Frauds and Scams

Unfortunately Frauds and scams are a regular occurrence in all parts of the world. It is very important to be aware of the different ways people are being conned out of thousands of dollars every day.  According to the Canadian government, older Canadians are more likely the target of these illegal activities.  Many reasons why include: They are usually home during the day, they are more trusting, and they may not have family close by to ask for an opinion.

Common Scams

Identify Theft — this happens when someone takes personal information from an individual and uses it to apply for a credit cards, take out loans, or withdraw funds from their banks. Be sure to report to Service Canada, your bank and Credit Card company if you have lost or misplaced your wallet.

Credit/Debit card Frauds — a Con – artist uses your card or a copy of your card to make purchases or withdraw money from your account.  Keeping your PIN secret, and difficult to memorize will decrease the risk associated with this type of fraud.

Online Scams — Generally sent via email, looking like an email from a company you may do business with example: Canadian Revenue Agency,  Personal Bank or Credit Company.  These emails often contain errors and ask for you to click a link and confirm personal details about you. Call to check, never respond to these emails. Most agencies will not message you for information they already have.

Telemarketing and Door-to Door Sales — Very common, people will come to your house or call your phone pretending to be from an employee of a company, charity or distant relative.  They may offer a free prize, or a sap story about how they need money to get out of jail. If someone is calling you offering you something, thank them, and take down their contact information, let them know you need sometime to decide and you will call them back. Call the police, and report the strange call to them.

Be in the know and protect yourself and loved ones.

 

 

Caregiver Bill of Rights

Being a caregiver causes large amounts of stress, which harms the caregiver’s physical and emotional health. In some cases, that stress has a negative effect on caregivers’ performance of their duties. If you’re worn out all the time you simply can’t be a good caregiver.

Whether they realize it or not, however, caregivers do have rights – lots of them. The following list has been circulating on the internet for a long time and has been attributed to various persons. This version was taken from caregiver.com, where it is attributed to Jo Horne. Here it is:

I have the right:

1. To take care of myself. Care giving is not an act of selfishness. It will give me the capability of taking better care of my loved one.

2. To seek help from others even though my loved ones may object. Only I can recognize the limits of my endurance and strength.

3. To maintain facets of my life that do not include the person I care for, just as I would if he or she were healthy. I know that I do everything that I reasonably can for this person, and I have the right to do some things just for myself.

4. To get angry, be depressed, and express other difficult feelings occasionally.

 5. To reject any attempts by my loved one (either conscious or unconscious) to manipulate me through guilt, and/or depression.

 6. To receive consideration, affection, forgiveness, and acceptance for what I do, from my loved ones, for as long as I offer these qualities in return.

 7. To take pride in what I am accomplishing and to applaud the courage it has sometimes taken to meet the needs of my loved one.

 8. To protect my individuality and my right to make a life for myself that will sustain me in the time when my loved one no longer needs my full-time help.

 9. To expect and demand that as new strides are made in finding resources to aid physically and mentally impaired persons in our country, similar strides will be made towards aiding and supporting caregivers.

If only all caregivers could exercise their rights, their stress – although never disappearing – could be lessened, and their physical and mental health problems resulting from care giving could decrease in frequency and intensity.

How many of these rights are you exercising? Which ones would you like to start exercising? Can any of you think of other rights that should be added to this list?