Just as job hunters use LinkedIn to connect with former colleagues and potential employers, scammers also use the networking service to find targets.

If you have a LinkedIn account, watch out for suspicious “recruiters” and job offers.

The scam works like this: You get a LinkedIn message asking you to apply for a job. It comes from someone who appears to be a recruiter. You check out their LinkedIn profile, and it looks legitimate. You may even have several connections in common!

From here, the scam works in a couple of different ways. Sometimes, the message contains a link that appears to point to an online job application. You’re supposed to upload your resume and provide personal information, anything from your address and phone number to your Social Security number.

Other times, you respond to the message and are immediately “hired” for the job – without an interview or even a phone call. Then, you’re asked to pay upfront for training, supplies or other expenses.

A consumer in Sonoma County reported a similar employment scam to BBB Scam Tracker in June. They wrote that they were “contacted via text” about a job and were put in touch with a hiring person who they emailed with. They were offered a job even though they “had zero skills for the position.” Then they were asked to “purchase software for a computer [the company] was allegedly going to send me.”

It’s important to always be careful when looking for a job, because employment scams can happen anywhere – over email or text, and on social media and job sites.

In 2016, more than 2,000 reports of employment scams were collected through BBB Scam Tracker, and according to the BBB Risk Index, they’re the third riskiest scam for consumers.

No matter the details of the scam, the job never materializes. The scammer takes the money or information and disappears. Victims who share personal details are at risk for identity theft.

Here are some tips for spotting and avoiding job scams on LinkedIn:

– Set your LinkedIn privacy settings. You can limit which LinkedIn users can send you messages or connection requests. To do so, log in to your LinkedIn account, click “Me” at the top right of the page, and then click on “Settings & Privacy,” and then “Communications.” There you can edit what types of emails you’d like to receive and who can send them.
– Don’t accept every request you get. Check out the user’s profile for completeness and correct grammar. Just because you have several connections in common does not mean that they are real. Scammers frequently create a large network to look more legitimate.
– Ask to talk on the phone. If a recruiter contacts you through email, ask to speak by phone. Scammers will try to dodge this with excuses, such as being out of the country.
– Know the signs. Many job scams use very similar techniques, such as vague job titles, work from home positions, and on-the-spot hiring. Learn the red flags at www.bbb.org/employmentscam.

If you encounter an employment scam, make sure to report it to BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker. To learn more about scams, go to BBB Scam Tips at www.bbb.org/scamtips.

Rebecca Harpster is community outreach coordinator for the BBB serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California.

Make your New Year’s Resolution this year easy and fun by making a resolution to read more in 2018.

Besides enjoyment there are a host of other benefits that make a resolution to read something that can really have a positive impact on your life.

If your resolution is to get healthy in 2018 reading can assist with that. Not only can you read books about health such as “The Whole30” by Melissa Hartwig, but the act of reading itself has many health benefits.

Stress has a negative impact on your health. Research done at the University of Sussex found that reading was one of the most relaxing ways to combat stress. Just a few minutes of reading was enough to slow heart rate and ease muscle tension.

It also only takes a few minutes a day of reading to provide serious brain stimulation. Researchers have found that the things you read about can stimulate your brain in the same ways as if you live those experiences.

Research conducted with a grant from the Medical Research Council used neuroimaging to figure out that reading words like “cinnamon” caused activity in the same regions of your brain that process smell.

A different experiment found that reading action sentences related to movement activated the sensory-motor system in the brain.

Reading an action thriller might get your motor neurons pumping just like you were the main character in Dan Brown’s “Origin” and on the run from a homicidal secret society.

The stimulating effects of reading on the brain also helps build something called “cognitive reserve” that may help prevent a slowdown in our thinking as we age.

The Yale School of Public Health studied data about the reading habits of people over 50 and found that people who read books lived longer than those who didn’t.

The researchers speculate that reading helps forge new pathways between all the different regions of the brain. These extra pathways may help promote overall brain health and slow any age or disease related decline.

Getting lost in a story is good for more than just brain stimulation. It helps build literacy skills which in turn help you get more enjoyment out of life. Literacy is more than just the ability to read and write.

A high level of literacy allows people to communicate effectively and to understand complex ideas. People with a higher level of literacy tend to be more creative and have a positive outlook on life in general. The easiest way to increase your personal literacy skills is to make a habit of reading.

Building literacy skills is a lifelong endeavor and the best way to build a strong reading habit is to start when you are young.

Parents who read to children, even when they seem too young to understand the words, build a strong parental bond with their child and help them develop a love of reading. Clever picture books like “I Want My Hat Back” by Jon Klassen make reading fun for both children and adults.

The Lake County Library can help with your resolution to read.

The library has titles in multiple formats including eBooks, audiobooks, and large print so you can read however you prefer.

Visit the library’s Web site at http://library.lakecountyca.gov to request any of the books mentioned in this article and also check out information about getting a library card, library services, and library events.

Christopher Veach is the librarian for Lake County, Calif.

How much will your Medicare cost in the coming year? The numbers just came out, so let’s go over them.

We’ll start with the Medicare Part B premium. Part B covers doctor services, outpatient hospital services, certain home health services, durable medical equipment, and other items.

The standard monthly premium for people with Part B will be $134 for 2018, the same amount as in 2017.

Under the law, people with Part B pay 25 percent of the costs of running the program, with the government picking up 75 percent.

A statutory “hold harmless” provision applies each year to about 70 percent of Part B enrollees. For these enrollees, any increase in Part B premiums must be lower than any cost-of-living increase in their Social Security benefits.

After several years of no or very small increases, Social Security benefits will increase by 2 percent in 2018 due to a cost-of-living adjustment. Therefore, some beneficiaries who were held harmless against Part B premium increases in prior years will see a higher premium in 2018.

Part B enrollees held harmless in 2016 and 2017 will see an increase in their Part B premiums from the roughly $109, on average, they paid in 2017. An estimated 42 percent of Part B enrollees are subject to the hold harmless provision in 2018 but will pay the full premium of $134, because the increase in their Social Security benefit will be greater than or equal to an increase in their Part B premiums up to the full 2018 amount.

About 28 percent of Part B enrollees are subject to the hold harmless provision in 2018 but will pay less than the full $134 premium. That’s because the increase in their Social Security benefit isn’t big enough to cover the full Part B premium increase.

The remaining 30 percent of Part B enrollees aren’t subject to the hold harmless provision and will pay the full $134 per month in 2018. This group includes beneficiaries who don’t receive Social Security benefits; enroll in Part B for the first time in 2018; are directly billed for their Part B premium; are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid and have their premiums paid by state Medicaid agencies; and pay higher premiums because their incomes are higher.

Since 2007, beneficiaries with higher incomes have paid higher Part B premiums. These higher premiums apply to about 5 percent of people with Part B.

For a chart showing premiums at higher income levels, go to https://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2017-Fact-Sheet-items/2017-11-17.html.

The annual deductible for Part B will be $183 in 2018, the same amount as in 2017.

Now let’s take a look at Medicare Part A, which covers inpatient hospital care, skilled nursing services, and some home health services.

About 99 percent of Medicare beneficiaries don’t pay any Part A premium since they’ve worked for at least 40 quarters in Medicare-covered jobs.

The Part A deductible that beneficiaries pay when admitted to the hospital in 2018 will be $1,340 per benefit period, a rise of $24 from 2017. The Part A deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of costs for the first 60 days of Medicare-covered inpatient hospital care in a benefit period.

Beneficiaries must pay a coinsurance amount of $335 per day for the 61st through 90th day of a hospitalization (versus $329 in 2017) in a benefit period, and $670 per day for lifetime reserve days ($658 in 2017).

For beneficiaries in skilled nursing facilities, the daily coinsurance for days 21 through 100 of extended care services in a benefit period will be $167.50 in 2018 ($164.50 in 2017).

You can find an explanation of benefit periods (and lots of other valuable information) in the “Medicare & You” handbook, at https://www.medicare.gov/medicare-and-you/medicare-and-you.html .

Happy holidays to you and your loved ones!

Greg Dill is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories. You can always get answers to your Medicare questions by calling 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227).

On Jan. 1, many of us will make resolutions about our health, time management, habits or relationships.

While these all have value, allow me to suggest another idea – resolve to measure your success this year by the well-being of the youngest children in your life.

Did you know that, according to the Harvard Center for the Developing Child, 90 percent of a person’s brain development happens before age 5?

This means that the foundation for lifelong learning, social and emotional development, and good mental and physical health is established before a child ever enters kindergarten.

The building blocks for the future of our county reside in the interactions we have with our youngest citizens. Key factors like resilient families, consistent health care and high-quality child care and education make all the difference.

On the flipside of this, adverse childhood experiences (also known as ACEs), such as abuse, neglect, lack of affection, abandonment, domestic violence, substance abuse in the home, etc., can all create toxic stress in the developing brains of young children.

Toxic stress is stress that isn’t made tolerable by a caring adult, and it erodes the foundation of brain development and increases the likelihood of chronic physical and mental health problems later in life.

In a 2010 Lake County survey of adults about adverse childhood experiences, more than 40 percent of those surveyed indicated that they had experienced at least five or more ACEs prior to age 18.

We live in beautiful place, but it is also a place where generational cycles of toxic stress need to be broken and resilient families need to be built and supported.

So, how can you be part of the solution in 2018?

Think about the youngest children in your life – your own children, grandchildren, nieces/nephews, your friends’ children or grandchildren, your neighbors, the children who attend your church or walk through the doors of your business.

What can you do in 2018 to ensure that these children are getting everything they need to build a solid foundation for future success?

Here are some suggestions to get you started.

Parents: Sign up for a nurturing families parenting class! Attend the safe sleep class at one of our local hospitals. Register your child for the Imagination Library and start receiving free books each month. Look into high quality preschool and childcare settings and ask good questions. Join the Mother-Wise Facebook group and attend one of their weekly gatherings or monthly socials. Find a family doctor or pediatrician who you trust and get a list of key dates to schedule well-child visits. Follow the Lake Bloom Facebook page and engage with their parenting challenges each month. Take good care of yourself and pay attention to how your own stress impacts your children.

Grandparents: Check out the “Just for Grandparents” page on the First 5 Lake Web site and get up to speed on everything that has changed since your children were born. Be a source of unconditional love and security. Keep a collection of toys and books at your house. Introduce your grandchildren to family traditions. Become familiar with local places for safe and engaging outings – First 5 Early Learning Centers, county parks and libraries, museums, etc.

Friends/relatives: Visit or call the Lake Family Resource Center and familiarize yourself with the many resources available to families in our county so that you can offer suggestions for support when needed. Up your language game when you are around young children by interacting with them using a wide variety of words and phrases and by following their lead when reading books or playing with toys. Offer to babysit, particularly when you see a friend could use a break. Make your home/church/business a place where young children are safe and welcomed. Become a Mother-Wise volunteer.

Health care workers: Learn more about ACEs and how they affect your patients’ health and wellbeing. Offer parents the ages and stages questionnaire when they have questions about their child’s developmental milestones (Easter Seals Bay Area can provide these). Keep a variety of children’s books in your waiting room.

Childcare providers: Participate in the Lake County Quality Rating Improvement System, or QRIS. Contact North Coast Opportunities Resource & Referral for information on professional development opportunities. Empower parents to be their child’s first and best teachers. Remind yourself on a regular basis about the high value of your work.

All of us: Pay attention to local, state and federal legislation that could positively or negatively affect critical services for children and be a vocal advocate. Look around your neighborhood and think about ways you can make your block, street, community safer, cleaner and more welcoming for children at play and parents with strollers.

You won’t be in this alone! The First 5 Network (comprised of local First 5 Commissions, the First 5 Association and First 5 California) recently adopted this vision statement: One day, California’s success will be measured by the wellbeing of its youngest children.

Let’s resolve to make this vision a reality together, starting in 2018, right here in Lake County.

Information and links about brain development, ACEs, and all of the resources mentioned in this article can be found at www.firstfivelake.org.

Carla Ritz is executive director of First 5 Lake in Lake County, Calif.

Holidays can be a difficult time for many who have experienced the death of a loved one.

“If only I can get through the holidays” is often a refrain during this season. In the roller coaster of grief, holidays are, for many people, a low point.

There are many reasons why the holidays can be so difficult.

The holidays are often a time to pause, reflect on all the holiday experiences we’ve had, both good and bad. We remember all the people who have been part of our lives.

We are reminded of that person’s part in our lives. Holidays are full of memories and expectations often intensifying our loss, and we feel the absence of our loved one even more.

Holidays are not only times for past memories, but for fantasies of the present and future as well.

As we shop we may see things that would be perfect gifts for the person who died. We envision how that person would be so delighted when the gift is opened.

Often holidays are stressful times in themselves. There are so many things to do, so much to accomplish, and expectations of how the holiday “should be.” Everyone seems so happy and cheerful. It’s easy to feel isolated, alone and different.

Recognizing that the holidays can be painful often helps ease the sense of isolation. We can acknowledge that this is a normal reaction to grief.

We can make decisions about the best ways to cope, about how, where and with whom we will spend the holidays. Honestly talking over our feelings and plans with family and friends may help us in making decisions.

The key is to be gentle with ourselves. We need to trust and follow our instincts about what we must do, or should do. We need to hope that each year will be easier, and believe that someday the pain will end.

You might tell yourself, “I can and will reach out for support during the holidays. I will become filled with hope and believe that I can and will survive this loss.” Setting your intent to heal is not only a way of surviving your loss; it is a way of actively guiding your loss.

Ideas and activities for surviving the holidays

Be kind to yourself and take care. Grief is a time when it is crucial to take good care of you. Nothing will make a bigger difference than honoring your needs and feelings.

Only do as much as you can comfortably manage, even for a special day. Take care of yourself physically, emotionally, cognitively and spiritually.

Physically, when people are in grief, their bodies often take on some of the stress of the experience. This stress can lead to common bodily symptoms such as trouble sleeping, low energy, muscle aches and pains, headaches, digestive problems, tightness in the throat or chest. It is always a good idea to consult with your physician when in question.

While mourning, make use of the simple things such as exercise, good nutrition, and adequate sleep to help alleviate these symptoms.

Emotionally you may experience a wide range of emotions: disorganization, confusion, anxiety, sadness, fear, guilt and relief are just a few of the emotions you might feel as a part of your grief journey. No emotion is right or wrong, and all are deserving of attention and respect. Find listeners who will accept your feelings without condition.

Cognitively, grief affects our ability to think, absorb information and make decisions and reason logically. Mourners often struggle with short term memory problems and have trouble making decisions. They also may seem confused and unable to pay attention. Cognitive difficulties such as these are normal and temporary. As time passes and as the mourner’s grief needs are met, cognitive deficits will slowly reverse.

Mourning is a spiritual journey of the heart and soul. If you have faith or spirituality, express it in ways that seem appropriate to you. Attend church or your place of worship, reading religious or spiritual texts, and praying or meditating or spending time alone in nature are a few ways of expressing your faith.

From the words of Dr. Alan Wolfelt from his book, “Healing Your Holiday Grief, 100 practical ideas for blending mourning and celebrating during the holiday season,” ”This holiday season may be difficult for you. As you now know, one of the basic truths of grief is that it does – it must – involve pain and sadness. But there will be better tomorrows. Over time, periods of grieving tend to soften in intensity and duration. Next holiday season, you will likely experience less sadness and more joy. While they will forevermore remain somewhat bittersweet for you, the holidays can once again become that ‘most wonderful time of the year.’ Believe in a better next year. Believe in your capacity to heal and grow through grief. Believe in the enduring holiday spirit of giving and love.”

Linda Laing, MFP, ATR is director of bereavement services at Hospice Services of Lake County, Calif.

Nov. 25 marks the eighth annual “Small Business Saturday”! This special shopping day, which falls on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, aims to support and bring attention to local small businesses during the holiday shopping season.

Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, two days known for large sales offered by even-larger retailers, Small Business Saturday offers an opportunity to recognize the small businesses that are often the cornerstones of communities.

Shopping at small businesses helps the local economy, promotes entrepreneurship and helps preserve neighborhoods and their unique identities.

BBB strives to support businesses of all sizes every day by setting standards for marketplace ethics and behavior and by connecting consumers to trustworthy businesses.

According to the Small Business Saturday Consumer Insights Survey, in 2016 “112 million consumers reported shopping at small businesses on Small Business Saturday” – a record high!

Do you want to get involved in supporting local small businesses? Follow these BBB tips to get started:

– Find trustworthy businesses in your area. Visit bbb.org to search for, and research, businesses near you. You can filter your results by distance, type of business, and accreditation status. You can also visit shopsmall.com to find a list of participating businesses. To maximize your experience, make sure to read reviews and look up sales before you head out. For more holiday shopping tips, visit BBB Holiday Helper at bbb.org/holidayhelper.

– Spread the word. Invite your friends and family – shopping small together can be a fun-filled way to explore your community. If there’s a small business you appreciate, consider writing them a Customer Review on their BBB Business Profile to spread the love and help them get noticed by other customers.

– Use social media. Look for the hashtag #ShopSmall on your favorite social media platform to find small businesses participating in the movement. Take a picture at your favorite small business and show the world why you shop small by uploading it to social media using the same hashtag.

– For businesses: Join the movement! Shopsmall.com has tips to help you get started and customizable resources you can download to promote your business. Get in on the social media action by advertising yourself using #ShopSmall. Consider offering special deals for Small Business Saturday to attract new customers. Get in touch with your customer base to let them know about the special holiday. Encourage them to get involved and spread the word about you and other small businesses.

Small Business Saturday, created by American Express (a BBB Accredited Business), is the perfect time to take a break from crowded shopping malls and maze-like stores, and connect with your community. You might find that perfect and unique gift that you’ve been searching for, and your family and friends, as well as the small business community, will appreciate the thoughtfulness.”

Rebecca Harpster is community outreach coordinator for the Better Business Bureau, serving the San Francisco Bay Area and Northern Coastal California.