HINTS FROM HELOISE
DEAR HELOISE: Summer will soon be here, and I felt it was important to talk to my three kids about
“stranger danger.” Since all of them are young (ages 4, 6, 7), I wanted to make sure they understood that not all people are good or kind.
We designed a secret code word so that if anyone ever tells my child that I sent them to pick my child up, the person has to know the secret code word. If they don’t know it, my child is to yell and run as fast as they can to get away. If the stranger runs after them, they are to run to a policeman, a woman with children or into a store where there are people.
Every year, too many kids just disappear.
— Juliet B., Maplewood,
Minnesota
JULIET, EVERY PARENT should have this type of code system in place with their children. According to www.factretriever.com, every 40 seconds a child goes missing in the U.S. The first three hours are said to be the most crucial to finding a child. Due to technological advances, about 99 percent of missing children come home alive. For additional information, go to www.findthekids.org.
— Heloise
SEND A GREAT HINT TO: Heloise
P.O. Box 795001
San Antonio, TX 78279-5001 Fax: 1-210-HELOISE
Email: Heloise@Heloise.com
DEAR HELOISE: One of the most popular scams at present is to
send a letter or call someone and tell them they are a debt collector and demand payment. They might threaten to ruin your credit, call your employer (never tell them who your employer is) or to repossess your car or furniture. If you know that you don’t owe the debt or if you paid off the debt, don’t send them money. Sometimes they’ll say they never got your last payment or haven’t received a payment in a couple of years. It’s usually a scammer trying to cheat you. They might even start harassing you with phone calls. If this happens, report them to www.usa.gov/stop-scamsfrauds. And, as always, never give out any personal or financial information. If the so-called debt is for medical or dental services, demand a detailed list of services, doctors’ names and dates of services. If they refuse to hand over that information or if it’s for services that you never received, it’s a scam.
— Harold P., Los Angeles DEAR HELOISE: Our daughter is graduating high school this year, and her aunt already has a gift for her. I thought it was a very clever idea, so I thought I’d pass this along.
Her aunt bought a kit that contains a hammer, pliers, wrench, duct tape, nails in various sizes and a few screws, along with a multi-head screwdriver. As I recall, I needed these things when I was in college, so this kit will come in handy for my daughter!
— Barbara W., Kearney, Nebraska BARBARA, I HAD A SET of tools when I was in college. My dad gave me a set, and I was very popular on my floor! I marked my tools with my initials in pink nail polish. That way no one could claim them except me.
— Heloise