Day: March 9, 2009

I know we’re all too smart to fall for this

But here’s a reminder from TELUS anyway:

 

TELUS is warning customers to be aware of these frauds, and to just hang up when scammers call.

The scams are:

  • Fraudulent email to telus.net email customers. The email falsely states TELUS is sending this email to all customers for ‘safety/maintenance from spam mails.’ It asks users to reply to the email with account information including name and password, saying they will be disconnected if they do not reply.
  • Credit card limit increase phone scam. The fraudster claim to be with your credit card company and offers to increase your credit limit. He/she asks for information to verify who you are. If the caller was actually from your credit card company they wouldn’t have to ask for basic information.
  • Vehicle warranty. There are several variants of this scheme and in most cases the caller is attempting to sell a warranty extension for your vehicle. Several of the organizations behind these schemes have been banned from soliciting in some provinces and states due to misrepresentation of their products and failure to comply with local insurance laws.
  • 809 Caribbean scam. The fraudster will try to convince the customer to call a number starting with 809 about winning a prize or a lawsuit or for information about an injured or ill family member. 809 is the country area code for the Dominican Republic, which lacks the robust phone laws Canadians are accustomed to. When victims call back, they are often put on hold for an extended period of time, racking up large phone bills.
  • The 90# scam. This phone scam affects businesses with a commercial switchboard called a PBX. These systems have a feature that allows switchboard operators to give callers an outside line by dialing 9, 0, #. Fraudsters take advantage of this feature by posing as technicians or other legitimate callers, and convincing operators to give them an outside line which they then use for an expensive overseas call. While residential phone customers cannot be directly affected by this scam they do get calls, which can often be frightening.

 

snow

After the glorious sunshine in Victoria yesterday, it was a sad shock to come home to whiteout conditions at Main and Marine.

It’s good to be home, nevertheless.

Last night I had the first dream I can remember in ages.  I dreamed I went to rent a fabulous apartment in Paris for 200 euros a month and I didn’t take it because there was a brothel across the street.  The prostitutes were sitting on the balcony displaying their wares in a most unpleasant way.