Category: Announcements

This month we will look at two of the strangest scams of 2021
It’s been a turbulent year in the pandemic, with the recent rise of the Omicron variant turning the tide of earlier optimism into one of concern about our Christmas and New Year festive plans. Even as we were enjoying the relative freedoms of summer – with some people even jetting off on holiday – fraudsters didn’t take a single day off.

But for every sophisticated scheme spun by scammers, there are the more preposterous attempts which are capable of raising a smile – even in these worrying times. Read on to see some of the strangest enticements, from caves stuffed with ‘gold and crystals’ to random windfalls from Hollywood actors.

1. How about this for an optimistic Spam email
This is a creative variation of the classic ‘Nigerian Prince’ scam which promises fabulous riches, if only you stump up a small fee to ‘release’ your windfall. It’s the ‘let me know if you are interested’ that really makes it.

2. The 007 impostor

Can someone please forward this to Daniel Craig. I thought he should see , someone is running a scam with his name

It looks like Daniel Craig has found his post-Bond calling as the unlikely star of this ludicrous scam attempt. As with the Iraqi cave of gold above, this is likely another ‘advance fee’ fraud, which aims to con you out of an upfront payment and probably your personal details too. In this case, the fraudsters are employing the common trick of using a celebrity’s reputation to seem more credible – though arguably it has the opposite effect here.

Let’s keep vigilant in 2022 and remember: Never share your personal details with anyone if you can’t confirm they are who they say they are.

David Rose

Hello everyone I hope that you are keeping well and have taken the opportunity to have the booster Covid-19 vaccine. I think summer is now well and truly behind us, but there is always the compensation of the current wonderful autumnal colours. Let’s hope that this winter isn’t going to be too extreme.

We now have the prospect of Christmas looming on the horizon. People used to write in to newspapers to report when they had first heard the sound of a cuckoo in the spring. I wish to report my first hearing of festive muzak wafting around a shop as I ambled round Wilko’s on Sunday 14th November. ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ by Slade and Noddy Holder’s ‘its Christmaaaaas’ line will be (frequently) coming your way soon…

We have previously said that there wouldn’t be a General Meeting in December; however we have decided to have a Christmas themed film show on Wednesday 8th December starting at our usual time of 1.30pm. There will also be a book sale before and after the film.

The Committee – all u3as, as independent charities, must have a Committee of Trustees who manage the charity and who are legally responsible for the safe and efficient running of the body. Most people are eligible to be on the Committee, and there are no particular qualifications needed – just a willingness to help run the u3a.

We already have some welcome volunteers coming forward but your u3a still needs you! If you wish to join the committee from April 2022 please contact me, Vice Chair Melvyn, or any of the committee members.

David Rose,
Chairman

Scams – Password awareness
Whether it’s your Facebook, Amazon, or Netflix account, the explosion in popularity of online apps and services means more and more of us have to remember an increasingly long list of passwords.

Unfortunately, some of us cope with this challenge by resorting to practices that leave our data, devices and money at risk – by using the same password across multiple accounts, or by creating simple passwords that could easily be guessed by hackers.

Bad password practice is more prevalent than you might think – the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre carried out analysis of passwords leaked in data breaches and found that more than 23 million users worldwide used 123456 as a password. You can read more about it here:
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/most-hacked-passwords-revealed-as-uk-cyber-survey-exposes-gaps-in-online-security

Here are three top tips that will make your life easier and your online accounts more secure:
1: Creating memorable passwords
A good way to create strong, memorable passwords is by using 3 random words. But remember; don’t use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example- “RedPantsTree4!”

2: Saving passwords in your browser
Saving your password in your browser means letting your web browser (such as Chrome, Safari or Microsoft Edge) remember your password for you.
This can help:
• make sure you do not lose or forget your passwords
• protect you against some cyber crime, such as fake websites. It is safer than using weak passwords, or using the same password in more than one place.

3: Email account passwords
If a hacker gets into your email account, they could:
• reset your other online account passwords
• access personal information you have saved about yourself or your business. Your email password should be strong and different to all your other passwords. This will make it harder to crack or guess.

David Rose

The Science Group have had the idea and made our entry into the Hucknall Christmas Tree Festival and Competition this year. The venue is St Mary’s church.

It runs from now 1st December 2021 until 12 noon on Saturday, 4th December.

I wish to thank them for their donations ,suggestions and a special thanks to the very creative members of the group who set it up today.

There are lots of interesting trees to see and if you like ours please register a vote for it.
We are on the right hand side as you enter the church in between Specsavers, Lapwings and the John Godber Centre entries.

It starts tonight at 5pm to coincide with the Christmas market ,entertainment in the market place and the lights.

Wednesday, 8th December 1.30pm to 4.00pm at the John Godber Centre
The Man who invented Christmas – a modern classic

Film Summary:
In 1843, the celebrated British novelist, Charles Dickens, is at a low point in his career with three flops behind him and his family expenses piling up at home. Determined to recover, Dickens decides to write a Christmas story and self-publish it in less than two months. As Dickens labours writing on such short notice, his estranged father and mother come to stay with him. Still haunted by painful memories of his father ruining his childhood by his financial irresponsibility, Dickens develops a writer’s block which seems to have no solution. As such, Dickens must face his personal demons epitomized through his characters, especially in his imagined conversations with Ebenezer Scrooge. Now with a looming deadline, Dickens struggles for inspiration against his frustrations and his characters’ opinions in a literary challenge creating a classic tale that would define the essential soul of modern Christmas.

Running Time: 1 hour 40 minutes, colour, PG with subtitles.
Enjoy a drink and mince pie/savoury during an interval.
Please browse the book stall at the back of the hall – it is our clearance sale!
Pay on the door, £3.00 to cover the cost of the refreshments, hall and sound system hire.
Please note: enter the hall only from the car park rear doors.