The Chatter – November 2016

Happy Holidays neighbors!  It’s so great to be entering into another period of thanksgiving and celebration and I’m looking forward to so many things in the next few months; mostly a stuffed belly and great family time!

Now that daylight savings has ended, it’s a great time to perform two quick checks around your home.  First, it’s a good time to check the batteries and function of your smoke alarms.  Don’t take for granted that they are functional or that the batteries are still charged.  A quick test only takes a few minutes and could save your life and that of your family.  For those of you with yard lamps, please be sure that they are fully functional.  With dusk coming earlier and “longer” nights, the extra light these lamps provide is crucial for not only ambience but more importantly safety.   As is always the case, if you are elderly or disabled and are unable to change your bulbs or need someone to look at your lamp, I or one of the board member would be happy to come over and assist as best we can.  Just give us a ring.   The Cypress Forest community will be making a cursory check of working yard lights in the next month and will follow up with courtesy reminder letters to those whose lights are malfunctioning.

Speaking of lights, Cypress Forest will be again hosting our annual Christmas light and décor competition where we award a few of our residents that display the best lights/décor with gift cards and bragging rights.  Further information can be found on our website (cypressforest.net) and will also be included in next month’s Chatter.  Start putting on your best Clark Griswold face (National Lampoon’s Christmas) and plan something legendary!

Start putting on your best Clark Griswold face (National Lampoon’s Christmas) and plan something legendary!

If you are getting frustrated with the accompanying bill for those lights as well as other necessities such as air conditioning, please remember we live in a state with deregulated electric utilities and there is much competition in our area from several reputable retail providers.  I am not here to promote one over the other as they all have their merits.  However, if you have never researched or bid retail electric rates before or if your contract expired, do consider the 15 minutes it might take.  The public utility commission makes is quite simple with their comprehensive website (www.powertochoose.com).  This website is free, is unbiased (run by the PUC; a public state organization) and is actually quite efficient in finding the cheapest rate based on your inputs.  The site also has ratings and complaint ratios for the different providers.   Do note that some, but not all, of the listings might require a contract with the listed retail broker.  You’ve heard the old “you could save 15% in 15 minutes or more commercials…”?  Well, that holds true on this website also!

Assessments for Cypress Forest and many of the surrounding communities should be coming out this month.  Cypress Forest is due January 1, 2017 (not at the end of January).  Be sure you keep an eye out and if you don’t get your assessment statement prior to December 10, 2016, feel free to give one of the board members a call.

As noted previously, Cypress Forest is working on revamping its website at www.cypressforest.net.  The site should be close to being published and active within the coming weeks and certainly before the next year.  Do keep an eye out and we will update you on this website along with a list for all community websites for our area in future editions.   You were also promised a section on crime prevention; specifically related to auto theft and home protection.   That’s being pushed back to next month as the timing is more appropriate during the heavy shopping month.  However, I do want to warn everyone of another type of serious crime – identity theft – and give a few pointers on how not to be a victim.   First, protect your social security number at all costs.  Don’t carry your social security card with you in your wallet.  If you have one of the old Medicare cards with the number still printed on the card, then make a copy and redact the SSN.  Carry the copy with you and leave the original at home.  Be wary of phone scams that are becoming more and more prevalent in the modern day.   The two that seem to be popular currently are the IRS scam and the Microsoft tech desk scam.  The IRS scam is where a person, purporting to be an “IRS Agent”, calls and threatens you that you owe money to the IRS.  The slant is that they want you to pay immediately – usually in gift cards because they can’t take credit cards and gift cards are liquid and can’t be tracked easily.   This is a SCAM!  The IRS will never call you and definitely will not threaten you over the phone.  The Microsoft Tech Support is similar in that a “representative” from Microsoft calls and declares there is a problem with your computer.  This tech and the center he is calling from are both phonies and they are hoping you’ll log into a remote site so that they can take remote control of your workstation.  Just hang up.  The old-school “phishing” scams are still common in email form and I’ll remind you to never download a file or click on a web link unless you are sure of the source and know it is legitimate.  This includes on phone text messages; an emerging playing field for crooks.  Always use secure and complex passwords for login devices and do not ever share those logins with anyone.   It’s important to put a passcode on your phone and to have tracking applications installed and active (Android, Apple, and Microsoft devices all have this ability) in the event of loss.  Finally, don’t overlook the advantages that a good shredder brings.   If you believe you’ve been the victim of identity theft – regardless in what severity – get law enforcement involved immediately and work with credit agencies to protect your credit history and assets.  A credit freeze might be a good option in this case, but each situation must be weighed on its own merit.

The Board wishes you and yours a happy holiday season and a memorable Thanksgiving filled with fellowship and stuffed turkeys (along with full bellies)!  Warm wishes to all………

Scott D. Hubert

Neighbor and President