Page 10 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRiDAy, AugusT 16, 2024 7 SCAMS | FROM PAGE 8 school away from home or have young students who might be vulnerable to such scams, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends watching out for these financial scams before heading into the new semester: • Fake credit cards: Offers to apply for the first credit card are tempting to many students. Not only could this create credit problems down the road due to unchecked spending, but some deals could be phony offers designed to access personal information. Research the offers from the credit card flyers and the banking institutions before applying. Review the BBB tip on credit card scams. • Too good to be true apartments: It’s hard not to jump on a convenient apartment so close to campus, especially if it advertises affordable rent. It’s tempting to hand over credit card information online to lock in a great spot, but it’s always worth seeing the apartment in person before a money transfer. This also applies to Craigslist and social media ads appearing to be from other students looking for roommates. • ID theft: It’s a good idea to start practicing healthy money habits, and one such habit is regularly checking your credit report for unusual activity and possible ID fraud. The official government website to do this for free is annualcreditreport. com. Read BBB’s article on identity theft at www.bbb. org/article/scams/25955bbb-tip-how-to-know-ifsomeone-stole-your-identity • Scholarship and grant scams: Be wary of phone calls from companies guaranteeing they can help reduce loan payments or offer a hefty grant. Searching the company’s name online could bring up scam alerts or negative reviews from other consumers. Read reviews and complaints about the company at BBB.org and contact the school’s financial aid office for advice and help regarding financing your education. Scholarship scams can affect college students even after graduation; read tips on scholarship scams at https://www. bbb.org/article/news-releases/16922-bbb-tip-scholarship-scams • Online shopping scams: Online purchase scams can be especially effective when set up through social media platforms and apps. BBB has tips for smart shopping online and a page dedicated to online shopping tips and scam alerts at https://www. bbb.org/all/online-shopping • Test preparation scams: Scammers pretend to be companies that can help students pass exams, but once students correspond with the company, the scammers use the messages to blackmail the students into sending funds out of fear of being expelled for cheating. Always read reviews on BBB.org and visit BBB’s Scam Tracker (https:// www.bbb.org/scamtracker) to look up a potential scam. • Awareness of current scams: As tech-savvy as current college students can be, a surprising number of scams reported to BBB’s ScamTracker are from students who learned their lesson too late. Visit https:// www.bbb.org/all/scamtips to learn the latest scam trends and read local reports of specific incidents. GRANT | FROM PAGE 9 “I am thrilled to partner with the MAPC on this essential project. Although the health risks from extreme heat are well known, this effort will help us better understand how heat risk varies from one neighborhood to another and take steps to better protect people in those communities that need help most,” said Professor Wellenius. The project will take a systems-based and community-driven approach to building climate resilience to extreme heat by strengthening social connectedness and support networks among community members, organizations, and municipalities within the Lower Mystic. Research shows that investments in social infrastructure – the community assets, programs, policies, and communication pathways that facilitate relationships and collective action – builds community resilience. “Lower-Mystic Cool Communications” will apply best practices from MAPC’s previous municipal-community partnerships for climate resilience. The 2022 MAPC MetroWest Climate Equity Project [https://www.mapc. org/resource-library/metro-west-climate-equity/], involving Ashland, Framingham, and Natick took a similar approach: successfully engaging residents and community groups to lead outreach and co-design two climate resilience communication campaigns. This new project will adapt these strategies, including hiring community liaisons and creating culturally resonant emergency resources, to address extreme heat … in the Lower Mystic region.
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