SCAM- Telephone Number 876-887-3029 
This one just came to my attention yesterday and I understand that several people are being contacted in the area. One of our residents had been receiving calls from a Kevin Baker who told her that she had won 1.5 million dollars and a new Mercedes automobile. The press and such was waiting for her to arrive and take possession of her prizes and he invited her to a local hotel here in Portage. He also told her that she needed to bring $250 to cover the handling fees.
Mr. Baker instructed her to call 876-887-3029 when she arrived at the hotel and he would come out and meet with her. Ok, were game, so that is just what we did. Guess what? It seems that at the time of our call Mr. Baker was out delivering other payouts of 1.5 million dollars and other new Mercedes automobiles to other winners and so we were then told to obtain a $250 money order from Western Union. Mr. Baker told us that all he needed to get the prizes delivered was the "MTCN" number on the money order. We assume that once he had that number that he would quickly call Western Union and report it stolen and have it re-issued in his name.
One of our detectives called Mr. Baker today, representing himself as a relative of one of the potential victims. We told Mr. Baker that we were at the hotel with $250 cash money with his name on it. You guessed it, the benevolent Mr. Baker was again out and about handing out zillions of dollars and a fleet of new Mercedes cars. He again told us that all he needed was that MTCN number on the money order. We then suggested to him that he was not at the hotel, not in the area and in fact was likely calling from another country and then the phone went dead.
This scam is active and calls are being received in our area. Please alert elderly friends and family to be alert for this clown.
FACEBOOK AND BULLYING
I love coaching, I think I have spent much of the past 30 years coaching one sport or another. It started back in 1976 when I coached my brothers grade school basketball team in Wisconsin, took an Athletic Director position for awhile and even spent a summer coaching at the Milwaukee Bucks high school summer camp, good times! In the 1980's my two daughters came along, they led me into coaching girls basketball and softball. My softball coaching in the local "Rec Program" has now happily landed me a coaching position with a junior varsity team, it's a blast. The school throws me a few dollars to coach, I'm not telling them, but I would do it for free.
Anyway, the other day at practice the varsity coach is talking to the girls about the evils of "Facebook", more to the point, he was trying to convey the message as to the damage that comments made on social networking sites can cause to other teammates. He was right to do so, social sites and the internet in general can be a real threat.
My wife closely monitors our kid's internet activity, especially my sophomore....( similar to what the TSA does at airports, we have a color coded threat level designed just for my sophomore ). It is not just Facebook and MySpace, but the virtual world websites that your kids can enter and roam can be a bit much. Kids love those sites, but as parents you should know that they can also serve as a manner in which your loved ones can meet bad people. Drug dealers and pedophiles are lurking on many those web sites, you have to keep a vigil eye.
Of course you may find yourself in the same predicament that Denise New of Arkadelphia, Arkansas finds herself. She visited her 16 year old sons Facebook, read up on what he was doing and then posted some embarrassing personal information about him on the site. This 16 year old kid has successfully obtained a "No Contact Order" from a real judge against his mother. There has to be more to this story, but are you kidding me?
With all the good that today's technology brings us, at times there can be unfortunate consequences. It is far too easy to bash another's character over the internet then it is to confront them face to face. What I really find frightening are those in our society that seemingly enjoy bashing others, even bullying them if need be and do so without regard to the possible consequences.
Did you hear about the story of Phoebe Hadley?
Phoebe was 15 years old, had relocated to Massachusetts from Ireland just last year and at some point became the victim of bullying from several of her classmates. On January 14, 2010 Phoebe left this world by hanging herself with a scarf that her sister had given her as a Christmas present. So far, numerous classmates have been charged in connection with her death. According to investigators she had been "hounded" for over 3 months, which led to depression and unfortunately her suicide.
I looked into this topic of bullying and it is not a pretty picture. Visit www.suicide.org and you will learn of other tragic bullying related stories. April Himes, a 13 year old 8th grader who had missed 50 days of school due to the bullying and sadly took her life when she could no longer bear the comments. Kasey Hone lost his battle to what was described as "incessant bullying", which led to depression and eventually suicide. The site provides several related sad stories, but it also provides resources and help as to how you as a parent can deal with bullying.
I visited www.bullypolice.com and found the laws that each state has regarding those that take part in bullying. I was pleased to see that they rated Indiana's laws with a "B+", sadly my home state of Wisconsin warranted a "F", according to the site Wisconsin has no law that deals directly with this issue.
I would remind you of a previous Chief's Email on this topic. If you suspect someone is contemplating suicide, then ask them if they are thinking about hurting themselves. A study involving a look at several suicides found that over half had reached out and attempted to tell a friend or loved one that they were thinking about ending their life. Unfortunately there is a stigma associated with suicide and so those that suffer the depression far too often opt to end their life rather than seek the help that might save them. Being a parent is a full time job, at least it is if you want to be a good one!
As always, if it does not appear right, it likely is not right and you should contact your police department and let them figure it out.
Contact Us!
Emergency - "911"
Routine Business - (219) 762-3122
STOP Team - (219) 764-5676
By Text - Enter 847411 then enter PPDTIP, followed by your message
We Tip Line- 1 - 800 - 78 - CRIME
Have a great day and be safe;
Mark J. Becker
Chief of Police
Portage Police Department
Portage, Indiana