European-based Playtomic, an online racquet sport booking software company, acquired Kourts. Because the new platform will no longer work with our online reservation system, the Village’s use of Kourts will end on June 30. Beginning July 1, Court Reserve will be the new reservation platform for lap swimming and tennis reservations.

In January 2022, the GRF Community Activities Committee (CAC) committed to a six-month trial to use the online reservation system Kourts. At the upcoming July 14 meeting, the CAC will review and discuss continued use of an online reservation system. In the meantime, lap swimmers and tennis players may use the Court Reserve platform to make their reservations.

Residents will be entered into the Court Reserve system and further details will be sent out next week.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Scammers will try to take advantage of every situation—every scam, con and swindle is created in effort to steal your personal and financial information. Don’t let them. Be skeptical of every unsolicited phone call and email you receive, and take care when surfing the web.

Hang Up on Phone Fraud

• Don’t answer calls from phone numbers you don’t recognize or from calls you’re not expecting. If you answer and discover it’s a robocall, just hang up. You don’t need to say anything and you don’t owe any explanation.
• Never give personal information to unknown callers or allow them access to your computer over the internet. Instead, hang up and call the organization directly to find out if the call was legitimate.
• If someone calls and claims to be with a government agency, no matter how official or serious the situation sounds—hang up. The longer you stay on the line, the more likely you are to become a victim.
• Don’t trust callers just because they know some of your personal information. Due to numerous data breaches, many fraudsters are providing victims with their SSN to build trust.
• Contact the agency that supposedly called you. Look up the number on your own—don’t trust your caller ID or the number the caller may have given you.

Don’t Get Hooked by Email Phishing Schemes

Phishing is one of the most popular email scams. Hackers use “bait”—a seemingly legitimate file or link—to “phish” for victims and gain personal information. Email security threats come in many forms. Here’s how to recognize fake emails.

• Don’t trust the display name. Often, a phishing email will come from an address that appears to be genuine. Hackers aim to trick recipients by including the name of a legitimate company within the structure of the email and web addresses. If you only glance at these details they can look legitimate. However, if you examine them, you may find that it’s a bogus variation intended to appear authentic—for example, customerservice@mail.macys.work rather than customerservice@macys.com.
• Look but don’t click. Hover your mouse over any links embedded in the body of the email. If the link address looks suspicious, don’t click on it.
• Check for spelling mistakes. Legitimate messages usually do not have major spelling mistakes or poor grammar. Read your emails carefully and report anything that seems suspicious.
• Analyze the salutation. Beware any email addressed to a vague “Valued Customer.” Legitimate businesses often use a personal salutation with your first and last name.
• Don’t provide personal information. Legitimate banks and most other companies will never ask for personal credentials via email.
• Beware of urgency and drama. Invoking a sense of urgency or fear is a common phishing tactic. Beware of subject lines that claim your “account has been suspended” or your account had an “unauthorized login attempt.”
• Review the signature. Lack of details about the signer or how you can contact a company strongly suggests a phish. Legitimate businesses always provide contact details.
• Don’t click on attachments. Hackers commonly include attachments that contain viruses and malware, which can damage files on your computer, steal your passwords or spy on you without your knowledge. Don’t open any email attachments you weren’t expecting.
• Don’t believe everything you see. Phishers are extremely good at what they do. Just because an email has convincing brand logos, language and a seemingly valid email address does not mean that it’s legitimate. If it looks even remotely suspicious, don’t open it.
• Don’t be fooled by scammers running fraudulent fundraisers. GoFundMe.com offers detailed advice about how to distinguish a genuine GoFundMe campaign from a fake one.

Stay Secure When Web Surfing

• Only visit secure websites with domain names you recognize. A secure website begins with https:// rather than http:// and has a padlock symbol in the top left corner. That “s” stands for secure and means that your data is encrypted as it passes from your internet browser to the website’s server. That “s” does not mean the site is legitimate, however, so make sure you recognize the organization and domain name. Bookmark trusted websites for future use.
• Choose strong passwords. Use uppercase letters mixed with lowercase letters, numbers and, if the system allows, special characters. Do not include any personal information in your password that hackers can guess from other personal information they obtain. Do not use the same password across multiple websites, because that increases the chance of having the password compromised. Do not use a single word spelled correctly in any language. This is the time to intentionally misspell a word or use numbers and symbols in the place of letters.
• Choosing a strong password is easier said than done, right? And how do you remember all those strong passwords? Invest in a good password manager (bit.ly/2yUlz0i) that has other security features.
• Install antivirus software on your computer and keep it up to date.
• Invest in identity theft protection (bit.ly/2Z1H75V).
• Monitor your credit for free (bit.ly/2Wsk3LO).

First-Line Defenses for Scams

• AARP Fraud Watch Network (aarp.org/money/scams-fraud): Call 877-908-3360 to talk to a trained volunteer on the Fraud Watch Helpline.
• California Attorney General’s Office (oag.ca.gov/consumers#topics): Learn about common scams and other consumer issues.
• FBI (ic3.gov/default.aspx): File a report with the Federal Bureau of Investigations Internet Crime Complaint Center.
• Federal Trade Commission (ftc.gov): File a consumer complaint, report identity theft and register for the Do Not Call list. Report suspicious emails to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov. If you believe you have been taken advantage of by a spam scam, file a complaint with the FTC online at ftc.gov/complaint.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

On Monday, July 18, in the Clubhouse 1 art room from 6 to 8 p.m., resident artist Penni Rubin leads guests in painting a masterpiece of their very own. Enjoy this night of paint, wine, friends and fun. Class admission is $28, which includes all art supplies and two glasses of wine. Aprons are provided. Two-ticket max. Register in the Clubhouse 1 office. 

Call 949-597-4281 or email recreation@vmsinc.org for more information. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

On Fridays July 1 through August 26 from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Clubhouse 1 main lounge, join Mindful Flow Yoga with Jill Camera, a free drop-in class that features a style of yoga where poses flow together with the breath to create strength, flexibility and balance. It’s a fun and invigorating experience for body, mind and spirit that is suitable for all experience levels. The only requirement is that you should be able to get up and down from the floor. Bring a yoga mat; two yoga blocks and a yoga strap are recommended. Jill, certified to teach yoga since 2001, teaches private, corporate and group classes, and is co-author of the little book of poses, “Yoga Fan.” Learn more about Jill at jillcamera.com.

Call 949-597-4273 or email recreation@vmsinc.org for more information. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

The Optimal Aging Lecture Series presents “Pills, Problems and Multiple Medications, Oh My” on Wednesday, July 6, in the Clubhouse 2 Sequoia Ballroom from 2 to 2:30 p.m.

While medications certainly keep us healthy, polypharmacy, or combining supplements, over-the-counter and prescription medications can lead to significant health challenges. Learn from a top geriatric medicine pharmacist from UC Irvine’s Senior Health Center about how to balance medications and supplements to promote optimal aging.

Call Social Services at 949-597-4267 for more information. 

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

Follow Car-Washing Rules

Everyone wants a clean car and some prefer to wash it themselves. Before you get your hose and bucket ready, it’s important to know your mutual’s car washing rules. 

Third Mutual
Car washing is prohibited in the interest of water conservation.  

United Mutual
Car washing is allowed as long as a hose features a spray nozzle with a shutoff valve, again to conserve water. 

Avoid Overwatering

From time to time the Security Department receives complaints about overwatering, which can pose a slip and fall hazard for others. Using a broom and a dust pan to clean outdoor surfaces is not only effective but it also helps conserve water. Overwatering can be detrimental to plants depending on their individual water requirements and may also cause dirt and other debris to flow onto walkways. Our Landscaping Services Department works diligently to keep plants healthy by following a systematic irrigation schedule. 

How You Can Help Conserve

• Use low-flow shower heads and limit showers to 5 minutes or less for an estimated savings of 75 gallons a week.
• Turn the water off while lathering in the shower, turning it back on to quickly rinse for an estimated savings of 75 gallons a week.
• Turn off the water while brushing teeth or shaving for an estimated savings of 35 gallons a week.
• Run only full loads of laundry and dishes; place food scraps into the garbage can or rinse them off with very short blasts of hot water for an estimated savings of 60 gallons per week.
• Rinse fruit and vegetables in a sink or a pan filled with water instead of running the water continuously for an estimated savings of 30 gallons a week.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.

All of California is facing a third consecutive year of drought and nearly 60% of the state is categorized in an extreme drought. This year is becoming the state’s driest year on record, with January, February and March being the driest in more than 100 years. Water years 2020 and 2021 were the driest two-year sequence on record for precipitation in the state and were characterized by high temperatures and dry soil. As a result, in October 2021, Governor Newsom declared a drought state of emergency for all 58 counties in California, including Orange County. 

California is still under a drought emergency, which calls for a 15% voluntary reduction in statewide water use. In addition, the State Water Resources Control Board also enacted mandatory conservation regulations to prevent wasteful water uses and promote water conservation during the current drought emergency. 

Recently, due to the statewide water reductions not meeting expectations, the Governor is urging water suppliers to take a more aggressive response to the ongoing drought and to implement additional regulations. The drought is a serious reminder that we must continue to work together to ensure our water supplies remain reliable for future generations.

El Toro Water District (ETWD) has provided a drought emergency FAQ document that details where ETWD gets its water, what the district’s plans are in regard to the drought, where our region falls within the water shortage contingency plan, water restrictions in place in the ETWD service area, what you as a water consumer can do to help and more. 

Please direct questions regarding the drought to ETWD customer service representatives at 949-837-0660 or email ETWD at District@etwd.com.

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below. 

In an effort to remove duplicate channels and save costs, on Wednesday, June 15, HBO Max East feeds will be converted to HBO Max West feeds.

The following channels will be deleted:

• 501 – HBO HD East
• 502 – HBO Family SD West
• 503 – HBO Family HD East
• 505 – HBO Signature HD East
• 506 – HBO Comedy HD East
• 507 – HBO Zone HD East
• 511 – Cinemax HD East
• 512 – MoreMax SD West
• 513 – MoreMax HD East
• 514 – ActionMax HD East
• 515 – ThrillerMax HD East

The following channels will be converted from East Coast feeds:

• 502 – HBO Family HD West
• 505 – HBO Signature HD West
• 506 – HBO Comedy HD West
• 507 – HBO Zone HD West
• 512 – MoreMax HD West
• 514 – ActionMax HD West
• 515 – ThrillerMax HD West

For more Village news, click on the tag “What’s Up in the Village” below.