Avoiding unavailable callers

DEAR HELOISE >>

These past couple of months, I have received numerous calls from grifters and phony companies, all asking for donations to some fictitious cause or asking me to sign up for some additional coverage of insurance or Medicare.

Most of those calls have a caller ID that says “unavailable” or “toll-free.” One caller used the name of a friend of mine who had been dead for five years.

Can’t the phone companies do something about not allowing these scammers to use fake names or anonymous names? Telephone companies have made it easy for these crooks to hide behind a veil of obscurity with phony IDs. If the telephone companies won’t do something about this, perhaps Congress should get involved. It might be safer for the public if stricter laws made it a crime to hide behind a phony ID. Maybe fewer people would lose their savings to a scammer.

And it would also help if there was some way to identify calls from foreign countries.

Scammers are getting more sophisticated all the time. Using a telephone makes it easy and cheap for them to hide behind an “unavailable” caller ID or other fake names as they try to steal from unsuspecting people. It’s time to put a stop to the theft and greed of these phone scammers.

— Charlotte B., Claremont,

New Hampshire

DEAR CHARLOTTE >>

Here are some ways to protect yourself:

1. If you are not on the Do Not Call registry, just go to www.donotcall.gov and register.

2. Don’t pick up the phone when you do not know the caller, and don’t trust caller ID if something seems off.

3. Never transfer money to any so-called government agency by wire or gift card.

4. If you believe you may have been a victim of fraud, call the Federal Trade Comission at 1-877382-4357.

DEAR READERS >>

Already thinking about spring and what you’d like to do once the cold weather is gone?

Here are some ideas:

• Consider painting the trim on your house.

• Replace the front door or paint it a different color (and maybe buy a new doormat).

• Design changes to your garden or get new plants for the front yard.

• Consider if your trees need trimming.

• Install better night lighting or a doorbell camera for added protection.

DEAR HELOISE >>

I love your column and read it daily.

I solved the problem of overreaching to get your mail while still in your car. Plus it keeps the mail dry if you have melting snow or rain leaks. I placed a short-legged wire kitchen cupboard rack inside the mailbox where the mail can be placed.

It keeps your mail from getting wet on the bottom of the mailbox, and you can just pull the wire rack out to your car to have the mail within reach.

— Judy B., Colorado

Springs, Colorado