FTC Scam Alert: Equifax isn’t calling

Many Franklinites are likely among those affected by the Equifax breach (as I was). Hence, this is worthy of sharing!

Equifax isn't calling by Lisa Weintraub Schifferle Attorney, FTC, Division of Consumer and Business Education Ring, ring. "This is Equifax calling to verify your account information." Stop. Don't tell them anything. They're not from Equifax. It's a scam. Equifax will not call you out of the blue. Follow the link to read more This is a free service provided by the Federal Trade Commission.

---

Also from the Federal Trade Commission - What to do
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/blog/2017/09/equifax-data-breach-what-do

"Are Your Kids Addicted To Their Phones? 'Screenagers' Wants to Help"

"Are you watching kids scroll through life, with their rapid-fire thumbs and a six-second attention span? Physician and filmmaker Delaney Ruston saw that with her own kids and learned that the average kid spends 6.5 hours a day looking at screens. She wondered about the impact of all this time and about the friction occurring in homes and schools around negotiating screen time—friction she knew all too well.

In SCREENAGERS, as with her award-winning documentaries on mental health, Delaney takes a deeply personal approach as she probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including her own, to explore struggles over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction. Through poignant, and unexpectedly funny stories, along with surprising insights from authors, psychologists, and brain scientists, SCREENAGERS reveals how tech time impacts kids’ development and offers solutions on how adults canempower kids to best navigate the digital world and find balance."

SCREENAGERS (Official Trailer) from Delaney Ruston on Vimeo.

More info can be found on their webpage  http://www.screenagersmovie.com/

In the News: Franklin's Liberatore on top team; Governor will let Legislature deal with marijuana sales tax

From the Milford Daily News, articles of interest for Franklin:

"A student cybersecurity team from MassBay Community College placed fourth at the National Cyber League 2016 Competition. The seven-member student team from MassBay, called the Segfault, was ranked fourth out of 144 teams nationwide, and included a Franklin resident. 

The team consisted of Andrew Liberatore, of Franklin, as well as Paul Buonopane, David Dew, Chester Moses, Timothy Ferguson, Corey Skinner and Fred Dolan. 

The students have been working together since the beginning of the fall 2016 semester and have competed in the preseason, regular season and postseason of the National Cyber League competition. The competition is held online in a cloud-based environment, where students compete to solve real problems. The MassBay team was given problems to solve that replicate what it might face in the real world if its company fell victim to hackers. The team dissected the problems to find solutions, which included downloading files, decryption to view passwords and analyzing information on the attack."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161220/massbay-community-college-places-fourth-in-cyber-league-competition

http://www.massbay.edu/

"Gov. Charlie Baker couldn't quite bring himself on Monday to say he would support a higher tax rate on retail marijuana sales, but he didn't rule it out either. 

"I'm going to let the Legislature kick this one around a little, " Baker said during his monthly appearance on WGBH's "Boston Public Radio" show. "No, no, no, no," he added as clarification when host Jim Braude brought up a possible veto threat. 

Several prominent Democrats, including Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, have been open with their belief that the 3.75 percent retail sales tax on pot is too low, and will be up for debate when the Legislature considers changes in the new year to the legalization law that went into effect last Thursday. 

The ballot law stipulated a 3.75 percent excise tax on marijuana that would be added to the state's 6.25 percent sales tax, effectively taxing pot at 10 percent to start. Cities and towns have the ability to add an additional sales tax of up to 2 percent on top of that."

Continue reading the article online (subscription may be required)
http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/20161220/baker-leaving-pot-tax-debate-to-legislature-for-now

Note: The Franklin Town Council takes up the measure that would add 2% for the local portion of the tax at the meeting scheduled for Weds, Dec 21.

http://www.franklinmatters.org/2016/12/franklin-ma-town-council-agenda-122116.html