Page 18 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, December 10, 2021 1. On Dec. 10, 1830, poet Emily Dickinson was born in Amherst, Mass.; where did she attend college? 2. The first-known written mention of “pigs in blankets” was in a Betty Crocker children’s cookbook in what year: 1921, 1945 or 1957? 3. How many ghosts are in “A Christmas Carol”? 4. In “computerese” what does SMTP stand for? 5. On Dec. 11, 1769, Venetian blinds were patented in what country: England, Italy or the United States? 6. In what United Kingdom language with many words describing snow would you find “skelf” (a large snowflake) and “spitters” (small drops of driving snow)? 7. On Dec. 12, 1917, in Nebraska, Father Edward Flanagan founded Boys Town for wayward boys; in what year did it start accepting girls: 1918, 1960 or 1978? 8. Do both male and female mosquitoes bite? 9. Omicron is the 15th letter of what alphabet? 10. How are ostriches, emus and kiwis similar? 11. December 13 is National Cocoa Day; in 1765 chocolate manufacturing – using West Indian cocoa beans – in the American Colonies began in what Massachusetts city? 12. How are “Death Valley Days,” “General Electric Theater” and the 1959 Tournament of Roses parade similar? 13. What Christmas movie/song character “stink, stank, stunk”? 14. On Dec. 14, 1542, after her father died, Princess Mary Stuart became Queen of Scots at what age: one week, four years or 16 years? 15. How are “Becoming,” “Where the Light Enters” and “Spoken from the Heart” similar? 16. December 15 is Bill of Rights Day; how many constitutional amendments are in the Bill of Rights: five, 10 or 27? 17. What two animals are used to hunt truffles? 18. What color is in an Elvis Christmas song title? 19. What is the name of the mountain range that goes through Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia? 20. On Dec. 17, 1917, Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was born, who cowrote the screenplay for what 1968 sci-fi film? ANSWERS BBB scam alert: Shipping tricks cost online shoppers T his holiday shopping season, the Better Business Bureau’s BBB Scam Tracker has received numerous reports about shipping tricks that scammers use to steal from online shoppers. The con artists are exploiting PayPal’s policies by delivering incorrect items and using stolen tracking numbers. How the scam works People are shopping online and are finding amazing deals – often brand-name goods at a significant discount. Often the items are large, such as pieces of furniture or a vacuum cleaner. The website and the products look legitimate, so consumers are deciding to take a chance and make a purchase. The site directs them to pay through PayPal, which leads many to believe it’s safe. After checkout, a confirmation email arrives that contains a tracking number from UPS, FedEx or another shipping service. After a few weeks, the package arrives, but it’s not what was expected. For example, one shopper ordered a six-foot artificial Christmas tree, but “received a bottle brush Christmas tree no bigger than my hand.” Another shopper told BBB that they ordered “a pressured machine washer for $78...” and received “a yellow shirt that’s not worth $2.” In another common version of this scam, the package is delivered... but to the wrong address. When consumers try to correct the mistake, they are finding that the ecommerce site is either unresponsive or unhelpful. In some cases, the site doesn’t provide contact information; in others, no one responds to emails or calls. Some scam victims report filing claims with PayPal to get a refund. PayPal’s protection promise says customers can open a dispute if the package never arrives or if the item received is counterfeit or differs significantly from what was ordered. However, not every claim was resolved to the buyer’s satisfaction. For example, one shopper reported the following experience after ordering a desk online and filing a dispute though PayPal: “I was contacted by PayPal and told they had found in favor of the seller. They had apparently received confirmation of delivery of said desk to my house according to the tracking number… PayPal did not give me any option to discuss their decision, to argue why they found in favor of the seller. They just closed the case.” BBB contacted PayPal about Your Hometown News Delivered! EVERETT ADVOCATE MALDEN ADVOCATE REVERE ADVOCATE SAUGUS ADVOCATE One year subscription to The Advocate of your choice: $100 per paper in-town per year or $120 per paper out-of-town per year. Name_________________________________________ Address_______________________________________ City_______________ State_______ Zip ____________ CC# _______________________________ Exp. _____ Sec. code____ Advocate (City):___________________ Clip & Mail Coupon with Credit Card, Check or Money Order to: Advocate Newspapers Inc. PO Box 490407, Everett, MA 02149 the BBB Scam Tracker reports. After looking into the stolen tracking code issue, they replied: “We notified various shipping carriers of this issue allowing tracking data to be stolen and we believe it has been closed. In addition, we made enhancements to our algorithms to identify and disable these fraudulent bad actors. In fact, we are stopping a significant majority of these fraudulent sellers at first transaction through our detection program and have refunded customers impacted by this fraud scheme even if they did not appeal our decision.” Protect yourself from a package delivery scam Before paying, know your rights and responsibilities. In everything from check cashing scams to cons involving new peer-to-peer payment systems, scammers often take advantage of what consumers don’t know when it comes to processing payments. Don’t make a purchase from a shady seller assuming the purchase will be protected no matter what. Before buying online, confirm the site has real contact information. Make sure the seller has a working phone number and address on the website, so you can contact them in case of problems. Don’t wait too long to file a dispute. Scammers know that PayPal and credit cards have time limits for disputes. They often try to delay the process long enough so that shoppers miss the window. If the price seems too good to be true, there’s probably something wrong. Be wary if the item is selling for significantly lower than what’s been advertised elsewhere. Review BBB online shopping tips. Many online purchase scams use similar tactics. See BBB.org/ShoppingOnline for more advice. For more info Learn more about spotting and reporting PayPal fraud. For more resources on shipping fraud, see FedEx’s website and UPS’s online resource center. To learn more about scams, go to BBB.org/ScamTips. If you’ve been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience at BBB.org/ ScamTracker. 1. Mount Holyoke Female Seminary, which became Mount Holyoke College 2. 1957 3. Four: Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. 4. Simple Mail Transport Protocol 5. England 6. Scottish 7. 1978 8. Only the females do. 9. Greek 10. They are flightless birds. 11. Dorchester 12. Ronald Reagan acted as host for all of them. 13. Mr. Grinch 14. One week 15. They are books by First Ladies: Michelle Obama, Jill Biden and Laura Bush. 16. 10 17. Dogs and pigs 18. Blue – “Blue Christmas” 19. The Atlas mountains 20. “2001: A Space Odyssey”
19 Publizr Home