Phished or smished, it's bad either way

  

It’s inevitable. Sooner or later, I will fall for a scam. Whether it means losing $5 or $50,000, I have no doubt that one day I will click on the link that gives over control of my computer and/or bank accounts. 

I consider myself rather tech-savvy and cautious. But when I see an email at the end of a hard day that says, Your refund is waiting: CLICK HERE... I might just have a momentary lapse in judgement. 

I know too many people who have fallen for online schemes, both large and small. It’s scary. We tend to be trusting people – we need this to survive. But when it comes to anything digital, be skeptical. 

When our employer sent out a test scam e-mail a couple years ago, 15% of employees fell for it. They believed it was legitimate and clicked on the link. The email didn’t even try to look official – it had a big, colourful bar graph showing that your email inbox was over its storage limit, tempting us all to click on the link for more information. 

While I didn’t fall for this one, I’ve come close to being fooled. When I received an email from someone I knew asking for money, it was a little disorienting. Why on earth would the board chair of a non-profit organization I’m part of be asking for an e-transfer? After a few emails back in forth, I figured out someone had hacked his email account. 

On the flip side, I’ve gotten authentic emails that I’ve thrown straight into the junk bin. I recall one work email that almost everyone deleted, thinking it was a scam. Nope, turns out it was just a sloppily written email. 

Better to delete an authentic message than open the wrong one. Ransomware has destroyed companies and has caused untold hardship for governments all over the world. Once a hacker has control over your data, you might as well cough up the cash, so it seems. 

Usually you can spot the scams, especially if it’s a company or bank you don’t do business with. There’s often a misspelled word somewhere in the email or a link that looks too obviously devious: NETFLEX SUBCRIPTION EXPIRRED.  

But the scams are becoming more sophisticated. Just ask Jon Podesta, former head of Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. After receiving an alarming message from what looked like Google in spring of 2016, he clicked on the link and then entered his email’s password at the prompt. That gave some savvy Russians access to his email inbox, including damaging emails about Clinton just as her campaign kicked off. That was one big, “Oops, did I do that?”  

These are called phishing schemes, where hackers try to get you to reveal personal information, whether it be passwords or banking information. Last week I heard about smishing schemes, where hackers send fake text messages to trick you into downloading malware that steals information from your phone. The text messages may look like they’re from the government, suggesting you’ve been ticketed, for example, and to click on the link to pay the fine. Once you click, it’s too late. 

We’ve become such a one-click society that I have no doubt we’ll all soon be infected. I send e-transfers to people with one click. I buy things with one click. The other day I wrote a cheque for the first time in years and it took me at least 30 seconds to complete, largely because I’ve forgotten how to write in cursive. Who has the time for this?? 

But at least I knew that cheque wouldn’t be hacked or tracked by some malicious actor in Russia. 

Convenience always comes at a cost. Be wary. 

 

 

Carbon tax the last straw?

  

My first economics course was magical. We learned how supply equals demand, how prices are set, and the concept of perfect competition. 

It was the simplest version of the theoretical world ever, and with youthful naivete, I gobbled it all up. Then came second-year environmental economics... No longer were the graphs so simple. There’s more to just supply and demand, as it turns out – pollution is involved! And the price of pollution depends on how much we, the public, care in dollars and cents. The current carbon tax debate is a real-world example of this dilemma. 

I considered taking third-year economics courses, but then decided to quit before the mathematical complexities overwhelmed me. I guess I prefer the simple graphs and explanations about how our economy works. And maybe, given economists’ poor track record as of late, the complex formulas don’t always serve them so well. 

Granted, the pandemic threw a wrench into things. Economists are good at assessing small societal changes but they’re not as prepared for full-blown global disruptions. Most didn’t foresee the stock market’s rise despite the momentary economic meltdown, nor did they foresee the inflationary pressures that followed. They didn’t expect interest rates to increase to where they are today.  

Perhaps even more troubling is that they fail to understand how devastating this new economic reality is for the average person. 

What I keep hearing from economists is that inflation isn’t as impactful as we think it is. Why? Because wages are increasing faster (in Canada, four percent a year!) With such good news, government leaders and economists alike are baffled as to why people aren’t happier in this economic climate. Even if we did experience a 12% increase in our salaries since the pandemic (that would have been great), groceries alone have increased 22% over that same time period!

But grocery prices are only a small part of it. Higher interest rates have caused financing costs for major purchases like cars and houses to skyrocket. This is a result of central banks increasing interest rates, which interestingly, much of the public thinks is intended to make things more expensive. 

My economics 100 class taught that central banks increase interest rates to bring prices down, not up. What we didn’t discuss is the collateral damage. By hiking interest rates, central banks hurt the economy in the short term (higher borrowing costs) for its long-term benefit (lower inflation). 

The problem is debt levels among Canadians are already dangerously high. When people in their 30s have only known interest rates of two to three percent, it can be devastating to suddenly have to pay six percent on a mortgage. The average price of an average home in Canada is expected to rise another five percent this year to $843,000 – I'd hate to know the monthly mortgage payment. In Canada, the average new vehicle loan payment in 2023 was about $900 a month. That’s what my mortgage was five years ago! (Yes, I’m an entitled Gen Xer – just a little less entitled than the Baby Boomers!)  

This is why the federal government should probably reconsider increasing the carbon tax this April. While I understand the economic rationale behind a carbon tax with a rebate (I can see the little graph in my head), it doesn’t make sense to the ordinary citizen. They see higher gas prices every day, particularly compared to our southern neighbour who doesn’t have a carbon tax or a GST. They also forget about the money that gets deposited in their bank account every few months (unless you live in BC, where it’s even worse because you likely get nothing!) 

In an inflationary environment that’s just beginning to cool, a 23% increase in the carbon tax this April is going to add one more straw to the proverbial camel's overburdened back. While relatively small, it could have unintended consequences for an economy that's beginning to falter. The economy is as psychological as it is about real dollars, something I also never learned in my economics class (what did I learn??)

Economists and governments of all stripes need to get a handle on that. 

Flat earthers have children, too

  

Ever wonder what it would take to change your most fervently held views? 

I’ve started to think about this in our increasingly polarized world. Over the past few years, I’ve seen some people do a complete 180 when it comes to their political views. I wonder what it would take for me to do a flip like that... To turn on Fox News and put on a MAGA cap. Would I have to hit rock bottom? Hmm... Probably. 

The divergence in political views is the most obvious schism in our society. It’s become more significant than religious differences, although the two are often intertwined.  

Where do we obtain these stridently held views? As it turns out, we’re at highest risk of adopting the same ideologies as our parents. As much as we like to think we’re independent free thinkers, our political and religious views are most influenced by how we are raised.  

That’s not to say you’ll hold the exact same perspective as your mom or dad. Generations hold different views. Genders hold different views. Research now shows that young women are becoming more liberal than past generations while young men are becoming slightly more conservative. 

It’s also common to change our views over time. I freely admit, I’ve become more conservative as I’ve grown older. But compared to people my age who actually call themselves conservative, I’m probably still far in left field.

Yet I can also be pragmatic and willing to compromise, which would suggest I’m not a complete idealogue. In my view, that’s a good thing – but again, it’s my view. Some people may not see that as a positive. 

Especially when the stakes are high, one can see how a willingness to compromise can be viewed as a weakness. On the issues I hold dear, like providing aid for Ukraine, I don’t see a whole lot of grey area.  I can create numerous arguments to defend my position, even though I understand there’s always a limit to the support that can be provided. 

On less controversial subjects, I may cede more ground. I’ve been an ardent environmentalist in the past, but I’ve softened those views as I’ve come to realize there’s a limit to environmental protection while also improving living standards. Why should wealthy nations impose economic restrictions on the rest of the world without allowing them to first rise out of poverty? 

Sounds reasonable, at least to me.

If you’re someone who believes we need to stop economic growth immediately for the benefit of future generations, you won’t think I sound reasonable. I’m part of the problem! And you could be right – who knows how bad it could get in 100 years. 

And if you’re someone who says climate change doesn’t exist and, even if it did, it doesn’t matter because the world will end soon anyway, I get... uneasy. I might even get a little worked up. 

It can be an interesting but daunting exercise to try to defend someone’s viewpoint whom you vehemently disagree with. I can get into the head of a climate change denier (some of whom I am friends with) and we can peacefully co-exist. But what about a hard-right-wing anti-immigrant Trump supporter?

If I tried hard enough, I suppose I could understand why they feel the way they do... Social changes can make us all uneasy at times – especially us non-Millennials. And while I don’t agree with this, I can understand how newcomers could be viewed as undeservedly taking peoples’ jobs and benefits. And government regulations do tend to hinder economic opportunity. Just ask the man from New York who struggled for a year to get a liquor license for his new restaurant, only to be closed a few days later due to pandemic restrictions. He had a seemingly legitimate reason to take a turn to the far right. 

I suppose even flat earthers have a point. Isn’t life far simpler when you don’t have to worry about what revolves around what? So much easier when you’re explaining it to the kids! 

Obviously, this gets more difficult the more extreme the view. But it can be a useful exercise to at least try to relate.

In a polarized world, everything helps.