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March is Fraud Prevention Month

2/27/2017

Fraud Prevention Month is March. In Canada, a good source of up-to-date information is the Little black book of Scams from Industry Canada. Keep yourself informed to prevent becoming one of the many thousands of victims of fraud each year; be sure to share tips with vulnerable friends and family members; and if you have children, remember to protect their personal information and documents.

If you have been scammed:
Report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online
or call them toll-free: 1-888-495-8501

Alerts and Tips to Avoid Fraud and Identity Theft:

Romance scams (in 2016, 748 victims lost over $17 million)
Canada - ItPaysToKnow.gc.ca
Gov't of Canada - protection from frauds and scams
What to do if you are a victim of identity theft
Real Estate fraud: types of and prevention tips
Small businesses fraud prevention tips (youtube video)
Canada - Get Cybersafe tips for online safety
Avoid investment fraud - BeFraudAware.ca and CheckFirst.ca
(US) FTC Scam alerts - (in english and español)
Report international scams online and/or make consumer complaints
ScamTracker interactive map to report and track new scams (BBB)
Real life examples of fraud at ConsumerProtectionBC.ca ---1-888-564-9963

Simple Fraud Prevention Tips:

Don't carry all your ID in your wallet or purse;
Don't have cheques mailed to you; it is safer to pick them up from your financial institution instead;
Cancel credit cards you don’t use and shred offers that come in the mail;
Check credit card & bank statements regularly;
When on vacation, check your accounts for any signs of fraud;
Assume any 'urgent' email or phone call is a scam. If you are being pressured to act quickly, or to send any account, financial or personal information ––put on the brakes, step back, and take time to double check everything;
Beware of fake online job or rental postings. Does something seem too good to be true? Does it seems a super opportunity and you are rushing not to miss it? Again, put on the brakes, and double check that it is not a scam.
Learn about ways to protect and track your mobile device(s);
Get a free credit report done once a year (you have the right to a free copy without a monthly fee. Ask for your Consumer Disclosure / Credit Report from Transunion.ca 1-800-663-9980 or Equifax.ca 1-800-465-7166 );
If you lose your ID, ask TransUnion about putting a notice on your file. Also be sure to ask them how this might impact you.

Help any seniors you know avoid fraud by reading this 2015 Seniors' Toolkit (PDF). Here is a graph from the report showing the huge losses of Canadian seniors by fraud type.

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How Music Helps Your Health - Music is Medicine

2/19/2017

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Even though music might be regarded as something frivolous, it has long been an intrinsic part of human culture. Starting from the time we are young children, some would even say within the womb, music has many benefits for our well-being. And there's increasing research showing the many benefits of having music in our lives.

How music benefits children: Advocates of music in schools have collected research showing that music and playing musical instruments helps children's language development, memory, physical co-ordination, imagination, creativity, teamwork and self-confidence. It has also been said that playing music improves math skills, but on this point, research is inconclusive.

Music helps your brain: Playing a musical instrument has many beneficial effects, not just for children but for adults too: verbal memory, spacial reasoning, faster neural responses, and literacy skills are all enhanced by learning music. It has also been shown that music is helpful for people with Parkinson's and those recovering from strokes.

How music benefits seniors: Music training is considered a possible effective way to protect brain function from cognitive decline but more research is needed. Other studies have shown that people even with severe Alzheimer's Disease "are able to learn and play novel songs".

In First Nations and Indigenous communities, drumming has also been linked to health: "Results of the qualitative analysis show that the Aboriginal women’s involvement in hand-drumming circles has many health promoting benefits and builds on strengths already existent within their community."

Music makes people of all ages happy, gives them relief if they are burdened by stress or sadness, and provides skills and accomplishments when learning to play a musical instrument. In short, music boosts health and well-being. Music is medicine, just not the kind that comes from the pharmacy.

Here's a video that summarizes what's going on in your brain when you listen to music:

Sources:
National Association for Music Education 2014
http://www.nafme.org/20-important-benefits-of-music-in-our-schools/
National Association for the Education of Young Children 2012 (PDF):
https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/201201/Geist_Patterns_of_Music_Jan012.pdf
Research paper "Music as a Memory Enhancer in Patients with Alzheimer's Disease"
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2914108/

Interested in learning more?
This is Your Brain On Music (book by Daniel Levitin )
Brainpickings 2015 (article)
The Guardian 2016 (article)

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Millennials in Canada - a new study debunks stereotypes and identifies 6 tribes

2/15/2017

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A new study of 2,072 Canadians aged 21 to 36 across Canada between July 6 and August 31, 2016 done by Environics’ Research shows that Canadian millennials have similar concerns to past generations of their age group (worried about financial security), seek better work/life balance, and, despite the stereotype of being apathetic, they do follow politics, current events, and are involved in causes.

The report also identifies six different millennial 'tribes'. Many millennials will no doubt resent being labelled and boxed into a tribe or sub-group. Nonetheless, here are the six groups from the study's executive summary:

Bros & Brittanys (32% of Millennials): Avid risk-takers, seek excitement, enthusiastic consumers; work hard to get paid in order to pursue their chosen lifestyle; embrace technology and social connections.
Diverse Strivers (20%): Priority to 'make it' and have material success; are driven in their careers and personal challenges; want to inspire respect in those closest to them; care about their appearance, latest gadgets and toys.
Engaged Idealists (17%): Sociable, energetic, experience-seeking, idealistic; contribute to their relationships, careers and communities; believe that their actions matter and shape their lives and the world around them; they want interesting, meaningful careers that let them express themselves and their creativity; quality of their work experience is a higher priority than high pay; seek to have fun and a happy, balanced life.
Lone Wolves (16%) Skeptical of authority, lack strong social and emotional connections, solitary, aim to keep life simple/straightforward; rarely involved in community events, low-key but not hostile, not aggressive or discriminatory.
New Traditionalists (11%): Religion a big part of lives and identity; have conservative family and gender roles; value traditional etiquette, appropriate dress, manners, respect for elders, authority figures; strong sense of duty and identification with family roots.
Critical Counterculturists (4%): Engaged and critical; sometimes build businesses or pursue groundbreaking online activism, progressive values (like Engaged Idealists) but place high value on rationality; reject status and authority if it's seen as illegitimate or superficial.

Check out the full infographic here by Environics’ Research

Read the full report here: environicsinstitute.org/institute-projects/current-projects/canadian-millennial-social-values-study

Press release here: www.newswire.ca/news-releases/new-survey-reveals-the-diversity-of-canadas-millennial-generation-through-their-social-values-613786623.html

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Spartacus Books now carrying My Help Book BC - Vancouver Edition

2/10/2017

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The independent bookstore and resource centre Spartacus Books in Vancouver will be carrying My Opportunity and Help Book BC - Vancouver Edition 2017 as of February 14, 2017. They are located just off Commercial Drive. Be sure to check out their large selection of books on social justice, activism, critical-thinking, and more. They have been a collectively run volunteer bookstore offering books, media, events and opportunities for 40 years in Vancouver despite many dramatic set-backs and challenges.

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March is Fraud Prevention Month

How Music Helps Your Health - Music is Medicine

Millennials in Canada - a new study debunks stereotypes and identifies 6 tribes

Spartacus Books now carrying My Help Book BC - Vancouver Edition

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