Ġemma newsletter
NOVEMBER 2023
ĠEMMA LOOKING FORWARD Dear subscribers, we hope you’ve had a good summer and we are looking forward to continue to inform you on money management in the upcoming season. These past few months have seen the ĠEMMA
Team deliver more 60+ info sessions to the community in collaboration with the Ministry for Active Ageing and HSBC Foundation Malta. We are very happy to note that this has generated more interest by local councils, and we will be continuing to expand this service in other towns. We have also delivered sessions to governmental service users and service providers. Our annual Skolasajf sessions in collaboration with HSBC Foundation Malta have
once again been met with great success: we visited 49 schools, teaching approximately 2,500 students money management, social responsibility, and sustainability with a team from Skolasajf Attard placing first in the related poster competition. October has been a very exciting month because of the children’s books launch and our new app launch. Stay tuned!
Ġemma newsletter CREDITS All Members
HACKING TA’ SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Ġemma Team All Contributors Freelancers Content Coordinator Daniela Xuereb
Proof-Reading Grazio Barbara Helena Holland Graphics Production Peter Miceli Saydon Distribution Archibald Attard Media Editor MSPC Tonio Bonello
ĠEMMA Newsletter is another publication produced and distributed by the Ministry for Social Policy and Children’s Rights. Along with this newsletter, the Ministry produce several other publications under the brand name FAMILJA. FAMILJA AĦJAR is an annual publication aimed at informing the general public about the measures announced after each budget. Once a year, SUPPLIMENT SPEĊJALI FAMILJA is produced conveying content related to a specific entity and it’s services within MSPC. RIVISTA FAMILJA seeks to inform the readers with the holistic works of the Ministry combined with socio-cultural themes of general interest. If you would like to subscribe in our publications, please click here. All information provided is kept in the most confidential manner and in line with the data protection law of Malta.
Dan l-aħħar il-Korp tal-Pulizija ra żieda fir-rapporti relatati ma’ hacking ta’ accounts fuq il-mezzi soċjali. Dan it-tip ta’ hacking qed isir permezz ta’ profil li jkun diġà hacked, jintbagħtu messaġġi lill-‘ħbieb’ li l-vittma jkollha fil-profil, fejn il-hacker jitlob l-għajnuna sabiex jintbagħat code lilhom permezz ta’ SMS jew email, bliskuża tkun li għandu bżonn għajnuna biex jibdel ilpassword tiegħu jew għal xi votazzjoni jew sabiex jivverifika l-kont tiegħu. Huwa importanti li meta xi ħadd jirċievi dawn it-tip ta’ rikjesti ma jaqbadx u jirrispondi għalihom, iżda għandu jagħmel kuntatt mal-persuna li suppost tkun qed tibgħat dawn il-messaġġi b’mezz ieħor sabiex tivverifika l-messaġġ. Hekk tkun tista’ tivverifika jekk xi ħadd hux qiegħed
jibgħat verament għallgħajnuna jew jekk hux qiegħed jiġi impersonifikat minn persuni oħra, li jkunu qed jagħmlu attentat biex jieħdu wkoll aċċess għall-profil tiegħek. Għalkemm l-internet effettivament ma jappartjeni lil ħadd, ma rridux ninsew li linternet mhu xejn ħlief għodda. Din l-għodda, li sservi bħala mezz ta' komunikazzjoni jew sors ta' informazzjoni, tista’ tiġi wżata kemm b’mod tajjeb kif ukoll għal intenzjonijiet ħżiena. Wieħed għandu joqgħod attent x’tip ta’ informazzjoni, ritratti u vidjos itella’ fuq il-mezzi soċjali u dan għaliex iktar ma ttella’ informazzjoni fuqek, iktar ilhacker qiegħed jiġbor informazzjoni.
Tajjeb li wieħed ikun jaf illi meta persuna tippubblika ritratti u vidjos fuq dawn it-tip ta’ siti, qed tkun hi stess li tagħżel li xxerred din linformazzjoni u tagħmilha disponibbli għal kull min jagħmel użu mill-istess sit. Allura jekk din l-istess informazzjoni tiġi kkupjata, dan ma jammontax għal ksur ta’ liġi. F’każijiet fejn ritratti jew informazzjoni oħra tkun ikkupjata minn profil għal ieħor fuq pjattaforma soċjali b’dan il-mod, l-aħjar parir li wieħed jista’ jagħti huwa li dak li jkun jirrapporta direttament malamministraturi talpjattaforma stess, billi jagħmel report abuse.
Importanti li nsemmu li bħala prekawzjoni wieħed għandu wkoll jibdel il-password ta’ spiss, liema password m’għandhiex tkun l-istess għal kontijiet oħra bħal email account. Filwaqt li fejn possibbli wieħed għandu jintuża two factor authentication sabiex l-aċċessi jkunu aktar sikuri. Dan qiegħed jingħad minħabba li xi drabi persuni li jkollhom password komuni għallpjattaformi varji u email, f’każ ta’ hacking jispiccaw jitilfu laċċess għal kollox. F’każ li wieħed jispiċċa vittma ta’ hacking, għandu jagħmel rapport immedjatament lillPulizija u jgħaddi linformazzjoni kollha li wassal għal dan. Il-Pulizija
tissuġġerixxi wkoll li l-vittma jagħmel ukoll rapport immedjat ma’ dik ilpjattaforma. Sfortunatament il-Pulizija m’għandhiex ilfaċilità li treġġa’ lura dawn ilprofili u dan għaliex hija fiddiskrezzjoni tal-pjattaforma li tagħmel dan. F’dawn l-aħħar ġimgħat, ilKorp tal-Pulizija ħareġ clip qasir b’informazzjoni fuq dan ir-rigward, li wieħed jista’ jara billi jagħfas hawn. Supretendent Anna Marie Xuereb Cyber Crime Unit
KOTBA GĦATTFAL
Għal nofs is-sena li għaddiet, ġejt avviċinata mit-tim ta’ ĠEMMA fejn urewni xxewqa taghhom li jippubblikaw żewġ kotba għat-tfal bi storja sempliċi b’għarfien dwar affarijiet finanzjarji. Ħadt gost ħafna naħdem fuq iż-żewġ kotba KEJKIJIET TALKARROTTI U FWEJJAĦ TA’ WARD li hu mmirat għal tfal ta’ bejn il-5 u t-8 snin filwaqt li KOLLOX BARRA BEBBUX huwa mmirat għal tfal akbar, minn 9 sa 12 jew 13-il sena. Kienet esperjenza interessanti ferm għaliex kelli tema fissa u mxejt fuq il-linji gwida tal-Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Develoment (OECD) bħala gwida tal-għarfien li ttfal ikollhom dwar affarijiet finanzjarji skont l-età . Xtaqt illi permezz tal-kotba nwassal stejjer li t-tfal jieħdu gost jaqrawhom l-ewwel u qabel kollox imma mbagħad fl-istejjer ninseġ informazzjoni dwar credit cards u debit cards, il-banek u l-ATMs, kif wieħed jonfoq u kif iġemma’, fuq it-taxxi u anke fuq il-ġustizzja soċjali u l-faqar. Hemm ħafna suġġetti relatati mal-flus u lfinanzi. Dan kollu ridt nagħmlu b’mod illi ma nkunx qisni qed nipprietka, imma permezz ta’ eżempji ta’ sitwazzjonijiet fejn it-tfal jiġu f’kuntatt mal-flus. Ispirajt ruħi minn esperjenzi personali għax wara kollox il-kitba tirrifletti l-ħajja ta’
kuljum imma wkoll daħħalt element qawwi ta’ immaġinazzjoni għax ilktiba hija wkoll illi l-awtur jimmaġina xenarji , karattri u sitwazzjonijiet. Ilkotba fihom ukoll illustrazzjonijiet sbieħ u kkuluriti minn Nadine Debattista li huma parti integrali mill-kotba. Ilkotba ġew imnedija waqt il-Festival tal-Ktieb li kien organizzat bejn it-18 u 22 t’Ottubru. Hemmhekk kelli wkoll l-opportunità li niltaqa’ ma’ diversi tfal u anke naqra siltiet millkotba . Nixtieq nirringrazzja lit-tim ta’ ĠEMMA tal-għajnuna tagħhom matul dan ilvjaġġ.
Sandra Hili Vassallo Awtriċi
GEARING UP FOR CHRISTMAS TIME Maybe it’s not too early to think ahead for the holidays now. We have eased our way out of summer, prepared ourselves for the back-to-school rush, and heading towards Christmas. So perhaps it’s the best time to start budgeting for Christmas gift shopping or your upcoming December vacation, so you’ll be able to spread out that financial burden over a slightly longer period. We also get that you may need to revise your household budget first to bring it back in line after (perhaps) spending a little extra Holiday Travel Plans If you haven’t decided
on the dates yet, avoid the peak season Always plan ahead to avoid any last-minute reservation or booking fees Travel light and pack like a pro to avoid excess baggage fees Stay informed about any special offers or discounts before booking your flights
in summer and for back-toschool. This is why we’ve prepared a couple of tips that might help you save money this Autumn. Set up your Christmas budget
Plan how much you’ll be spending (on gifts, food, travel, décor etc.) Create an overall Christmas budget Always track your spending as you go Consider having a separate Christmas fund for all your holiday needs
An important side note on Black Friday offers. While you can save money on certain purchases during Black Friday, you want to make sure that it is truly a bargain. For starters, (a) use the ĠEMMA budget planner to always keep yourself in check and (b) avoid wasting money by following our shopping safety tips: Recognise false discounts and fake offers Look out for cheaper alternatives Ignore deals on items that will get even cheaper at the end of the year
Christmas Gift Shopping
Create a budget and gift list – and stick to both of them Do your research, compare prices, and start early Shop the sales, look out for discounts, and Black Friday offers Consider making homemade gifts (e.g. baked goods) instead of buying in-store
• Get pricing information on the items you have your eyes on several weeks ahead of time Read the fine print on promotions Be wary of slashed prices – you don’t want to end up with something you have to replace within weeks
Check out ĠEMMA's free Budget Planner App by clicking here. Amanda Lia Freelancer
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR READERS
“Master Your Finances: The Benefits of Budget Apps for Building Positive Habits" In today's fast-paced world, managing your finances effectively is not just a wise choice; it's a necessity. Budget apps have emerged as powerful tools that can transform your financial life, offering numerous advantages that help you build positive habits for a secure financial future. In this article, we'll explore the key benefits of using budget apps and why they are essential tools for anyone looking to take control of their money. 1. Enhanced Financial Awareness: Budget apps provide a comprehensive view of your income and expenses. They help you understand where your money is going, making it easier to identify areas where you can cut back or save more. By offering this financial awareness, budget apps empower you to make informed decisions about your spending habits and help you to recognise if you are spending on impulse or out of habit. 2. Streamlined Expense Tracking: One of the significant advantages of budget apps is their ability to streamline expense tracking. Instead of manually recording every transaction, these apps automatically categorize your expenses. This
eliminates the need for tedious record-keeping, saving you time and effort.
you to make informed decisions and adjust your habits as needed.
3. Goal Setting and Tracking: Budget apps are excellent tools for setting and tracking financial goals. Whether you're saving for a vacation, a down payment on a house, paying off debt, or a student studying abroad on a budget, these apps help you stay on track. You can set specific goals, allocate funds towards them, and monitor your progress over time, fostering a habit of goal-oriented financial management.
6. Reduced Financial Stress: Financial stress is a common concern for many individuals. The uncertainty of not knowing where your money goes can lead to anxiety. Budget apps alleviate this stress by providing clarity and control over your finances. This reduction in financial stress contributes to building a positive mindset towards money management.
4. Expense Notifications and Alerts: Staying within your budget can be challenging without proper reminders. Budget apps send notifications and alerts when you approach or exceed your budget limits. These gentle nudges help you make better choices and avoid overspending, cultivating a habit of financial responsibility.
5. Detailed Financial Insights: Budget apps offer detailed financial insights through visual graphs and reports. You can visualize your spending trends, analyse your income sources, and gain a deep understanding of your financial behaviour. This knowledge empowers
Ġemma Budget Planner App - Your Path to Financial Mastery While there are numerous budget apps available in the market, one app that stands out for its advantages and simplicity is the Ġemma Budget Planner App. The App offers a user-friendly, customizable, and integrated platform to help you master your finances and build positive financial habits. By following the simple guide provided on https://gemma.gov.mt/ budget-planner-app/, you can embark on a journey towards financial mastery with confidence. Don't wait—start using Ġemma today to take control of your financial future and achieve your financial goals!
Petra Ellul Mercer Financial Capability Project Developer
READY TO TEST YOUR FINANCIAL KNOWLEDGE AND WIN BIG? Welcome to our Financial Literacy Quiz! This multiple-choice online quiz features seven engaging questions covering essential topics like pensions, budgeting, and saving. Achieve the perfect score and you'll earn a chance to enter our exciting competition, where you could win 100 euros worth of All4One vouchers. Just so you know, each participant can participate in the quiz only once and a winner will be chosen electronically from all who got the correct answers. Let's begin your journey to financial empowerment and rewards. Good luck!” Take the survey by clicking here.