SEE FIRE NEWS ON B1 Goldendale, Washington
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2024
Vol. 145 No. 33
$1.00
TROY CARPENTER/GOLDENDALE OBSERVATORY
GOLDENDALE AGLOW: Goldendale Observatory Administrator Troy Carpenter took this photograph and offers this report: “The coincidence of bright aurorae during the peak of the famous Perseid meteor shower was a big hit with our visitors last night [Monday]. Clouds and smoke did not manage to block our views, and many meteors were seen. This image was taken at 2:34 a.m. on Monday morning, August 12. It depicts a meteor streaking above Goldendale Observatory along with bright planets Jupiter and Mars. The pair will have a close conjunction on August 14 [today]. Also depicted is the Pleiades star cluster above the rightmost tree and the constellation Perseus in high center. Note that the fireball is headed away from Perseus, confirming that it is a shower meteor.”
Phony money mystery solved LOU MARZELES EDITOR
GOLDENDALE SENTINEL
A HARVEST OF HARVESTS: The Sentinel has produced an annual Harvest special section for decades before each county Fair. Above, the partial cover of this year’s edition. Below, covers from years past.
A fake $100 bill brought to Holcomb’s Market last week turns out to have been movie money. That’s the term used for phony bills used in movies and for play. You can buy vast quantities of it cheaply on Amazon. Though it looks a lot like the real thing (in movies it’s supposed to), there are always clear indicators on it that it’s fake, usually with text somewhere on the back. In the case of the bill brought to Holcomb’s, there were Chinese characters on the back. Still, the play money has been used frequently to at least try to pass as legal tender—and in some cases, it actually did. An elderly woman in Kentucky sold her used car to a thief who paid her with a thick wad of $100 bills (see picture at right). She took it to the bank, where she was told the money was not real, but neither was it counterfeit. Play money isn’t designed to pass as real money, so that means it doesn’t constitute counterfeiting. It can fool a lot of people, including sometimes law enforcement. In one recent case, a citi-
MARTIN COUNTY MOUTAIN CITIZEN
USED TO BUY A CAR: This stack of “movie money”–play money–was used to purchase a used car. The seller, an elderly woman, didn’t realize it was fake until she took it to the bank. zen was advised not to hold on to a movie money bill. “If you do,” he said, “I’ll have to arrest you for being in possession of a counterfeit bill.” Consumer advocacy groups and many law enforcement agen-
cies warn the public to be aware that movie money can show up anytime anywhere. If you come across it, check the back of the bill for wording indicating it’s not real or for foreign language characters.
LOU MARZELES EDITOR When the autopay for the insurance of an older couple in Goldendale didn’t go through, they were confused. They consulted their bank, which informed them their account wouldn’t cover the payment. They were more confused—there should have been ample funds. They were shocked to discover all of their Social Security funds had been drained from their bank. Only then did they realize they’d fallen victim to a scam just a week earlier. It took only one word for them to become prey. “Hi,” the scammer said on the phone, “is this [the person’s name]?” “Yes,” she said. That response was recorded, then used as verbal authorization for a phony transaction. Thousands of dollars vanished into a criminal black hole. There is a lot of information on avoiding Social Security fraud, but one of the key points is: do not say “yes” to any question from any phone source you can’t
Social Security fraud claims Goldendale victim positively identify and be certain of. If someone asks you if you’re so-and-so, you can decline and say you only provide such information to known sources—and since on the phone it’s often impossible to confirm the caller’s identity, that makes it easy to say you won’t give that information. Here are some tips on Social Security fraud from some law enforcement sources: Social Security phone scams involve imposters pretending
to be government employees and contacting people by phone, email, or text to steal money and personal information. They may claim there’s a problem with your Social Security number, account, or benefits, or that your identity has been stolen. They may also say you’re eligible for a payment increase or that your benefits will be terminated if you don’t verify your account. They may ask you to confirm personal information over the phone,
See Fraud page A6