing emails to get access Town Of

27 Year old Networking Group has 47

members that want to refer business to you! Jupiter News

Where: Abacoa Golf Club By Ilan Kaufer, Town Of
When: Wednesday morning from 7:30 am - 8:45 am Jupiter Councilman
Who: Visit our website to see if your category is available. Happy September,
I hope everyone
is easing into the fall
months and we start to
Interested? Join us for a complimentary breakfast to nd out more. get some cooler weather.
Call Marc Weinberg at 561-262-4724 For those who have
family members starting
a new school year, I
The Palm Beach’s premier exclusive networking hope you have a great
organization for extraordinary business owners. www.pbbainc.org academic year and thank
you to all of our teachers,
administrators and school staff for all that they do for
our children. Please find below a few Council updates:
Veterans Memorial
CAMPBELL AND KARLIK, P.A. public meetings on the Veterans Memorial design. With
In July, with our Town staff, I conducted the second

ATTORNEYS AT LAW some additional recommendations from the public, our
staff will be finalizing the design in the near future,
and I look forward to the Council getting a chance to
review the final plans and approve a final site plan for
Wills • Trusts • Estate Planning • Probate the project.

Taxation • Real Estate • Corporations Reducing Drunk Driving Initiative – Ride Safe
Jupiter
The initial pilot program with Uber ran over the
July 4 holiday. Unfortunately, due to a technology issue
on the app, not as many riders as were anticipated were
able use the code. However, almost 100 individual
riders were able to use it, and Uber is using the lessons
learned from this pilot to improve our program for next
time. The pilot was the first of its kind in the state of
Florida. I am proud of the progress we are making
towards reducing drunk driving and will continue my
advocacy for the Ride Safe Jupiter initiative and other
programs to reduce drunk driving in our Town and
around the state.
Indoor Athletic Facility
At the first meeting in August the Council approved
funds for the study and draft design concepts for a
potential new indoor athletics facility at four sites.
Current suggestions would be for the facility to include
Diane L. KarLiK basketball, volleyball, and pickleball courts, as well
as multipurpose rooms. The council expects to hear
the results of this study by this fall.
As always please contact me with any comments
Tel: (561) 625-5220 or questions at ilank@jupiter.fl.us and follow me on
3450 Northlake Boulevard Suite 210 Fax: (561) 625-5201• Mobile: (561) 797-5004 Facebook at www.facebook.com/Councilorkaufer or
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33403 EMail: dlkarlik@aol.com on twitter @Councilorkaufer.