NEWSOcotber 24, 2013 A5www.FortHoodSentinel.com

BY HEATHER GRAHAM-ASHLEYSentinel News Editor

Fort Hood Police are investigat-ing reports of scammers attempting to obtain personal information from residents and coercing them to send money to pay a non-existent pay day loan by posing as law enforcement and local law offices.

Fort Hood Police Capt. Jennifer Rounds said the male caller has con-tacted residents using a program that allows you to mask the number you are calling from and enter any num-ber you want. The male has used the Fort Hood and Killeen Police Departments’ general phone number and the phone number to a local law office using a practice called spoofing.

“Caller ID spoofing is the practice of causing the telephone network to display a number on the recipi-ent’s Caller ID display that is not that of the actual originating station,” Fort Hood Police Supervisory Detec-tive Mark Knox, investigative chief, said. “For example, identity thieves who want to collect sensitive infor-mation such as your bank account or other financial account numbers, your social security number, your date of birth or your mother’s maiden name, sometimes use caller ID spoof-ing to make it appear as though they are calling from your bank, credit card company, or even a government agency.”

Knox said there have been reports of this activity on and off the Instal-lation.

In recent instances, the male call-er identified himself as working for a collection agency and state that the resident owes money and if the

money isn’t paid, legal action will be taken. The caller followed up by then calling as a military police officer and threatened further action if the money wasn’t paid, Rounds said.

He also has called as a lawyer and stated if money was not transferred, a warrant would be issued and then called as a Killeen Police Detective and stated she would get a warrant to arrest her is she didn’t pay the money via money order.

“I want to stress general phone scam protection tips,” Rounds said. “It’s common for scammers to begin by giving you some information they could easily find on line about you to gain your trust, such as address or email address and then use that trust to get more important information such as account numbers, pass codes, etc.”

“Never give that type of informa-tion over the phone to a solicitor,” Rounds said.

Residents are reminded that a police department would not request personal financial information over the phone.

“The MP station will never call you over the phone regarding your personal bills or require you to send money to a business,” Rounds said. “We will also not ask you for your banking information over the phone.”

Fort Hood residents are encour-aged not to send money to unknown persons for a bill they don’t believe is theirs without first doing some research.

Spoofing is illegal and can carry stiff penalties, Knox said.

“The Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009, which was signed into law Dec.

22, 2010, prohibits caller ID spoof-ing for the purposes of defrauding or otherwise causing harm,” he said. “In June 2010, the Federal Commu-nications Commission adopted rules implementing the Truth in Caller ID Act.”

Spoofing also violates rules of the Federal Communications Commis-sion.

“FCC rules prohibit any person or entity from transmitting misleading or inaccurate Caller ID information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value,” Knox added, noting that the penalties are subject to fines up to $10,000 for each violation of the rules.

There are exemptions for law enforcement agencies and situations where courts have authorized caller ID manipulation to occur, but the police will not ask for that financial information over the phone.

Knox offered the following tips to avoid these scams:

“Don’t give out personal infor-mation in response to an incoming call. Identity thieves are clever - they often pose as representatives of banks, credit card companies, creditors, or government agencies to get people to reveal their account numbers, Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, passwords and other identify-ing information.

“If you get an inquiry from a com-

pany or government agency seeking personal information, don’t provide it. Instead, hang up and call the phone number on your account state-ment, in the phone book, or on the company’s or government agency’s website to find out if the entity that supposedly called you actually needs the requested information from you.”

Fort Hood residents are encour-aged to call police, 287-4001, if they receive one of these calls or have been a victim of spoofing on post.

Knox also urged those who think they might have been spoofed to alert the FCC about any Caller ID spoof-ers by calling 1-888-CALL-FCC or filing a complaint at www.fcc.gov/complaints.

Police urge vigilance with banking, financialinformation in light of recent spoof attempts

COMMENTARY BY CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 4

JOAQUIN SERRANOCRUZChief, Munitions Branch, 13th SC(E)

With constant changes in the way our Army does business, leaders have a responsibility to maintain well-trained forces. Munitions Branch personnel with the 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary) Support Operations are implementing an ini-tiative to keep all of their ammuni-tion stock control and accounting specialists and senior ammunition

inspectors well trained by having them assist with work at the Fort Hood Ammunition Supply Point.

Ammunition stock control and accounting specialists operate the Standard Ammunition and Account-ing System-Modernized computer hardware and software and use man-ual records to perform stock con-trol and accounting procedures for ammunition, explosives, and associ-ated explosive components. Senior ammunition inspectors supervise the receipt, storage, issue, and prepara-tion of ammunition, ammunition

components, and explosives for trans-portation and storage; they super-vise ammunition stock control and accounting procedures for surveil-lance inputs; they conduct ammu-nition inspections and tests; they perform inspections of containers and vehicles transporting ammuni-tion; they inspect storage locations and ensure compliance with storage compatibility, quantity, distance, and explosive safety limits; and they addi-tionally ensure compliance with all ammunition safety requirements as prescribed in applicable Army regula-tions.

The 13th SC(E) Munitions Branch initiative involves ammuni-tion personnel relocating from vari-ous units and locations across Fort Hood to work with conventional 4th Sustainment Brigade ordnance com-pany Soldiers at the Fort Hood ASP within the Borrowed Military Man-power process.

The initiative involves the section’s own personnel and other Soldiers from 1st Cavalry Division, 3rd Cav-alry Regiment and other separate bri-gades that do not normally have the opportunity to work with the large amounts of installation stockpiled ammunition at the ASP.

In March 2013, the Fort Hood ASP supporting company, 664th Ordnance Company, 553rd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Sust. Bde., 13th SC(E), was notified that they were soon to be participat-ing in the 2014 unit deployment cycle. The news challenged leader-ship to determine a way to continue support for Fort Hood and III Corps

unit training requirements without the availability of the company of Soldiers to assist. The initial thought was to prepare a civilian contract to contract support for the ASP.

This was a great idea until leaders encountered delays with the contract-ing process.

The 13th SC(E) Munitions Branch worked closely with the Fort Hood leaders to employ the BMM process, navigating all regulations associated with the process. This was not an easy task, but completing the task early was absolutely worth the effort.The section worked closely with Fort Hood staff senior leaders and partici-pated in the BMM Working Group to present the request for person-nel support for the ASP to a board of Operations Sergeants Major from across installation.

Originally, some welcomed the idea while others doubted whether it was wise or not to support the request. By the conclusion of the BMM-WG process, all sergeants major agreed to support the request without promis-ing any specific number of Soldiers available from their ranks to support the request.

The problem was not solved at the BMM-WG, despite the board’s gen-eral concurrence. The next step was to present the BMM request to the BMM Review Board headed by the III Corps chief of staff. This board involved a voting process were the majority rule.

The 13th SC(E) SPO Munitions Branch’s personnel compiled infor-mation by calling and visiting every brigade support battalion across

installation asking for the specific status’ of their munitions personnel and their qualifications to work at the Fort Hood ASP. The qualifi-cations required included security clearances, local background checks, hazardous material handling quali-fications, completion of training on automated munitions management systems, and special military vehicle driver licenses.

Fort Hood personnel managers worked for weeks trying to get to determine accurate Solider availabil-ity numbers made difficult by ongo-ing personnel fluctuation due to end of tours of service, fit-for-duty medi-cal review boards, and the normal Summer season permanent changes of station personnel transition time period. It was nearly impossible to narrow down all the variables and to determine the specific number of Sol-diers and noncommissioned officers available.

The 13th SC(E) allocated every available NCO and Soldier from their own staff section to fill the gap of personnel not available from across installation. The 13th SC(E) allocated two Soldiers and five NCOs ranging from sergeant to sergeant first class to join the BMM ASP Transition team with five NCOs and four Soldiers from other units across Fort Hood.

The arrival of these personnel has enabled the Fort Hood ASP to remain fully manned and opera-tional as personnel from the servicing 664th Ord. Co. leave the ASP to train and deploy in support of the Army’s mission requirements.

BMM working: 13th SC(E) maintaining ammunition skills at Fort Hood ASP

(From left to right) Sgt. 1st Class Scoefield McMillan, with 13th SC(E) Support Operations’ Integration Branch, Sgt. 1st Class Andrew Nunez, with the 4th Sust. Bde. Support Operations Center, and Staff Sgt. Kenneth Siegle, with the 3rd Cav. Regt. Support Operations’ Munitions Section, discuss and review paperwork at the Fort Hood Ammunition Supply Point Oct. 16.

Photo by Staff Sgt. Jason Thompson, 13th SC(E) Public Affairs

Fort Hood Police urge anyone who has received a suspected spoofing call to notify the police at 287-4001 if the incident occurs on post.

Courtesy Photo

BY CHRISTINE LUCIANODPW Environmental Outreach

Do you like to be involved in your Family housing village? Do you have ideas about how to improve your community? Would you like to be a liaison between the residents and the garrison commander? Then you might be interested in becoming a village mayor in Fort Hood Family Housing and serving as the ‘Voice of the Community.’

Mayors help make sure that qual-ity of life of all housing residents is maintained, sustained and constantly improving. They advocate military

programs and services to the resi-dents and let them know where to get resources to take care of their Families.

“Mayors help make a positive change in the villages,” said Susan Burrow, chief of Housing Services Office. “They are the liaison between the Garrison staff and the residents of their community in helping keep the Great Place the ‘Safe Place.’”

Mayors also take an active role in organizing community events, vil-lage town hall meetings and working with residents to identify commu-nity needs and issues, and reporting them to the attention of the Regional

Community Life Officer and Installa-tion Community Life Office.

McNair Village Mayor Carol Park-er has enjoyed volunteering and giv-ing back in her community and plans to run again this year.

“I love being involved in the monthly community events, encour-aging and increasing residents recy-cling efforts, and just doing anything I can to help families enjoy living on the installation the way mine does,” Parker said. “Mayors are important to each village because they help res-idents communicate concerns and ideas to housing and to III Corps.”

Annually, FHFH hosts mayoral

elections for terms that run from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 each year. Interested Fort Hood residents are encouraged to submit an application to their community life buildings no later than Friday for the next upcoming election.

Fort Hood Family Housing resi-dents can cast their votes at their

respective community life buildings Nov. 2. Residents will also have the option to vote online on day of the election at www.forthoodfh.com.

Contact your community life non-commissioned officer or your com-munity manager for more informa-tion about the Village Mayor Pro-gram.

Fort Hood Family Housing seeks mayoral candidates for upcoming election

Mayors help make a postive change in the villages.

– Susan Burrow