Page 16 avavvyvy avvy S iorn oreniioor a avvy iori by Jim Miller How Seniors Can Protect Themselves from Cybercrimes Dear Savvy Senior, I spend a lot of time online and love the convenience of paying bills, shopping, and keeping up with my grandkids on Facebook and Instagram. But a few months ago, my computer was infected with malware, and I just found out some cyber crook opened up a credit card using my identity and went on a shopping spree. Do you have some simple tips to help me stay safe while online? Paranoid Patty Dear Patty, Unfortunately, cybercrimes against seniors continue to be a big problem in the U.S. According to the FBI 2022 Elder Fraud Report, cybercrime cost Americans over age 60 more than $3 billion last year, a whopping 84 percent increase from 2021. While anyone can be subject to cybercrimes, seniors are frequent targets because they tend to be more trusting and have more money than their younger counterparts. But there are a number of things you can do to protect yourself from online fraud, hacking and scams. Here are a few tips to get you started. Strengthen your passwords: A strong password should contain at least 12 characters and include numbers and a special character, like an exclamation point or asterisk. Be sure to change up your password across diff erent sites to ensure a hacker would not gain access to all accounts through one password. And keep a written list of all your passwords stored in a safe secure place. On your smartphone or tablet, be sure to set up a four or six-digit PIN to protect your device. Opt out of pop-ups: To protect yourself from computer viruses and other forms of malware, make it a habit to avoid any popup style message when you’re on the web. Sometimes hackers disguise their malware as pop-up advertisements or “special offers” when you’re shopping or reading online. Clicking on these pop-ups can lead to viruses or data breaches. If you encounter a suspicious pop-up message, don’t click on anything in the window. Simply leave the site or close out of your web browser. When in doubt, throw it out: Sometimes online hackers will send you an email or text message and pretend to be someone they’re not in order to convince you to share valuable information with them, such as your Social Security Number, address or credit card information. This is called phishing. If you receive a message from an unknown sender, do not respond or click on any links or attachments. Instead, either ignore the message or delete it. Share with care: There is such a thing as oversharing, and it defi - nitely applies to online profi les. On social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, online hackers can easily gather information about you from what you post – like where you live. Ensure that your privacy settings are up to date so that only people who follow you or are your Facebook friend can see your posts. Verify websites: Before you shop or access your bank online, double check the validity of the website you’re using. Reputable sites use technologies such as SSL (Secure Socket Layer) that encrypt data during transmission. You will see a little padlock icon in your browser and usually “https” at the front of your address bar to confi rm it’s a secure connection. If you don’t see it in the web address that you’re on, you should not trust that website with your passwords, payment or banking information. Have some back-up: Practicing safe habits will protect you and your information, but you don’t have to rely on just yourself to stay safe. Anti-virus software works in the background to protect your computer from a variety of malware and helps to make it easier for you to avoid threats while surfi ng the web. For more information on how to safeguard your personal technology devices and information, visit Consumer.ftc.gov and search “Protect Your Personal Information and Data.” And to report fraud and identity theft go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov and IdentityTheft.gov. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “Th e Savvy Senior” book. THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, September 15, 2023 MUSINGS | FROM PAGE 3 want to be remembered for? Being a practical and responsible leader who got things done and making people (our kids in particular) feel that they were happy, loved and could both set and try to reach their goals. 9. Growing up in Malden – most admired or most inspirational mentor? As a kid, Steve Feldstein was my principal at the Forestdale School and he made me feel like I belonged here, feel happy, and feel that I could work hard and become anything one day – becoming the principal of the Forestdale feels like nothing I could have ever imagined, and a real tribute to him for sure. I was lucky though, I was surrounded by people from childhood to adulthood like Marguerite Gonsalves, Gary Christenson, Greg Lucey, who kept pushing me to get involved and never lose my integrity or heart for what I love to do. 10. Malden has long been known for its outstanding restaurants, delis and bakeries. Growing up what were your favorite places to grab a slice of pizza, a sub or a hamburger? Steve’s Roast Beef for a burger, New York Pizza for a slice (buff alo chicken!) or a tuna sub with hots but my all-time favorite growing up was Converse Restaurant for breakfast at any time of day. Nowadays we tend to spend a lot of time at Faces and Mystic Station and ordering out from Fresco’s! It is said in “Malden Musings”... • On a warm late July Sunday morning, a couple of us “palm-colored boomers” (my brother Joe and I) hit the trifecta, running into three of Malden’s fi nest athletes (and nicest guys) from the past 50 years! We hugged it out with John Stanasek at Revere Beach as he was fi nishing up the morning at his post-retirement gig at the DCR. Then brother Joe and I saluted Timmy Buckley and his crew as we passed each other walking the beach. Finishing up the morning with coff ee at Market Basket on Squire Road ($2.93 for two medium coff ees – fuhgeddaboudit!), I had the pleasure of greeting old friend Greg DeCandia! • Greg grew up on Thacher Street in Edgeworth and was one of the fi nest baseball players Malden ever produced. I had a softball team out of Devir Park in the old Malden YMCA Outreach Softball League in the late 1970s and stacked it with homegrown talent. I was fortunate enough to recruit Greg and his brother George that year as well as Greg Lucey, Mark Brady, Jay Gramolini, Richie Silvestri and Jon Crannell. We were good that year, but we just could not beat Mike Ploumbidis and his talented gang from the Belmont School area. • Timmy (Buckley) was just a stud athlete – another Maldonian who could play anything – excelling in hockey, baseball and football. • John Stanasek? Well, they broke the mold when the (deity of your choice) created “Stana” – a Lincoln Park guy who could play any sport or game of chance at a higher level than you, me or anybody! My John Stanasek highlight reel is voluminous, but the game that sticks out most would be a roundball game his junior year at MHS as starting point guard against the 1975 Catholic Conference Co-Champions, Don Bosco. Bosco arrogantly strutted into the Marshall Gym as overwhelming favorites led by 6'1" All-Everything Joe Beaulieu and future Boston College star point guard Dwan Chandler. Long story short, junior starter John Stanasek dominated Boston Globe All Scholastic/Parade All-American Dwan Chandler (both physically and by renting space in Chandler’s head this night), with the boy’s hoop team and the Marshal Gym fandom joyously invading Malden Square with an upset win under their collective belts! Amazing performance by Stana and his teammates – a very talented team with standout seniors Jack Freker, Mark Burns, Steve Carpenter and Kenny Fulgham playing the game of their life. • I did not intend to make this article a John Stanasek tribute column, but what the heck – he deserves it...his three years as starting quarterback for MHS (1973-1975) are talked about to this very day. From the Six Twenty-One on Broadway to Patrick’s in Maplewood all the way down to the I.A.C.C. on Pearl Street, you can still hear tales of John’s gridiron prowess. His three Thanksgiving Day performances against arch-rival across the Fells, Medford, have gone down in Malden folklore. As a sophomore, he and senior running back Tommy Cunha (101 yards rushing) led a dramatic second-half turnaround, upsetting the favorites, 22-13. Then, when he was a junior, they routed Medford, 42-15, with MHS going on to share the GBL title with Peabody. Then, as a senior, he played in the infamous “Mud Bowl” that switched from For Advertising with Results, call The Advocate Newspapers at 617-387-2200 or Info@advocatenews.net Hormel to Macdonald Stadium aka Pearl Street Stadium because of fi eld conditions. Malden had better “mudders,” winning its third game in a row over the Mustangs. Don Roach ran 23 yards for a TD in the second period and 10 yards for a score in the third. He also caught a conversion pass from Stana as Malden won, 14-8, to clinch a tie for the GBL title with Everett. • Speaking of Tommy Cunha, another outstanding Malden athlete, graduating in 1974, who, I believe, you can still see in 2023 jogging the streets of Malden while the rest of us power walk those same streets. I loved having Tommy on my basketball teams at the “Old Y.” Tommy was a gamer. He played smart. He played tough. He was team-oriented and never took a bad shot. Get him and Gus Murray on the same team – we stay on the court all night; fuhgeddaboudit! As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – Ken Chadwick of Palm Bay, Fla., formerly of Malden, Mass., this is your life... “Just read your Joe & Nemo’s piece, loved J&N! One New Years Eve, my dad, mom, and sister were sitting around the house, my dad suggested he go to J&N’s for a New Years Eve meal of hot dogs and hamburgers. I think he spent about $20, brought home a bundle of them and we had a wonderful New Years Eve meal! I lived on Wallace Street, up on Waites Mount. I used to shine shoes between 6 and 9 at night in front of or around the Granada. Also, sold newspapers in front of the First National Store, across from the Sacred Heart Church. Remember Kotzen’s? My Mom would buy furniture there and some guy used to come to the house once a week to collect a weekly payment. Probably around 5 to 10 bucks - LOL! Now nearing 80 years old, and living in FL., still have great memories of walking down Tremont and Washington street to Beebe Jr. High.....what wonderful memories!” I agree, Ken, what wonderful memories. With us forever. All the best! Postscript: “Palm Colored Boomers” – as Curly Howard once opined, “I resemble that remark!” Insert smiley face. —Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to the Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.
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