PrintBeware the latest scams
The purpose of this letter is to alert others who may not realize the number of scams that are being perpetrated on an unsuspecting public.
Most of these scams have their origins in telemarketing boiler rooms in India, Bangladesh and Nigeria. I was recently scammed by a man named Peter Love who led me to believe that he was calling on behalf of Microsoft to advise me of a serious virus that was destroying my computer files. He assured me that Microsoft was going to destroy the virus and fix the problem. I foolishly fell for the scam and MasterCard said the money was given to the X-Coin store in Florida (Global Technical Support).
I called the RCMP and upon their advice, contacted the anti-fraud centre in Ottawa at 1-888-495-8501. The gentleman I spoke with told me there were new scams every day and to protect ourselves we have to use our call display and not answer our phones unless we were familiar with the phone numbers that appear. He said beware of African and Asian accents. He said never give anybody your credit card number or S.I.N. as they would steal your identity.
He also told me the criminals would not stop phoning me. They call about 30 times a day. I unplug my phone for relief. I have since spoken with some of my friends and many of them have been victims of similar scams. One friend said her computer was hacked into and her email addresses were stolen. The thieves then emailed each person in her mailbox that my friend was stranded in England and couldn’t get home because her passport, plane ticket, travellers’ cheques and money were gone. Many of her friends sent money to a mailbox in Montreal so she could get home. She had never left home in the first place.
Another scam is the Grandma/Auntie scam, where money is requested to get the grandson/nephew out of jail by sending bail money to another box number in Montreal.
With the invention of call display, obscene phone calls were stopped for good. The only way we can protect ourselves and stop being victimized is through this device.
I wish the Gazette would have a weekly item advising of the latest scams. To be forewarned is to be forearmed.
MaryAlice Arial, St. Albert
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