711 jili

711 jili

A Gambier Island woman wants to warn seniors about a sophisticated phone scam, which she avoided and hopes they will too. Judy Weiser, a psychologist and art therapist, among other talents and credentials, is no luddite and to that end, runs her own website and is familiar with coding. But, despite being tech savvy and highly suspicious, Weiser says when a phone call came in with a recorded message from “Canada Post,” she didn’t immediately hang up. “I have a website. I have a Facebook group with over 10,000 individually approved members,” said Weiser. “I am not one who's easily scammed. I already keep alerting my husband, who's not very tech fluent, that if somebody says, ‘Is this Bob?’ You say, ‘Uh huh.’ You don't say yes, because they record your voice and it can be used for scams and hacks.” But, when the recorded messages asked her to press one to speak to someone at Canada Post about a package, she didn’t hesitate. “Well, I have five different packages that I ordered before the [Canada Post employee] strike. Amazon will not deliver to our island, so I pushed one and I got a man's voice,” she said. “So, he said we're investigating a suspicious package that was seized. It had your address on it and it had $16,000 worth of cash, several illegal duplications of fake driver's licenses and blah, blah, blah. And I was like, what?” The man went on to ask what her address is and despite her suspicions, Weiser felt caught-off-guard and gave it to him. “And I wasn't smart enough to say, what address does it have on the package? That's my stupid error,” said Weiser. “And he said, I'm going to ask you to read a statement and you need to say it, and please be honest and tell us if it's true. ‘Did you have anything to do with a fraudulent crime of money laundering?’” Weiser said while she found the exchange slightly amusing, she still wasn’t 100 per cent convinced it wasn’t really Canada Post — or a member of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service — on the line, so she wanted to play it safe by being polite. “I thought, I have no idea if this is hoax but if it is, it's a good one. So, I said, keep going.” He then asked her to spell her name. Weiser noticed there were numerous voices in the background as the man spoke and by then she had decided there was something suspicious about the entire conversation, so she asked him for his badge number and which office he was calling from. “And then he said, this is a very serious crime and if you're not guilty, we'll try to help you get this identity fraud taken care of, but we have to seize your bank account,” said Weiser. “I said, no you don't.” She then told the man that until she had something in writing that she could show a lawyer, there was no way she was going to let them freeze her bank account. At that point, Weiser was referred to the man’s “senior investigating officer,” who told her they’d have to get a sworn statement from her. “And I said, absolutely not. I'm an old lady. I'm turning 80 next summer. I don't do criminal things and you're not going to touch my bank account without something in writing. I'll sue the hell out of you.” At that point it appeared the scammers decided they had met their match, because they hung up on her. Weiser contacted in hopes of warning anyone who might get caught in the same situation. She noted, it’s often instinct to immediately try and defend yourself against such an accusation, but she suggests instead to ask for a phone number in order to call them back, create a paper trail by asking for any requests in writing via email, even if it’s legitimate, and contact a friend or family member to ask for an opinion. “And then, if you think you've been hacked, call the ,” she said. “There's a Quaker concept called bearing witness. If you can't stop a crime, you make sure they know it was witnessed, so that they know that they didn't do it in silence and it's not being forgotten. And that's been my credo my whole life.” RCMP Const. Karen Whitby said the best thing a person can do to avoid falling victim to a scam is, don’t answer the phone. “It's my number one. And, to just to be really aware before they start giving out any information and, if it's a business calling them, they can call the business back and look up the phone number themselves.” Whitby noted the Canada Post scam is rampant right now. In fact, she added, unless you’ve been an actual victim of a scam, there’s no point calling police. “There’s just too many of them.”

This story first appeared in How We Care, a weekly newsletter by Spotlight PA featuring original reporting and perspectives on how we care for one another at all stages of life. Sign up for free here . PITTSBURGH — The staff at the South Hills Salvation Army works hard to make people feel welcome during its weekly food pantry. The week before Thanksgiving, Theresa, 85, enjoyed the buoyant atmosphere as she caught up with friends and sipped refreshments. The spunky Pittsburgh native was eager to snag a block of yellow cheese, which she planned to melt and mix into macaroni. The cheese comes with a parcel of nonperishable foods that’s packed at the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank as part of the Senior Food Box Program. The initiative, jointly funded by the state and U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides low-income older adults with a monthly supply that includes pasta, juice, cereals and canned foods. To qualify, a person must be at least 60 years old and have an annual income of no more than 130% of the federal poverty level, which amounts to less than $20,000 for an individual. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture told Spotlight PA that 18 food banks distribute these boxes to nearly 40,000 people every month — though some 343,000 Pennsylvanians qualify for the program. That number will jump to a projected 645,000 when the state raises the income limit by roughly $3,000 next spring. “We’re really excited about that,” said Colleen Young, the Pittsburgh food bank’s director of government affairs. Young said boxes serve older people who might use other government programs and still struggle with accessing nutritious food. A healthy diet is crucial when managing chronic medical conditions like diabetes or hypertension, which are more common among people 65 and older. Theresa said she signed up for a senior box in 2023, the same year she started shopping at the food pantry. She was having a hard time affording the protein drinks prescribed to her by a dietitian at her dialysis clinic. Back then she was mostly eating hot dogs and ground meat, which was what she could afford. Because of her improved diet, she now feels healthier and has more energy. Spotlight PA is only using Theresa’s first name because she doesn’t want her neighbors to know that she relies on public support to eat. The pantry staples provided by the senior boxes free her from having to choose between buying food and getting enough protein. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to do it. I really wouldn’t. Because I just live on social security,” Theresa said. According to the USDA, in 2023 some 18 million households nationwide dealt with food insecurity, which is defined as not having reliable access to sufficient qualities of nutritious food. As a result, people might skip meals, eat less than they need or consume unhealthy foods that cost less but lack nutrients. Cindy Leung, an assistant professor of public health at Harvard, said children’s struggles with food insecurity get far more research attention than the challenges faced by older adults. One of Leung’s recent studies found that between 1999 and 2003, 12.5% of households with older adults dealt with at least one instance of food insecurity. When the survey was repeated between 2015 and 2019, the rate jumped to 23.1%. For older adults, barriers to balanced meals can include physical limitations that make it difficult to cook or get to a grocery store, Leung said. The AARP Pennsylvania told Spotlight PA that these challenges are compounded by climbing food costs and many retirees having fixed incomes. In addition to senior food boxes, other forms of public support, such as SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), address hunger. But as Allegheny County’s Area Agency on Aging explained, older adults can find the sign-up process confusing. Others might be reluctant to seek out assistance due to stigma or embarrassment. Back at the South Hills Salvation Army, Theresa deposited the box into her trunk, then returned inside to a large room buzzing with caffeinated chatter. Volunteers and staff had set up a makeshift market stocked by the food bank and donations from restaurants and grocers. Theresa gathered a range of foods as she browsed the selection: frozen vegetables, eggs, pre-made salad, a small vanilla cake, fresh produce, Italian sausage and six fragrant cinnamon raisin bagels. The Pittsburgh food bank prefers that older adults collect their boxes in person at distribution sites, like the Salvation Army. This creates opportunities to connect low-income adults to other services such as SNAP or the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program , which provides grants to subsidize Pennsylvanians’ heating bills. Another benefit of a face-to-face pickup is that it’s social. The USDA reports that older adults who live alone are more likely to be food insecure, and one 2024 study found that food insecurity is “significantly associated” with isolation and loneliness. Isolation is also a risk factor for developing dementia, the neurological condition that affects nearly 1 in 10 Americans older than 65. A recent publication of Leung’s found the same is true for food insecurity: The likelihood of dementia increases twofold among older adults who lack adequate nutrition. “One of the biggest concerns that they probably have is being able to preserve their cognition as they age,” Leung said. Other studies have also found a correlation between food insecurity and cognitive decline. Though this research doesn’t prove that poor nutrition causes dementia, Leung said there’s a clear association — even after considering factors like educational attainment and income. This overlap of cognitive health, loneliness and food makes sense because eating is more than nourishment. It’s cultural, emotional and often how we show people we care. Theresa felt that connection when the Salvation Army staff offered her a surprise: They’d set aside about two dozen of the pricey protein drinks for her. Her voice faltered as she stared down at the crate of white bottles. “It makes you want to cry.” BEFORE YOU GO: If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate . Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results. Get local news delivered to your inbox!None

DP World Callao Strengthens Position as Peru's Gateway for Trade with Asia

The Gunners delivered the statement Champions League victory their manager had demanded to bounce back from a narrow defeat at Inter Milan last time out. Goals from Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Magalhaes, Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard got their continental campaign back on track, lifting them to seventh place with 10 points in the new-look 36-team table. It was Arsenal’s biggest away win in the Champions League since beating Inter by the same scoreline in 2003. “For sure, especially against opposition we played at their home who have not lost a game in 18 months – they have been in top form here – so to play with the level, the determination, the purpose and the fluidity we showed today, I am very pleased,” said Arteta. “The team played with so much courage, because they are so good. When I’m watching them live they are so good! They were all exceptional today. It was a big performance, a big win and we are really happy. “The performance was there a few times when we have played big teams. That’s the level that we have to be able to cope and you have to make it happen, and that creates belief.” A memorable victory also ended Sporting’s unbeaten start to the season, a streak of 17 wins and one draw, the vast majority of which prompted Manchester United to prise away head coach Ruben Amorim. The Gunners took the lead after only seven minutes when Martinelli tucked in Jurrien Timber’s cross, and Saka teed up Havertz for a tap-in to double the advantage. Arsenal added a third on the stroke of half-time, Gabriel charging in to head Declan Rice’s corner into the back of the net. To rub salt in the wound, the Brazilian defender mimicked Viktor Gyokeres’ hands-over-his-face goal celebration. That may have wound Sporting up as they came out after the interval meaning business, and they pulled one back after David Raya tipped Hidemasa Morita’s shot behind, with Goncalo Inacio netting at the near post from the corner. But when Martin Odegaard’s darting run into the area was halted by Ousmane Diomande’s foul, Saka tucked away the penalty. Substitute Trossard added the fifth with eight minutes remaining, heading in the rebound after Mikel Merino’s shot was saved. A miserable night for prolific Sporting striker Gyokeres was summed up when his late shot crashed back off the post.