Wednesday 16 July 2014

The Numbers Identity Thieves Want From You

 

There are two certainties in life – death and taxes. Who would have ever thought that there would ever be a contender for a third certainty in life – your personal information being stolen. It’s a harsh reality that we’re all facing and the numbers alone are enough to make you want to abandon your electronics and run away to a deserted island. From 2004-2012 over 1.1 billion records were compromised and in 2013 alone there were over 91 million records that identity thieves got their hands on.
So what information are identity thieves looking for? There are certain numbers they’re trying to get their hands on, numbers that can easily convince others that they are you.
Dates and ZIPs/Postal Codes
Your birth date, dates of employment, where you lived – while these may seem harmless to share on the internet, identity thieves can take hold of your identity with these numbers through various means. Be careful with over-sharing on social media, it isn’t necessary to list every little detail about your life on your Facebook page. With social media you should stick to the mantra “less is more”.
Social Security Number/ Social Insurance Number
These numbers are the skeleton key to your financial information, only provide it when legally required and never carry your card around with you – yes, that means we have to use our memory.
Driver’s License and Passport Numbers
Once an identity thief comes into possession of these numbers, these documents can be easily counterfeited with new names, addresses and photographs.
Bank Account Numbers
Paying with a cheque is a dying art form, which is probably a good thing since your bank account number is emblazoned across the front of your cheque, ripe for the picking by identity thieves. Try to avoid using cheques as much as possible –in this case, paying with plastic is a safer option.
PINs
There are many different tricks that scammers use to take hold of PIN numbers, from card skimmers to hidden cameras; scammers use technology in their hunt for your coveted PIN numbers. When using a bank or debit machine it helps to be a little paranoid – be wary of your surroundings and cover your hands when inputting your PIN. Another good way is to avoid your PIN being stolen is to use cash and avoid third party bank machines as much as possible.
IP Addresses
If a scammer gains access to your computer’s IP address it opens a gateway to access everything on your computer. Scammers can infect your computer with malware and steal any sensitive information you keep on your computer. Ransomware has become a popular tool for hackers of late – malware which locks you out of your files and demand you pay a fee to gain access back to your content your own computer. There are solutions to dealing with Ransomware on your computer as well as tactics to surf the internet and keep your IP address hidden from the bad guys.
It’s an unfortunate that our more digital and connected world has left so much of our information vulnerable. It always helps to stay one step ahead of fraudsters, and knowing is half the battle.
by: Big Dog Shred Bins

Tuesday 1 July 2014

It's our annual Canada Day Quiz with 50 questions to challenge your patriotism

Think you're a great Canadian? The Historica-Dominion Institute challenges you to test your knowledge of Canadian history with a Canada Day quiz. Try your luck at 50 trivia questions 

1. Who was the political leader who led the campaign to introduce universal health care?
2. Which once and future Prime Minister lost the 1874 election after it became known that he offered bribes during the construction of the transcontinental railway?
3. The Hudson's Bay Company is the world's oldest chartered trading company. What product gave this company its start?
4. What Canadian figure skater was first in the world to land a quadruple jump in a world competition?
5. What three oceans border Canada?
6. What medical breakthrough led to a 1923 Nobel Prize for Frederick Banting and J.J.R. Macleod?
7. Which Canadian province has the largest land size?
8. In the federal Parliament, what is a law called before it is passed?
9. The country's worst health crisis, spread by troops returning from overseas services in the First World War, was caused by what disease?
10. In 1942, a national plebiscite sparked a fierce debate over military service and national unity. What was this plebiscite about?
11. Which mountain is Canada's highest?
12. Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte was taken hostage and murdered in the crisis initiated by which extremist separatist group?
13. Who was the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada?
14. Who was Canada's prime minister during the Second World War?
15. Who wrote the lyrics to Canada's national anthem?
16. Canada is a part of the voluntary association of countries that used to belong to the British Empire. What is this association called?
17. What was the name given to the group of women involved in Edwards vs. the Attorney General of Canada, also known as the Persons Case?
18. What two Canadian cities were part of the "Original Six" NHL teams?
19. Which Canadian city hosted the world during the summer Olympics in 1976?
20. What was the name of Canada's flag before the Maple Leaf?
21. During what war did Canadian doctor Norman Bethune create the first mobile blood transfusion clinic in 1936?
22. Which province elected the first female provincial premier in 1993?
23. Which province was, in 1916, the first to grant women the right to vote?
24. Which province was, in 1940, the last to grant women the right to vote?
25. Winnifred Blair of Saint John, N.B., was crowned the first winner of this pageant, which was cancelled 69 years later, on Jan. 3, 1992.
26. On Aug. 31, 1976, Carallyn Bowes became the first woman to accomplish this, a feat that took 133 days to complete.
27. Canada's first post office was established in Halifax in 1755. The first Deputy Postmaster General was this American thinker and revolutionary.
28. On Feb. 26, 1972, Michel Girouard and his pianist, Rejean Tremblay, got married, the first of this kind of wedding in Canadian history.
29. In 1833, painter Joseph Legare opened Canada's first one of these, in Quebec City
30. Sir Alec Guinness spoke these immortal words on July 13, 1953: "Now is the winter of our discontent / Made glorious summer by this son of York" to debut this festival.
31. The very first YMCA in North America was opened in 1851 in this Canadian city.
32. This Canadian prime minister won the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in developing the UN Emergency Force in 1957.
33. Who was the first Canadian woman in space, flying aboard the American space shuttle Discovery from Jan. 22 to 30, 1992?
34. This sport, which origin-ated among the Algonquian tribes of the St Lawrence Valley, is the oldest organized sport continuously played in North America.
35. Between 1915 and 1994, The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup this many times.
36. In 1945, this Montreal Canadiens player was the first hockey player to score 50 goals in 50 games.
37. This kind of suit was developed in 1941 by W.R. Franks and his colleagues at the University of Toronto to allow pilots to carry out high-speed manoeuvres without losing consciousness.
38. This bridge, at 12.9 kilometres in length, is the longest bridge in the world to cross ice-covered saltwater.
39. In response to the temperance movement, Toronto pharmacist John J. McLaughlin invented this drink in 1907 as a popular alternative to alcohol.
40. Which province's entry into Confederation had to be moved up a day due to concerns that the original date, April 1, 1949, was April Fool's Day?
41. This prime minister holds the record for the shortest term, 69 days, from May 1 to July 8, 1896.
42. This prime minister holds the record for longest unbroken term, serving 15 straight years in office, from July 11, 1896, to Oct. 6, 1911.
43. The oldest dinosaur bones in Canada, fossils that are approximately 200 million years old, were found in what province?
44. Canada's most northerly point is this cape in Nunavut.
45. John Ware, nicknamed the "Smoked Irishman," started ranching in Alberta in the late 1880s and was the first black one of these in Canada.
46. Which of the following slogans is best associated with Canada's constitution? a. Liberty, equality, fraternity b. Peace, order and good government c. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
47. Name the trade agreement that links Canada, Mexico, and the United States, and which went into effect in 1994.
48. What was the name of the route used by fleeing American slaves to get to Canada?
49. Which American War sped the move toward Confederation?
50. In 1959, John Diefenbaker's government cancelled the development of what new warplane?
BONUS QUESTIONS
1. What year was Dr. Emily Howard Stowe, Canada's first female doctor, granted a medical licence?
2. Using tanks and a garden hose with no nozzle, Charles Merle Rolston of Vancouver opened the first one of these in Canada in 1908.
3. What Canadian city houses the longest continuously operating ballet company in Canada?
4. The Dionne quintuplets were born on May 28 of what year?
ANSWERS TO CANADA DAY QUIZ
1. Tommy Douglas
2. Sir John A. Macdonald
3. fur
4. Kurt Browning
5. Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic
6. the discovery of insulin
7. Quebec
8. a bill
9. influenza
10. conscription
11. Mount Logan, in the Yukon
12. FLQ (Front de liberation du Quebec)
13. Bertha Wilson
14. William Lyon Mackenzie King
15. Calixa Lavallee
16. The Commonwealth
17. The Famous Five
18. Montreal and Toronto
19. Montreal
20. Red Ensign
21. Spanish Civil War
22. P.E.I. (Catherine Callbeck)
23. Manitoba
24. Quebec
25. Miss Canada Pageant
26. running across Canada
27. Benjamin Franklin
28. a same-sex one
29. an art gallery
30. Stratford Shakespeare Festival
31. Montreal
32. Lester B. Pearson
33. Roberta Bondar
34. Lacrosse
35. 24
36. Maurice Richard
37. The G-suit
38. Confederation Bridge (between P.E.I. and New Brunswick)
39. Canada Dry Ginger Ale
40. Newfoundland
41. Sir Charles Tupper
42. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
43. Nova Scotia (at the Bay of Fundy, near Parrsboro)
44. Cape Columbia
45. a cowboy
46. b) Peace, order and good government
47. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
48. The Underground Railroad
49. The Civil War
50. The Avro Arrow
BONUS QUESITONS
1. 1880
2. a gas station
3. Winnipeg, since 1939
4. 1934
The Historica-Dominion Institute is the largest independent organization dedicated to history and citizenship in Canada. Its mandate is to build active and informed citizens through a greater knowledge and appreciation of the history, heritage and stories of Canada. Visit www. historica-dominion.ca.