A Successful Remembrance Day Appeal

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ---- Once again the generosity of our fellow Barossans and some visitors came to light during our Remembrance Day Appeal we held outside Foodland Tanunda.

Two lovely ladies agreed to pose

For those of us who volunteered at the memorabilia tables, it was a wintery experience as the front of Foodland is like a wind tunnel. But being the devoted and hardy souls we are, we beavered on and made a healthy amount for our sub-branch on behalf of those who serve and have served in the Australian Defence Force, their families, and our community.

We handed out 500 or more free poppies to young and old to wear on Friday, 11 November 22 or as often as they wish. I believe more will be available at the Tanunda Memorial Gardens where we hope we'll see you at 10:15 am for a 10:30 am commencement.

We were delighted to hear some parents telling their youngsters about the RSL and military and why we hold Remembrance Day.

As always, we are most grateful for the ongoing support we receive from our community.

As an afterthought, if you didn't get that badge, cap, mug or something from our memorabilia collection you really wanted, if you click on Military Shop link in the right hand column, you can visit their site to check out the vast array of militaria available.

Remembrance Day Memorabilia Special - Order Now

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ---- 

The Military Shop has a range of new and exciting memorabilia of all sorts, badges, key chains, pens, bucket hats, umbrellas ... you name it, they have it.

You can get yours mailed to you today by clicking here or you can visit one of our kiosks outside Foodland Tanunda on Wednesday, 2 Nov 22 (the day after the Melbourne Cup) and Thursday, 3 November 33.

We'll have a wide variety of memorabilia available at our kiosk, but you'll find much more at the Military Shop.

The writer has just ordered three of the "Family of Veteran" badges for his son, daughter, and grandson to wear on 11 November every year.

Yes, they last forever. Buy once, you never have to buy again but there are always new and attractive additions to the Military Shop's collection.

For example, look at the product below. It's an example of a new range of poppy badges that has the campaign medal colours for all wars in which our heroes have fought. This one is the Vietnam War poppy.

Anything you buy from the Military Shop benefits our sub-branch as we earn a commission.

Cancellation: Luncheon for Lance Dahlitz

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ---- 

Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the luncheon planned for this coming Friday to celebrate Lance Dahlitz's 100th birthday and founding membership of our sub-branch. This has been brought about by a lockdown of the residential where Lance resides.

An email advice has been sent to members but if you know of anyone who was planning to visit who may not be on our contact list ie, not a member, please let them know.

The Committee is hoping that we can arrange a n alternative luncheon post-lockdown.

Your Cybersecurity Vigilance is Important

---- We open most Fridays from 5 pm. Meals on first Friday of month ----

Click to enlarge this message snapshot

Unfortunately, with the numerous advantages of technology comes the inevitable disadvantages, the major one of which perhaps, is scammers.

Scammers come in a variety of guises, and they adapt to innovative technology incredibly fast designing new approaches at lightning speed. So fast it's almost impossible to catch up, especially if you aren't okay with technology.

The most common media used by scammers are:

1. Phones, both landline and mobile
2. Email messages
3. Social media
4. Direct-to-door approaches

Of these, the phone callers and direct-to-door approaches are easier to identify and get rid of. You can say no or simply hang up. One way to protect your mobile phone from unwanted calls is to set up the "silenced calls" feature (on iPhone, but not sure about other brands). When someone calls you and they aren't in your contacts list, the caller has an option of leaving a message.

With most scam calls that are carried out with random number generating software, you won't receive a message. Anyone who really wants your attention can leave a message.

You also have the option of placing your phone and mobile phone number(s) on the Do Not Call Register. Unfortunately, only ethical, legitimate organisations and individuals bother to access the DNC register and it doesn't apply to overseas scammers, so it's far from foolproof. 

Don't forget that you also have the option to block numbers on a mobile phone.

Social media can be tricky when people advertise products that don't arrive and capture your credit card or other EFT details, your name and address etc. They also ask people to subscribe to different activities and just want your personal details. 

The best thing is to ask yourself, "why do they need this information?" and if it seems dubious, don't provide it. For example, if you sign up for a newsletter, is it realistic for someone to want your date of birth or gender? Or to know your physical address to send an online newsletter?

The key indicators of dodgy email messages are sub-standard language, URL addresses that aren't clearly those of an organization, requests to transfer money to your account and other nonsense. One that has caught hundreds of people in Australia is the "Mum, I've lost my phone and need money" scam. Read the image above and you'll see what I mean.

The rule to follow is: If it looks like a scam it probably is. If in doubt, don't click anything and don't provide any details.

The Australian Government's Scamwatch site provides helpful information about scams that is worth reading occasionally to keep ahead of the pack.

We hope you've found this useful as our age group seems more susceptible to losing money and identity fraud than younger generations.