N E W S L E T T E RN E W S L E T T E R

ABN 42 123 530 408 Reg No A00193187

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Issue 167, April 2018

U3A SP is grateful for the funding support provided by:

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2018

The biggest day on the U3ASP calendar took place on 27th March. Our 28th Annual General Meeting was held in the Dromana Community Hall.

Less than fifty members turned up which was disappointing for all the volunteers involved in its production, including reception, organising speakers, speeches & slide show as well as preparing the hall and catering.

The committee would like to thank convenor John Barratt for once again agreeing to open the meeting and introduce our speakers.

After the formalities were concluded, Councillor Antonella Celi gave her address, centred on her knowledge of the issues facing our members and senior residents, in her role as Chair of the Positive Ageing Steering Committee (PASC) and delegate to the Peninsula Advisory Committee of Elders (PACE). Within this framework, U3ASP works with Antonella and other council representatives, to discuss the needs of our members from their perspective.

The Shire’s Positive Ageing team, works in close partnership with Peninsula Health to produce the Physical Activity Directory for Older People, which ensures specific programs are made available for access at those times in life when keeping active and fit becomes more important. Antonella discussed initiatives to address the feedback these committees have received, from the community. These included many issues facing older residents, including health and fitness, hospital rehabilitation, transport, housing and the need for greater social connectivity (See our website for further information).

OUR NEW COMMITTEE:All existing committee members who have elected to stay on were re-elected.

They are:

Lee Chapman: Vice President

Bill O’Halloran: Treasurer

David Mott: Secretary

Rosalie Arnold: Course Coordinator

(assisted by Sue Dixon & Marg de Jong)

Andrea Osborne: Graphics & Publicity Officer

Cheryl Trevascus: Office Manager

Teena Daley: Catering Officer

There were no nominees for President or Grants Officer so these positions remain vacant.

We welcome four new members to our new committee:

Rosie Apakian

Cipriano Corva

Lorraine Fyall

Margaret Morgan

Cr. Antonella Celi’s address (Photo: Barry Mills)

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Our guest speaker, Peter Monie, Victorian President of Friends of The ABC, attracted a lot of audience questions after his speech on the perceived “dumbing down” of the ABC, funding cuts and the reduced international reach due to reduction in languages used for programming.

The meeting concluded with a delightful lunch which attracted a buzz of favourable comments on the range and quality of the offer-ings supplied by our Catering Officer Teena Daley and her team.

David Mott - Secretary

vIcE PRESIdENT’S REPoRTThe last twelve months has been quite challenging for the committee as most of us are new to our roles since the last AGM, but I am delighted to be able to say that our new committee leaders are doing a superb job and I am sure we are all grateful to them for stepping up to the mark and enabling U3ASP to maintain its opera-tions, as well as for the support they have shown me in my unex-pected position of Acting President.

I particularly want to express my gratitude to David Mott (secretary) and Bill O’Halloran (treasurer) for their enormous support to me in this new role. Both these members have an impressive knowledge of organisational matters from their career experience and have stood by me every step of the way, providing advice, guidance and friendship which has greatly assisted me in performing my duty.

Bill O’Halloran is the longest serving member of our committee and the authority for any issue regarding finance and previous practice within U3ASP. David Mott, our ubiquitous secretary, is tireless in his demanding position, managing to attend almost every event we, or the U3A network, invite us to. Somehow, he manages to record the minutes of each event at the same time!

Unfortunately our President, Bob Donaldson had to resign due to ill health late last year and we are indebted to him for his leadership and experience over the previous two years. Late last year, another two members of the committee, Anny Oh-Williams (Course Co-ordinator) and David Williams (Graphics & Publicity officer), decided to move to Queensland. We were very appreciative of Anny agreeing to continue in her role (thanks to video communications technology) fortunately Rosalie Arnold offered to fill the position for 2018. Course coordina-tion is a demanding task, so the role was split and Rosalie is now ably assisted by Sue Dixon and Marg de Jong. If these three members had not committed to assist us in this vitally important role, we would not be functioning to the level of our members expectations today.

Our Newsletter Editor, Andrea Osborne, joined the committee in September last year, and agreed to step into the position of Graphics & Publicity Officer vacated by David Williams when he relocated. Since she joined the committee, Andrea has arranged for the newsletter to be published quarterly and include ‘This Issue’s Featured Member’ as well as a ‘Scam Watch’ segment to alert our members of the latest insidious scams. She is currently working on a publicity campaign for U3ASP. We hope that this will lead to greater membership and particularly more tutors/activity leaders so that we can offer you more courses and alleviate the problem of wait-listed courses. Keep an eye out in the near future, in all the local publications, for features on your U3A.

Teena Daley, our catering officer, has done a superb job in organ-ising tempting epicurean delights at our various events/functions. Thanks Teena, I’m sure every member appreciates your efforts.

Regrettably for the committee, our Grants Officer, Anne Bates, is also retiring at this AGM. Anne has shown great dedication in this role and has achieved wonderful results for our organisation, including grants/sponsorship from Mornington Peninsula Shire, U3A Network, ACFE (Adult Community & Further Education) and Bendigo Bank, resulting in new equipment and initiatives being provided for the benefit of our members.

coRREcTIoN: vP REPoRT FEBRUARY NEWSLETTER

In the last issue of this newsletter, Dennis Wright and Ernie de Vlieger were thanked for getting the ‘website’ fully functioning. The reference was meant to be to ‘UMAS’. The report was looking back on achievements of the last twelve months.

We would like to thank Kay Capper for her work and efforts with the setup of the U3ASP website several years ago.

Guest speaker Peter Monie. (Photo: Ernie de Vlieger)

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Last but far from least, I want to thank Cheryl Trevascus, our office manager, who stepped into this demanding position last year. This role is very time-consuming as well as stressful, and Cheryl has performed admirably in her first year. The office and its staff of volunteers are the key contact with our members. They do a ster-ling job and we are extremely grateful to them all.

None of our activities would take place without our volunteer tutor/activity leaders. Thank you to each of you for the great work you do to enable our members to live, learn and enjoy.

In the last year, your U3ASP committee, activity leaders and volunteers have been very pro-active in various aspects which promote our organ-isation. The results of this are supported by our increased membership, the larger number of courses/activities available to members, as well as, I believe, a greater community awareness of who we are.

These achievements have been delivered due to our participation in community events such as the Dromana Australia Day celebrations, our fully catered Seniors Week Morning Tea (for both members and the public), the YMCA Get Active festival at Camp Manyung and liaison with the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s Positive Ageing Strategy and PACE (Peninsula Advisory Committee for Elders).

Other notable achievements over the last twelve months include:

A three to five year plan, developed and being implemented. It’s • on our website.

We have conducted two successful training days for our activity • leaders, the second being attended by representatives from the U3A network and four other U3A’s from which we received very positive feedback.

We have managed to obtain suitable locations in the Rye area for • some of our activities which enables us to better reach into the more southern part of the peninsula.

We have secured a more permanent rental agreement with MPSC • for the use of the old shire offices and community hall at Dromana for our activities at these locations.

An accident insurance policy was purchased to cover all members • attending our activities.

We have been successful in obtaining a number of grants/spon-• sorship that fund things such as equipment purchases and leader training. Particular attention is being paid to funding which will enable our members to confidently ease their way into this technological age.

Our financial position has improved with greater membership and • additional funding.

During the year I have stressed the need for people to volunteer so that our human resources are replenished and our activities continue. We need you! If you have a particular interest and could lead an activity please talk to the course co-ordinators. You might be able to start a second group that could accommodate members who are on a waiting list because the current class is full.

Once again, I thank all of our volunteers for their willing support and wish all members a happy and fulfilling 2018 in U3A Southern Peninsula.

Lee Chapman - Vice President

The U3ASP committee wishes to express our gratitude to Lee Chapman for taking up the challenge of Acting President with whole-hearted devotion to that demanding task, and a very limited background in U3A. Lee’s leadership has kept the Committee focussed and positive through the unexpected challenges we have faced during the year.

Our office volunteers are the public face of our organisation, working regularly under often busy and stressful circumstances.

They deserve more credit and greater respect than they sometimes receive.

Unfortunately, several of them were absent on the day this photo was taken.

From left to right: Cheryl Trevascus, Office Manager, Teena Daley, Anne Bates and Madelene O’Halloran

(Photo: Barry Mills)

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coURSE cooRdINAToRS REPoRTFor full course information, check UMAS or contact the office (details are under CONTACT on the last page of this newsletter).

Thanks to our retiring tutors/activity leaders:

Anny Oh-Williams – Tai Chi

Bernard Gerardin – French Beginners

David Williams – TED Talks

Fred Dickson – Begonia Propogation

Glenys Layton – Cycling

James Murray – Art Appreciation

Michael Johnson – Internet Security

doN’T BE AFRAId oF U-MAS!

You will have to be quick to get onto some of our popular courses. The best way is to get onto UMAS (U3A Membership Administration System) regularly and check these out yourself. It is not hard to use at all!

Go oNTo oUR “WAIT LIST”

If there is a course you are interested in please put your name down now. If we see members on the ‘wait list” we can look at doing a repeat course. Life has its ups and downs and things change with our members so you may get into the course of your choice.

WELcoME To oUR NEW TUToRS

We are very fortunate to have members of our community volunteering their time to share and lead courses or activities that they are passionate about. The variety of new courses offered by new tutors/leaders this year have provided our members with continued and new learning opportunities as well as staying active mentally and physically.

Pensions, superannuation and tax for over 60’s with David Cheeseman starts Wed 23rd May.

Investing with Shares with Ian Aston. A repeat course has been scheduled to start Wed 29th August.

Social Table Tennis at Rye Senior Citizens Hall. Starts Thu 3rd May.

NEW coURSES

Social chess for Beginners

This is about laughing, mateship and exercising the grey matter. Join the renaissance. Chess is being taught in schools now. Do something with the grandkids, or better still, do something for yourself! It’s not fast impulsive thinking that makes you a good player, but steady considered thinking that suits our age. It’s good exercise for the brain and good fun. We laugh a lot. Make great mates and learn the basics, while having fun doing it. You can then say “I play CHESS”!

ELSIE MUTToN REcEIvES oRdER oF AUSTRALIA MEdALU3ASP Would like to congratulate Elsie on receiving an OAM for her service to education.

Elsie has just retired as U3A Network Victoria President after begin-ning this role in 2013. She was also U3A Asia Pacific Alliance Presi-dent from 2012-2014.

Elsie has worked endlessly for U3A in leading roles dating back to 1998 and has held many other honourable positions in Victoria and the local Whitehorse community, including her work for vulnerable children for which she was recognised by the Victorian Government.

Other awards have included Citizen of the Year for the City of Whitehorse in 2006, as well as the Victorian Senior Achiever Award from the Council of the Ageing in 2013.

We greatly appreciated the presence of Elsie and her inspirational address last year at our Annual General Meeting.

Long may you continue with your excellent work Elsie, all Victorians and U3A members have benefitted greatly from your contribution.

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Social Chess for beginners is run over 6 weeks on Tuesdays from 2 - 4pm starting 3rd July.

Contact Alex Barclay E: alex.b@design-briefeng.com. P: 0411647728

coMING SooN

Puppets & Performance with Veronica Rae

Entertain your grandchildren and friends with these puppets made with recycled materials

Next school holidays you will be making these with your grandchildren and putting on a performance for all to enjoy.

ARE YoU ABLE To LEAd A coURSE oR AcTIvITY?

We are always in need of new tutors. We will provide you, or someone you know, with a platform to lead a course or activity by sharing knowledge, skills and interest.

It can be a long course, a short course, or a day event. Formal qualifications are not required however enthusiasm is!

Drop us a line at courses@u3asouthpen.org.au to enquire, or to register your interest.

coURSE cooRdINAToRS: Rosalie Arnold, Sue Dixon & Marg De Jong

Left: Photo: Andrea Osborne

Below: Veronica Rae and friends Photo: Barry Mills

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THIS ISSUE’S FEATUREd MEMBERGEORGE WOOdStarting from humble beginnings and during hard times for Austra-lians, George Wood achieved an outstanding academic career in Australia, England and America.

In retirement, he has shared his interest and knowledge with U3ASP members as a tutor, course coordinator and president. He is now a life member of U3ASP. - Editor

I was born at Cowwarr in Gippsland. My father was the store keeper, following in his father’s footsteps (George Arthur Wood). My mother’s occupation would have been termed as ‘Home Duties’.

My grandfather, on his death, in 1931 left the store to his two unmar-ried daughters who subsequently sold the business leaving my father unemployed. Jobs were hard to find as the country was still in the grips of the Depression. My early life was marked by moving between a number of places: Ararat, Eaglehawk, Buangor and Beaufort. My secondary schooling began at Ararat High School followed by Beaufort Higher Elementary School. My final years were spent at Trinity grammar School which I entered as a boarder on a scholarship, in 1946.

I enjoyed considerable success at school and finished as Dux of Trinity and awarded an Exhibition in Physics at what was known as Matric. The University of Melbourne followed. First at the Mildura Branch (estab-lished to cope with the post-war boon resulting from ex-servicemen being given the opportunity of a university education) and then at Trinity College where I entered on a major Scholarship.

My early academic success was not sustained. I realised early in my second year I was not a scientist. My interests were elsewhere. However, as I did not have a language other than English I could not transfer to Arts. I did manage to finish my degree and decided that I should try teaching. An example of G.B. Shaw’s dictum ‘If you can’t do then teach!’

Early memories of the Morningtom Peninsula begin sometime in the late ‘30’s. My father took a summer job at Stringer’s Store and we lived in a modest cottage. My brother and I did not attend school as the time in Sorrento was mostly holiday time. I have vivid memories of Sorrento: the weekend arrival of the Weeroona, and the small sea-plane which operated on the front beach and took people for short joy rides. I was desperate to join their ranks. Alas, it could not be afforded.

My later memories of the Mornington Peninsula begin with a visit to my two maiden aunts in Mornington. It was war-time and American Servicemen were a strong presence in the town.

The early twenties were a difficult time in my life and prompted me to do something different. I went to England and spent three years in London, not enjoying teaching, but enjoying life in London greatly. It was here I could develop and indulge in my great love of theatre and opera. I was lured back to Australia by the offer of a senior position at Trinity Grammar School. Also I felt my remaining family needed my support. My father had died and my older brother was seriously afflicted with schizophrenia.

I remained at TGS until 1975 rising in the ranks to number two in the staff hierarchy. In the late 60’s I spent six months in the USA as one of a small group of Australians sponsored in education by the US government.

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I married Elizabeth Johnson in 1973. We met in London earlier in the year when Elizabeth and her mother were on holiday in England. Elizabeth, at that time, was a lecturer at the Institute of Early Childhood Develop-ment in Kew. Her father had been the Anglican Bishop of Ballarat. Little did he know, when, in the early 40’s he placed his hands on my head at the confirmation service at St. John’s, Beaufort, that he was acknowl-edging the future husband of his youngest daughter!

Our daughter, Sarah, was born in 1974. She has had a successful career finishing with an MSc from London University in International Relations. With two school age children she works part time for a Jesuit Organisa-tion in the western suburbs. Her work is with South Sudanese women for whom she is trying to find employment.

Yarra Valley Church of England School appointed me as Head-master in 1975 and I remained there for 18 years. In 1980 I took my family to Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was a member of a summer School in Moral Development at Harvard University conducted by Laurence Kohlberg, probably the best known authority in the field. In 1986 I was given the status of Research Associate at the University of Oxford with John Wilson, whose reputation in Moral Development was well established. These were both stimulating experiences and I felt very privileged to have had them.

On retirement I joined U3ASP and I was soon invited to join the committee. Lo and behold I soon found myself Course Coordi-nator. I had offered myself as a tutor in a class with the imposing title : Issues in Ethics. I have been Vice-President, President and a few years ago was honoured with Life Membership. I have had a strong commitment to U3A and this year I am conducting a short course on a manuscript I have produced, namely, ‘Human Values and Science’. An earlier manuscript ‘Can We Choose Ourselves: Connecting Ethics and Individuality’ was published. It was not a commercial success selling only a few hundred copies, however, it was a source of great satisfaction to see it in print.

Old age can be a period of frustration. The world has not changed as much as one might have expected in terms of human relations. A little reading in history should put this issue in perspective. The two issues I believe we Australians have to face are climate change and proper recognition of those who occupied the continent before those with European ancestry arrived. I hope U3A will be able to offer courses which will help members confront issues such as these. It is only by changing attitudes in the community that they will change. Governments are beholden to the citizens. To the majority of them anyway.

U3A has given my retirement years a focus it would otherwise not have had. I hope, in dealing with this opportunity for personal development, I may have helped others along the way.

George Wood

Photography group B at Fingal beach. Group leader: Barry Mills Photo: Barry Mills

The U3ASP committee thanks Barry for the time and effort he has put into taking many photo shoots at far and near locations, to assist in our publicity campaign.

So far, we have achieved an article in the April 10th editions of the Mornington Peninsula & Southern Peninsula Leader newspaper featuring Barry’s photo of the Meanderers walking group at Portsea.

Keep your eyes open for another article coming up in the Mornington Peninsula/Southern Peninsula News. - Editor

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coURSE ANd AcTIvITY NEWSPANoRAMA ESTATE EXcURSIoN

After a short bus drive from our meeting point at the Pig & Whistle, we arrived at this beautiful place only a stone’s throw from Rosebud. Panorama Garden Estate is very well named, with beautiful panoramic views from many points around the property. On our guided walk we saw a variety of animals, some in the “farm paddock” where chickens, cows, alpacas, pigs, and a kangaroo quite happily sharing the same space. We also saw some albino kangaroos (with white fur!) from a distance which was quite fascinating - and I mustn’t forget the very friendly resident dogs who accompanied us on our walk.

Following our visit to the animals we ventured further to stroll through many different garden rooms, complete with foun-tains, statues, paved stairs and many lovely flowers including my favourite, roses. There was also a large lake with other wildlife roaming free, including an emu.

Our tour then took us through an area which used to be a quarry, where the owners have created high rock walls and different gardens with dry area plantings such as cactus and grasses. We ended at a lookout with a stunning view overlooking the entire property and Port Phillip Bay in the distance.

Thanks go to Di Bell for arranging this delightful outing, including a delicious lunch at the Pig & Whistle afterwards.

Sue Dixon

Film Buffs: Group Leader Bob Thornhill. Photo: Barry Mills

Photo: Barry Mills

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ITALIAN coNvERSATIoN

Since our start in 2011 we have conducted 36 classes per year and 216 Classes in 6 years.

On average, we have 10-12 students per class. This is equivalent to tutoring 2,160 – 2,590 students!

Eight of our original students are still continuing and we have a total of 14 students enrolled for 2018. This continuum of learning is due to the fact that they enjoy the class and the friendship that it brings.

Our Group meets weekly to further their knowledge and to practice the use of the Italian language and grammar. This course is particu-larly useful to those who like to visit Italy.

We learn about the regions of Italy, the culture, history, dialects, cuisine, and celebrate the music by singing their songs. We use experi-ential learning techniques and share stories assisted by audio/visuals on TV.

Cipriano Corva Group Leader

From top to bottom: The first Italian Conversation class started in July 2011 with 10 Students.

The Meanderers walking group at Portsea. This group was formed because the Happy Wanderers walking group regularly had a wait list. The Meanderers would welcome more members – the scenery is free! Photo: Barry Mills (This pic was used as part of U3ASP’s publicity campaign and appeared in the Mornington and Southern Peninsula issues of the Leader newspaper on April 10th).

The popular card game of ‘Bolivia’ is wait-listed but vacancies do arise. Group Leader: Lorraine Dodd Photo: Barry Mills

U3ASP’s Singing for Fun group is lead by Martie Lowenstein-Nash. They were given the honour of leading the National Anthem at the Dromana foreshore Australia Day celebration. Photo: Barry Mills

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PHoToGRAPHY GRoUP A REPoRT

The group was busy in February and March with Photoshoots at Pt Leo Winery (fascinating sculptures) and a beautiful sunny day at Cranbourne Botanic Gardens.

We also had a fun day completing a scavenger Photography hunt around Dromana organised by Poet Laureate Jim Carr. Jim gave out cryptic poetic clues and we had to locate the sites in teams and take creative photos in a given time frame.

We are all still improving our craft, supporting one another and having fun.

We are still looking forward to our four day trip to Bendigo in April where we will be connecting with the Bendigo U3A Photography group.

Ernie de Vlieger Group Leader

From top to bottom:

Warwick Spinaze - U3ASP’s “ Lycra lads” cycling group at Frankston

Pan Constanti - Cranbourne Gardens

Ernie de Vlieger - Bridgewater Bay

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As a service to U3ASP members, your committee has decided to publish information about the latest scams in each newsletter to keep you up to date and aware of these insidious phone, door-to-door, postal and internet issues. We are appreciative of this service to the community from the ACCC. Further material is sourced from consumer watchdog Choice magazine and Choice Community website.

Anyone can register on scamwatch.gov.au. to receive email alerts re the latest scams, or just check out their website.

Please note: The information provided can only be as current as that appearing on these websites at the time of publishing.

Recent media reports have been warning consumers about over-• seas missed call (or ‘Wangiri’) scams. In these scams, a scammer will call you and let it ring once then hang up without leaving a message, so a missed call will appear on your phone from an international number. If you call the number back, you may be put on hold, hear music playing or the scammer could try and chat with you. The scammer’s objective is to keep you on the line for as long as possible as your call will be charged at a premium rate. If you’ve returned one of these calls and receive a large bill, contact your telecommunications provider to discuss your options. If you’re dissatisfied after dealing with your service provider, you can contact the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman.

Another ransomware scam rears it’s head. Thanatos is a new • encryptor that is in the wild. Once your files are encrypted you are offered the chance to pay $200 in cryptocurrency to decrypt the files Thanatos is the first of these ransomware to allow payment in Bitcoin Cash, an offshoot of Bitcoin. The biggest sting in all this is that the encryption tool does not save the key so even the scam-mers can’t un-encrypt your files even if you paid.

Since around Jan 2018 a ransomware called GandCrab has been • infecting Windows machines by getting users to visit malicious pages via crafted ads or by emails which include files purporting to be receipts. If you have been infected, you can get a free decryp-tion tool from the labs at Bitdefender to try and rescue your encrypted files. To read more about it or to get the tool please visit labs.bitdefender.com

For those of you who are using Gmail, you should do back ups just • in case something goes wrong, such as your account is hacked, or something wreaks havoc with Googles storage, or if you just feel the need to have your stuff safe at home on your computer. You can back up your emails by using Google to create an archive and store it somewhere out there in the cloud. When you are

finished, you get an email with a link so you can download your back up to your computer as well. The instructions can be found athttps://www.wikihow.com/Back-Up-Your-Gmail-Account2.

Look out for emails purporting to be from “Australian Government • Department of Human Services [inter@kcis.edu.hk]”. For those that don’t know, phishing is an attempt to trick you into providing personal information for malicious reasons. The information obtained can later be used to impersonate you to rack up $ charges over the phone or on-line, or to take over your on-line identity, etc. The email address is from Kiangsu and Chekiang Primary School in Hong Kong.

The US Government has recently announced a few bans of prod-• ucts from use by its government agencies. These include antivirus software from Kaspersky (Russian) and mobile phones from Xiaomi (Chinese). The basis for the bans is that the products are considered to be potentially compromised by the parent govern-ments. Apparently Microsoft has opened its source code to some governments in order to get permission to sell in those countries.

Don’t fall for a scammer’s puppy dog eyes. Scamwatch is warning • people to watch out for scammers setting up fake ads pretending to sell adorable puppies, with more than $310,000 lost and 584 reports about this scam in the past 12 months. “Puppy scammers play on people’s emotions who have their heart set on a particular breed.” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard said. Reports to Scam-watch show the majority of people have been contacted by scam-mers via email or online through classified sites and even social media.” Ms Rickard said. “Finally, if you are in doubt, seek advice from someone in the industry such as a reputable breeders associa-tion, vet or local pet shop.”

BPAY scams appear to come from “BPAY Support” with the • address showing as order@bpay.com.au. It looks official, the spelling and grammar are good and they’ve kept it short. If you have any doubt about one of these, open up BPAY’s website in another window by manually typing their address (never click on an email link, even if it looks like it’s from someone you trust). if you search for the Biller Code you will find it’s not valid - you’ll get a “No records found” message.

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SoME TIPS To HELP AvoId BEING A vIcTIM

If you receive an unexpected missed call from an international • number you don’t recognise, ignore it. If you are receiving repeated missed calls, block the number. Consider blocking inter-national calls on mobiles used by children. This prevents a child from accidentally calling an international number themselves.

If you are dealing with eBay, scammers may try to lure you into dealing • with them outside that platform. By doing so, they can avoid eBay protection and you’re unlikely to see your item or your money again.

Beware of Smart devices requiring more personal data than they • need and could lead to identity theft.

Only deal with suppliers you trust and check up on retailers by • searching for on-line reviews. Search complaint registers with the ACCC or Fair Trading.

Watch out for fake retailer websites. These may look genuine until • it’s time to check out. If you are asked to pay in an unusual way, eg. Wire transfer or money order/preloaded money card, DON’T PAY.

If you have a suspicious email from a large corporation, check • the email address. You can do this by hovering your cursor over

the senders email address or clicking ‘see details’. If these don’t resemble the corporation’s name, delete, block the sender.

In the case of suspicious text messages, check the sender details • and follow the above instructions.

Never give your personal, credit card or online account details • over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source.

Never give an unsolicited caller remote access to your computer.•

If you think you have provided bank account or credit card details to • a scammer, contact your bank or financial institution immediately.

Never give a telephone caller claiming to be from a charity organisa-• tion, your credit card details. If you would like to offer the charity a donation, say you will deal with them directly through that charity.

Romance scams often use other people’s photos and request help • for financial hardship.

If you come across a suspicious encounter of any sort, please report it to the ACCC by phone or email: www.scamwatch.gov.au/about-scamwatch/contact-us.

A MESSAGE FRoM THE EdIToRYour newsletter will be published quarterly in February, April, August and November/December.

Tutors/activity leaders are encouraged to provide news items and photos to the email address below, particularly those running unfilled groups.

The newsletter has now been given the go-ahead by the committee to have a greater print run at high quality for larger distribution; to local libraries, retirement villages and council offices. As a result of this, we are likely to receive a lot more interest from the commu-nity so your submission can encourage new members and future leaders.

WE WELcoME YoUR coNTRIBUTIoNS

At times, it may not be possible to include all submissions but please don’t be put off. Resubmit them for the next issue where they will be used if space permits.

Please forward letters, articles, interviews, poetry, short stories, photos, items of interest etc. for consideration by the editor to: aosborne08@gmail.com.

Text and pictures should not be embedded together within a docu-ment. Pictures need to be supplied individually in jpeg format and text can be sent in an email or as a MS Word document. Please supply images in high resolution, ie. for one column wide, 1mb.

U3ASP EdIToR Andrea Osborne

dIScLAIMER

From time to time your committee gives space in this newsletter to community events or notices which it believes, in good faith, are worthy of being brought to the attention of members.

coNTAcT:Old Shire Offices: 359a Point Nepean Road Dromana 3936PO Box 396 Dromana 3936 Ph: (03) 5981 8777 Email: office@u3asouthpen.org.au.Web: www.u3asouthpen.org.auOffice Hours: 9.30am - 1pm Tuesdays and Thursdays.

This photo from Chiang Rai City, Thailand, proves that U3A truly is international. Thanks to Thomas Ho for offering it.