Latest news with #Older
Cision Canada
02-06-2025
- Business
- Cision Canada
Seniors Month 2025: CBA Enhances Fraud Prevention Resources to Empower Older Adults in Combating Financial Scams and Abuse Français
TORONTO, June 2, 2025 /CNW/ - As several provinces mark Seniors Month in June, the Canadian Bankers Association (CBA) is reaffirming its commitment to financial literacy and raising fraud awareness through its enhanced Fraud Prevention Toolkit for Older Adults. This Toolkit features new and revised guidance designed to empower older Canadians to safeguard their finances, stay vigilant against financial scams, and take action when they encounter fraudulent activities. Canadians are strongly encouraged to report suspected scams immediately through appropriate channels to help protect one another. Fraud targeting older adults is a growing concern in Canada and around the world, as fraudsters and cybercriminals exploit factors such as social isolation, financial assets, and limited digital confidence 1. Banks, governments, law enforcement and community stakeholders recognize that it is a priority to address the challenge together through sharing best practices and strengthen protections for Canadians, especially older adults. Anthony G. Ostler, President and CEO of the Canadian Bankers Association, said: "Financial fraud and scams affect all Canadians, with older adults feeling most at risk 2. That's why the CBA and its members continually work to combat fraud and cybersecurity threats, including convening a cross-sector anti-scam alliance, providing digital educational resources, and offering free financial literacy seminars. Through collective action, we aim to enhance resilience against fraud and scams, reducing their impact on Canadians." Empowers older adults: tackling AI-driven scams with the updated Fraud Prevention Toolkit Scammers are constantly evolving their tactics to evade detection, and emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) have made it easier for them to create highly convincing scams. AI can quickly generate emails and messages mimicking an individual's style and language. It can also clone voices and fabricate realistic images, audio, or videos of real people in just minutes. 3 As impersonation fraud rapidly becomes one of the fastest-growing forms of financial crime, it is crucial to help seniors navigate these evolving threats with confidence. In response, the CBA, in partnership with Get Cyber Safe, has updated its Fraud Prevention Toolkit for Older Adults, offering additional guidance on identifying AI-driven fraud and scams. By staying informed, recognizing warning signs, and safeguarding personal information, Canadians can more effectively avoid the risks of financial loss, identity theft, and other serious consequences. The power of reporting: a vital step in fighting financial crime Another key update in the Toolkit is a simple step-by-step guide on reporting scams, encouraging Canadians targeted by scams to take action right away and protect one another. Reporting scams plays an important role in combating financial crime. Local police investigate reported incidents, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) supports law enforcement by sharing information collected through these reports 4. Common types of scams that should be reported include text scams, phishing emails, phone scams and fraudulent websites. By reporting suspicious activities, Canadians help the tracking of criminal organizations, identify emerging fraud patterns, prevent future scams, and raise awareness of new threats. Safeguarding seniors: recognizing and preventing financial abuse June 15 also marks World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a global initiative dedicated to raising awareness about the abuse, neglect, and exploitation of older adults. Financial abuse, one of the most common forms of elder abuse in Canada 5, is not only unethical but illegal. Reflected in this year's theme "Grow the Conversation … Recognize the Signs, Reduce the Risks", the CBA encourages older Canadians to learn how to identify financial abuse indicators and take proactive steps to protect themselves and their loved ones. To support this, the CBA has a package of resources on financial abuse including printable tip sheets: CBA member banks support the Code of Conduct for the Delivery of Banking Services to Seniors, reinforcing their longstanding commitment to respond to the unique, evolving needs of senior customers. That includes training for bank employees on how to help older customers avoid financial abuse, fraud and scams. Building financial confidence: free seminars for older Canadians Financial literacy is a lifelong skill that helps Canadians protect themselves and make informed financial decisions. In partnership with the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), the CBA offers Your Money Seniors, a free, non-commercial seminar program that supports older adults in spotting scams, understanding the risks of joint accounts, and preparing for retirement. Senior groups across Canada can request a seminar, delivered by bank volunteer committed to improving financial literacy in their community through the online seminar request form. About the Canadian Bankers Association The Canadian Bankers Association is the voice of more than 60 domestic and foreign banks that help drive Canada's economic growth and prosperity. The CBA advocates for public policies that contribute to a sound, thriving banking system to ensure Canadians can succeed in their financial goals.
Irish Independent
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Smear tests, magic knickers and having a laugh – Being an older, bolder, wiser version of Vogue Williams is comedy gold
Anyway, I was 'working' in the home, minding the kids, and running the house and very conscious of the increasing pressure on my self-employed husband who was trying to earn enough to keep our little boat afloat. Our kids were 23, 12 and 10 and the oldest was about to emigrate. It was time for me to go back to paid work. We were broke. Before being a 'housewife' I had worked for a national charity as their PRO and fundraising manager. I had skills. I had experience. I knew that the recession might mean it would take a bit longer to gain employment, but I never doubted that I would get a job. Boy, was I wrong. I hadn't bargained for the fact that my approaching 50th birthday, coupled with the 10-year gap on my CV where my career used to live, rendered me not one bit attractive to an employer. Oh yes, sexism with ageism is a lethal cocktail. It took me until early 2012, as I turned 50, to finally realise that my chances of getting a job were remote. We desperately needed the money and so I needed to do something. In the end I decided to focus on what I loved most – writing and talking and see if I could paid that way. So began a long apprenticeship, learning to write opinion pieces for the papers and contributing to radio – both local and national. It was not lucrative but it was enjoyable, and I felt that it might lead to other opportunities. But had you told me, at any time, during the last 13 years, that in 2025 I would be touring my own one woman show, I would have laughed in your face in disbelief. Now let's be clear. I am not playing the 3 Arena or even Vicar Street (yet), but I am delivering my show, called Older, Bolder, Wiser in what promoters would call 'intimate venues' around the country and I am delighted that that includes playing the Wexford Arts Centre this Friday, May 23. Older Bolder Wiser is sort of a follow-up to a book that I wrote during Covid, which was published in 2022 called Wise Up. I had always wanted to write a book and as I cruised towards my late 50s I realised that life post menopause was not at all what I was expecting it to be. It was far better. I wondered why no one told women about the freedoms and the fun of these later decades. After the book came out, I was invited to various places to give talks on what could loosely be called 'positive ageing' and I realised that I was a woman on a mission. And that mission is to tell women (of all ages) not to buy into the consumerist messaging around anti ageing and other nonsense. Because yes, your looks do change as you age but if you become obsessed with that fact, you miss out on what getting older is actually about. Once you are through menopause, life is full of delicious freedoms. We are living longer and healthier and so our 60s and 70s provide the opportunity for all kinds of mischief, boldness, reinvention, experimentation or just the chance to have some fun. It is then that I believe women step into their true matriarchal power. Through Wise Up I met two women who were organising the first Funny Women comedy show since the pandemic and they rather 'assertively' encouraged me to take part. I was very unconvinced that I could do comedy, but in an effort to practice what I preach (the gospel of 'sure why not try') I thought I would give it a shot. And I got bitten by the stand-up comedy bug. I discovered that making people laugh is the most wonderful privilege. I have also realised that as older people, we have so many stories, so much experience, and much of it is comedy gold. So, I am mining my own life for the pure hilarity; tales about smear tests and so-called magic knickers, about navigating the world as a 6-foot-tall woman and the absurdities of getting older. There is so much to guffaw about. But the best thing about doing this show is that it is giving me the opportunity to meet so many women all over the country, giddy women with their own stories. Oh yes, we can all be Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally….. only we are older, bolder, wiser!!
Gulf Today
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Lizzy McAlpine makes her Broadway debut, coming at a perfect time
Lizzy McAlpine is surrounded by music these days. She's making her Broadway debut in a daring stage musical, and when she retreats to her dressing room, her own songs demand attention. 'When the inspiration hits, I've got to write. I've got to have a guitar there or else I'll go crazy,' she says. 'I just kind of have to wait for them. I can't really force a song.' The folk-pop singer-songwriter is following-up last year's release of her third album, 'Older,' with a role in 'Floyd Collins,' a musical about life, death and fame. She calls it perfect timing. 'I was starting to feel like I wanted to do something new, and this kind of came at the perfect time. It's the first and only Broadway show that I've ever auditioned for,' she says. McAlpine has been building a sonic reputation for raw, stripped-down tracks and intimate, deeply reflective lyrics. Her single 'Ceilings' went viral on TikTok, and 'Older' has been hailed by critics. Broadway made sense for a woman who grew up watching shows in New York and who has an 'ability to infuse each song with character, as if acting,' the AP said in a review of 'Older.' 'I feel like all of my music has musical theater in it because I have loved theater for so long,' she says. 'I saw my first Broadway show and I was like 8, and so, it just kind of seeps into my music whether I am conscious of it or not.' 'Floyd Collins,' which just earned six Tony Award nominations, tells the tale of a hapless explorer who gets himself trapped in a Kentucky cave in 1925, triggering the first modern media frenzy. McAlpine plays Floyd Collins' sister, a woman who doesn't fit in. 'She is strange, definitely, but it's just because she's in her own world, and she sees the world differently than everyone else. She sees the beauty in it. She's like a sponge. She picks up everything that everyone is throwing out. She's just different. Not necessarily in a bad way,' McAlpine says. 'It explores being a young woman in the 1920s and being misunderstood and not listened to and not heard, and that's like been a theme in my life because I'm working in the music industry. I'm surrounded by men all the time.' McAlpine, 25, didn't know much about 'Floyd Collins' — it deputed off-Broadway in 1996 — but was a fan of its composer and lyricist, Adam Guettel, who created 'The Light in the Piazza,' one of her favorite musicals. 'I saw his name and I was like, 'Oh, I love him.' So I listened to the cast recording on Spotify from the original production and immediately was just hooked,' she says. 'It just sounded like nothing that was on Broadway now. It was just so unique, and I love that kind of stuff.' McAlpine, who was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia and attended the Berklee College of Music, did theatre in high school. Associated Press
Glasgow Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Pop singer Isabel LaRosa coming to SWG3 in Glasgow
Isabel LaRosa, best known for songs like I'm Yours and Older, will be performing at SWG3 in the West End of the city. The gig will take place on Wednesday, December 3. READ NEXT: American metal band formed in 90s announce exciting Glasgow show The singer rose to prominence following the release of I'm Yours in 2022, which went viral on TikTok. She has since released her debut EP, I'm Watching You, in 2022. Her debut studio album, Raven, was released on April 18, 2025. READ NEXT: Hit US rock band announce show at Glasgow venue Tickets will go live at 10am on May 16. Pre-sale tickets will also be available from May 15 at 10am. To purchase tickets, visit
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Singer-songwriter Lizzy McAlpine makes her Broadway debut, coming at a 'perfect time'
NEW YORK (AP) — Lizzy McAlpine is surrounded by music these days. She's making her Broadway debut in a daring stage musical, and when she retreats to her dressing room, her own songs demand attention. 'When the inspiration hits, I've got to write. I've got to have a guitar there or else I'll go crazy,' she says. 'I just kind of have to wait for them. I can't really force a song.' The folk-pop singer-songwriter is following-up last year's release of her third album, 'Older,' with a role in 'Floyd Collins,' a musical about life, death and fame. She calls it perfect timing. 'I was starting to feel like I wanted to do something new, and this kind of came at the perfect time. It's the first and only Broadway show that I've ever auditioned for,' she says. McAlpine has been building a sonic reputation for raw, stripped-down tracks and intimate, deeply reflective lyrics. Her single 'Ceilings' went viral on TikTok, and 'Older' has been hailed by critics. Broadway made sense for a woman who grew up watching shows in New York and who has an 'ability to infuse each song with character, as if acting,' the AP said in a review of 'Older.' 'I feel like all of my music has musical theater in it because I have loved theater for so long,' she says. 'I saw my first Broadway show and I was like 8, and so, it just kind of seeps into my music whether I am conscious of it or not.' 'In her own world' 'Floyd Collins,' which just earned six Tony Award nominations, tells the tale of a hapless explorer who gets himself trapped in a Kentucky cave in 1925, triggering the first modern media frenzy. McAlpine plays Floyd Collins' sister, a woman who doesn't fit in. 'She is strange, definitely, but it's just because she's in her own world, and she sees the world differently than everyone else. She sees the beauty in it. She's like a sponge. She picks up everything that everyone is throwing out. She's just different. Not necessarily in a bad way,' McAlpine says. 'It explores being a young woman in the 1920s and being misunderstood and not listened to and not heard, and that's like been a theme in my life because I'm working in the music industry. I'm surrounded by men all the time.' McAlpine, 25, didn't know much about 'Floyd Collins' — it deputed off-Broadway in 1996 — but was a fan of its composer and lyricist, Adam Guettel, who created 'The Light in the Piazza,' one of her favorite musicals. 'I saw his name and I was like, 'Oh, I love him.' So I listened to the cast recording on Spotify from the original production and immediately was just hooked,' she says. 'It just sounded like nothing that was on Broadway now. It was just so unique, and I love that kind of stuff.' Broadway lured her McAlpine, who was raised in a suburb of Philadelphia and attended the Berklee College of Music, did theater in high school. Her grandparents would take her and her siblings to Broadway every year, and her mom would sing 'Wicked' in the car. During the pandemic, she livestreamed Broadway covers on Instagram. 'She had a kind of unaffected directness and purity and honesty in how she approached the reading of the role, to say nothing of the singing,' says Tina Landau, who directed 'Floyd Collins' as well as supplied the book and some lyrics. 'I really felt that there was something in how unfettered and organic and unadorned her approach to it was that was perfect for the character, because Nellie just speaks truth.' McAlpine remembers seeing 'My Fair Lady' at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center — the same theater she graces in 'Floyd Collins.' 'Sometimes I'm on stage and I'm just thinking about I was in the audience one time, and it is just so crazy.' After the musical, she plans on another album, and the music that's coming out has been touched by the show. 'It feels like it's becoming more complex because I'm singing these songs that are so complex every day,' she says. After that, she's open to ideas, even to more theater. 'It has to be the right thing. This felt like it came to me at the exact right time in my life, and this was the exact right show for me. And so, if something else comes along, it would have to be the exact set of circumstances.' If that sounds like a singer-songwriter who is taking charge of her career, McAlpine would agree. She's done, for example, with an unhealthy pace to her tours. 'I'm finally at a place in my career where I can make decisions and do things that really align with myself. There was a while there before my last album where I was kind of just being pulled along, and I was just doing things because that's how everyone does them,' she says. 'I feel like I am now more sure of myself, and I know what I have to do to make myself feel comfortable. Even if it's outside of the norm or what other people do in the industry, I'm going to do it anyway.'
