Fraud Alert! WCSD Warns Southern Utahns Of Bank Money Scam

A consumer alert was issued by the Washington County Sheriff's Office recently focusing on a new scam

In this new scheme, scammers are contacting locals and instructing them to deposit money into local Bitcoin ATMs (there are two of these in Washington County).

Here's the warning:

We have had a few fraud calls lately where scammers are contacting people and having them deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMs around town. The scam starts as either a message on an I-pad or a cold call claiming the victim has been hacked or their bank account has been linked to child porn. Then they tell the victim to withdraw cash from their bank so they do not lose the money, and the "bank" will return it to them in a couple of weeks. They are “spoofing” their number so it looks like the bank itself is calling them, furthering their deception.

The sheriff's office warns citizens to completely ignore these scammers.

If you receive a call from someone claiming to be from your bank, or anywhere that seems remotely suspicious, do not give them any information or money. Look up the number to your bank online (don’t just use a number they give you, it will probably just call the scammer) and call your bank directly. Ask the teller ... if this seems legitimate. Ask if this is a legitimate issue. Always use caution when someone cold calls you, verify by calling directly when in doubt. Banks and legitimate businesses don’t ask people to pay them in or hold money with Apple iTunes gift cards or bitcoin.

Here are eight tips from the National Council on Aging for how seniors can avoid scams:

1. Never give your credit card, banking, Social Security, Medicare, or other personal information over the phone unless you initiated the call
2. Be aware that you are at risk from strangers—and from those closest to you
3. Don’t isolate yourself—stay involved!
4. Tell solicitors: “I never buy from (or give to) anyone who calls or visits me unannounced. Send me something in writing.”
5. Shred all receipts with your credit card number
6. Sign up for the “Do Not Call” list and take yourself off multiple mailing lists
7. Use direct deposit for benefit checks to prevent checks from being stolen from the mailbox
8. Be skeptical of all unsolicited offers and thoroughly do your research

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Check Out These Scary Animal Attacks In Utah

The story from Northern Utah is devastating.

Last week, 63-year-old Sandra Dee Miller was in her own backyard in Taylorsville when she was attacked by two adult and five puppy Pitbulls.

When police arrived, they had to use pepper spray to get the dogs away from the woman. Even then, one of the dogs came at the first responders and was shot dead.

Miller suffered severe injuries to her face, neck, legs and hands and was rushed to the hospital, where she was cared for, with doctors ultimately opting to amputate one of her legs in an effort to save her life.

Unfortunately, the mother and grandma succumbed to her injuries Monday, passing away at the hospital.

The other six dogs involved in the attack, all owned by the victim's son, have been euthanized.

It is a tragic story all around, but not the first time animals have attacked humans in the Beehive State. Here are some other incidents:

• Last week, Clinton -- Three dogs (also Pitbulls) attacked two adults, causing non-life-threatening injuries. One of the adults shot and killed one of the dogs, while a second dog returned to its owner. The third dog is still on the loose.
• October of this year, Draper -- Coyote snatches pet Chihuahua out of lady's front yard, despite her yelling and screaming. The coyote snarled at the woman, then took off with the pet. The dog, 'Koda' was never found.
• July 8, near Provo -- This one was a cougar attack. Although the mountain lion never actually touched Kyle Burgess, this one is compelling because Burgess had the whole attack on video.
• April 28, Spanish Fork Canyon -- A 70-year-old man was attacked by a mountain lion near a parking area in the canyon, suffering lacerations to his head and face, sending him to the hospital. DWR officials warn that there at least 1,500 mountain lions in the state of Utah.
• October, 2022, Sandy -- A 5-year-old boy had to have nearly 3,000 stitches to repair wounds to his face and hands after being mauled by a husky. The boy had been riding his bicycle out in front of his home when the neighbor's dog attacked.
• Sept. 26, 2022, Mill Creek Canyon -- Another mountain lion attack, this one sending two female joggers to the hospital.
• Aug. 2019, Hobble Creek Canyon --  A young black bear bit a 13-year-old boy while he was camping at the Dewey Bridge Campground near Moab. The boy was sleeping outside in a sleeping bag when the bear bit his head. The bear was scared off when the boy woke up, but he was left with injuries on his cheek and ear.
• March, 2019, Layton -- A 4-year-old boy lost his hand and arm after sticking them through a neighbor's fence. A husky on the other side of the fence committed the attack..
• June 2007, American Fork Canyon -- A boy was killed when a black bear ripped him from a tent he was sharing with his family. Officials searched for hours before finding the boy’s body hundreds of yards from the campsite. The black bear later was shot and killed.

This is just a sampling of a few frightening encounters. There have been many more cases of animals attacking in Utah.

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When Did Crossing The Street In Utah Become So Deadly?

Making national news is not necessarily a good thing for Southern Utah.

Recent stories from our neck of the woods to make national headlines include the heartbreaking murder-suicide in Enoch (eight people dead!), the battle over water rights with other Western states, and just this week, two siblings being killed less than 48 hours apart at virtually the exact same location on North Bluff Street.

The odds that the two pedestrian victims were brother and sister are astronomical. But sadly, the odds of a pedestrian dying on the streets of Utah are not that long.

Just yesterday, in another auto-pedestrian accident, a jogger was killed in Logan, making it the 34th auto-pedestrian death in 2023.

"A pedestrian died Monday after she was hit by a truck in Logan. It happened on 14-hundred North early that evening, and the 58-year-old woman was taken to a hospital where she died of her injuries. According to officials, the woman had been jogging before she was hit, though investigators are still working to determine what led to the collision. The woman's death is the 34th auto-pedestrian fatality in Utah this year."

It's a disturbing trend for sure, but we are actually down this year from recent times.

In 2018, there were 37 pedestrian fatalities. In 2019 there were 42. In 2020, 36 pedestrians died in Utah and that number was 45 in 2021. Finally, the number jumped to 53 in 2022.

So we're actually a little better off this year with less than two months to go (although it's worth noting that eight of the 34 pedestrian deaths have happened in just the last three weeks).

Nevertheless, pedestrians being hit by cars is tragic.

One key fact that may be lost on some people is this: The leading known cause of pedestrian deaths is the pedestrian himself/herself being in the road when or where  they shouldn't be.

The No.2 cause? Crossing the street improperly or failure to use a crosswalk.

As much as we want to blame cars and drivers for these tragedies, the truth is that most (not all) of these deaths are the pedestrian's' fault.

Moral of the story: Use a crosswalk and stay out of the roadway (especially at night).

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Utah's Shame: 'A Man Who Hurts A Woman Is Not A Man At All'

A recent study showed Utah to be among one of the top states in per capita violence against women in a marital setting. The numbers are sobering. And disturbing.

Did you know in Utah 1 in 3 women experience some form of domestic abuse? That means more than 350,000 women in our beloved Beehive State have experienced or are currently experiencing violent domestic abuse.

Two years ago, on a horrific day during the summer of 2020, dispatchers across the state received 359 domestic violence calls in Utah. That was IN ONE DAY.

Call me old-fashioned, but I was raised to believe that it is never OK to hit a woman. Never.

My Dad never once even came close to raising a finger against my Mom. He used to tell me that it would be the dumbest thing a man could do. Why in the world would you even think about hurting the person you love most in this world?

"A man who hurts a woman," he said. "Is not a man at all."

On the AG Show today, I asked listeners why they believed this was happening in our state.

"A lot of people in the predominant religion believe men should rule the house, but leave out the part about ruling the house 'with your spouse, in righteousness.'"

One person texted into the show: "Andy ... full disclosure. I am a 69-year-old male, non-LDS, 4-year resident, married to an LDS woman. I would say the domestic violence vs. women is partially the result of the Church's teaching about male dominance in the household. Some take it as a dictatorship rather than a partnership. Seen overbearing husbands that belittle wives."

Honestly, if that happens, the husband has a fundamental misunderstanding of what his religion, his God, is asking of him. That is, in fact, exactly opposite of what is taught in the doctrine of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

In the gospel that I believe in, women are to be honored, revered, counseled with, respected and loved.

Domestic abuse (and dictatorship) does none of this.

Another texter said: "My theory: there is a big difference between "self esteem" and a sense of self worth, that I don't have time to go into here. Many well-meaning parents have bought into the self-esteem nonsense which has resulted in a maturing generation of males who feel like everything has to go their way. Some females react by psychologically bullying each other while some males react by being physically aggressive."

Other callers speculated that the high rate of abuse has to do with the religious belief that divorce is a last resort, that marriage should be saved at all cost.

I'm here to tell all you wonderful women that if a man physically abuses you, that marriage is not worth "saving at all costs." There are always exceptions, but I believe if he'll do it once, he'll do it again.

Ladies, you don't have to take it.

And guys, don't do it. It's not OK. It's never OK.

Come on Utah, we have got to be better than this.

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Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes In Utah: What You Need To Know

Type 1 diabetes used to be rare ... and it still is.

But Type 2 diabetes, the same blood-sugar disease but with a different cause, is not rare,

In fact, there's a good chance you know someone with Type 2 diabetes and an even better chance that you or someone you love has pre-diabetes and doesn't even know it.

November is Diabetes Awareness Month and also the birthday of the man who discovered a world-changing treatment for the disease (insulin) -- Sir. Frederik Banting.

You've probably heard the stories about how Banting, a research scientist, discovered insulin and the potential use it had for treating diabetes, how he could have been a millionaire, but flatly refused to patent the cure. His desire was for insulin to be cheap or free for all who suffered from diabetes.

He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

The late Banting's birthday is Nov.14, now known as International Diabetes Day.

He passed away more than 80 years ago and doubtfully never could have seen this modern epidemic of Type 2 diabetes brought on by obesity and sugar consumption. Here are some staggering numbers (from diabetesresearch.org):

• 37.3 million people, or 11.3% of the U.S. population, have diabetes. An estimated 28.7 million people had diagnosed diabetes. Approximately 8.6 million people have diabetes but have not yet been diagnosed.
• 26.4 million people aged 65 years or older (48.8%) have prediabetes.
• Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 18–64 years.
• As many as 80 percent of people who have prediabetes don't know they have it.

Perhaps the best news about prediabetes is it's easily detectable (the Southwest Utah Public Health Department has a $25 test available now and will be offering the test for free Nov. 13-22).

The other good news is that you can actually prevent the onset of Type 2 diabetes before it arrives by simply getting in better shape.

"Truthfully, if you are prediabetic and lose just 5- to 7-percent of your body weight, you can stop Type 2 diabetes before it ever arrives," said SWUPHD director Dr. David Blodgett.

That means a person weighing 200 pounds needs to lose just 10 pounds or so to prevent this crippling infirmity.

So that's it, we can find out if we're getting diabetes with an easy (and free) test and we can stop it in its tracks with a little bit of diet and exercise.

The link to the prediabetes screening test on the SWUhealth.org website is here.

Some other scary diabetes facts:

• Diabetes was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States in 2017 based on the 83,564 death certificates in which diabetes was listed as the underlying cause of death.
• Diabetes was listed as the underlying or contributing cause of death on 270,702 death certificates in 2017.
• In 2017, the total estimated cost of diagnosed diabetes in the U.S. was $327 billion.
• Without insulin, the body’s cells would be starved, causing dehydration and destruction of body tissue.
• Many people with type 2 diabetes can control their blood glucose by following a healthy meal plan and a program of regular physical activity, losing excess weight, and taking medications.

Nartional Diabetes Foundation website