Hints From Heloise

TECH TALK

Dear Heloise: A "pass sentence" might be more secure than a password. How about "eyel0v3knewYork"? I take a common phrase and skew it into a sentence complete with numbers standing in for letters. It's harder to crack! -- Henry T. in Pennsylvania

Henry, throwing in a symbol or punctuation mark can tighten up a password too. I agree; a password does not have to be a "word." -Heloise

YOU MAY NOT NEED LIFE INSURANCE

Dear Readers: Did you know? You may not need life insurance. Here's the scoop.

If you are single, debt-free, financially self-reliant and no one depends on you for support, the experts agree: You don't need life insurance.

However, there are folks for whom life insurance can work well: parents with young children, people who own their own business and have a lot of debt, a married couple that has not fully funded their retirement, and someone with a high net worth (over $10 million) -- all could benefit from life insurance, to pay toward estate taxes.

Life insurance, used correctly, is a good tool for some people, but not everybody. It works to replace income or to pay taxes and debts if you are no longer around. Check with your agent for more information. -- Heloise REALLY? REALLY? Dear Heloise: There's a new telephone scam going around. A person will receive a call from someone stating they are with the sheriff's department and there is a warrant for the person's arrest.

The only way to get the warrant dropped is to purchase ... I am not kidding ... gift cards from big box retailers, and then submit them to the caller. Please advise your readers to watch out for this type of phone call. Your sheriff's department will never call you in this manner.

Never give gift cards to someone who intimidates you on the phone, and certainly NEVER wire money to someone you don't know.

Hang up and report the call. -Robert T. in Virginia

WHO DAT?

Dear Heloise: I have either my dad, brother or boyfriend record my voicemail on my cellphone. This deters creepy and weird random people from leaving me messages. -- Ashley K., age 22, in Texas

Send a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5001, or you can fax it to 1-210-HELOISE or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. I can't answer your letter personally but will use the best hints received in my column.