One-day strike hits home: Teachers walk, Board talks

 

Several local people are out hundreds of dollars thanks to a recent cold call scam involving non-existent computer viruses.

Recently, local computer technician, Michael Prunner of MP Computer Services reported several incidents to the local police involving clients who had received calls.

In fact, Constable Peter Robertson, Media Relations Officer for the SD&G OPP, said this will be Crime Stoppers “Crime of the Week.”

Prunner said the people calling most often say they are from Microsoft and “they tell you that you have a serious problem with your Windows. One even told the customer that their Windows had expired.”

Here is an example of a typical cold call: “Hello, I’m calling on behalf of Microsoft Support Team. Your computer is sending error messages to us, which tells us that you have viruses and some corrupted files. I can help you fix that now.”

“They sit you down in front of your computer telling you that you have bad stuff on your computer and they need to work on it. Basically, they use all free cleaners and they charge you 10 times more than it’s worth,” informed Prunner.

According to Royal Canadian Mounted Police Inspector Kerry Petryshyn, this is what is called “deceptive marketing.”

What this means is that the person calling is from a “legitimate” company of sorts, but has nefarious intentions in terms of charging you for something you could have gotten for free, charging you for something you don’t need, or charging you much more than necessary for something that may or may not be useful.

The best option for dealing with this sort of scammer is to contact the Competition Bureau of Canada. Petryshyn said, “they deal with companies that are deceiving clients.”

As with other “viruses,” the “computer scam virus” has many different strains. Petryshyn said, “there’s a few potential possibilities that can occur as there’s a variety of anti-virus scams coming out.”

According to a release from the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre (CAFC), “the virus scam has grown to epidemic proportions in Canada, now accounting for between 70 and 80 per cent of frauds reported daily to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre.”

“This dramatic increase means the scam is working – more and more Canadians are being targeted by the virus scam.”

“Allowing a third party to download software or remotely access your computer carries a number of serious risks.”

“Malicious software can be installed to capture sensitive data such as your online banking user names and passwords, bank account information and your personal identity information.”

“Your computer can also be converted to a bot-net, which means criminals can use it without your knowledge or participation. It can then be used to spam other people, spread viruses to your friends or overload computer networks.”

“Getting your credit card information is the second important part of the virus scam. Once a criminal has that information it can be used to make purchases without your consent.”

The CAFC also warns that “not all virus scams are conducted over the phone. Many CAFC callers report being scammed after responding to internet pop-up ads for anti-virus software.”

As for Microsoft, they do not cold call customers. An employee of Microsoft Ottawa pointed out that it would be almost impossible to do so because of the immense number of users all over the world.

For those who may have already given a scammer access to their computer, Petryshyn has some advice: “If you think somebody’s had access to your computer, I wouldn’t be going back on the Internet until I’ve gotten the problem solved. It’s like opening the door again.”

He advised that anti-virus and anti-spy programs do not check for peer-to-peer applications. For this, “you may need a technician to check your system.”

Peer-to-peer applications are those that give someone else remote access to your computer and files. 

Petryshyn uses a house metaphor to explain the situation more clearly: allowing someone to install peer-to-peer software, giving them remote access to your computer, is basically the same as giving “the bad guy” a key to your back door. They can come in whenever they like, invited or not. 

As for credit cards, Petryshyn advises checking with your bank or credit card company right away.

For questions, or to report a scam incident, contact the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre via email at info@antifraudcentre.ca or via the telephone at 1-888-495-8501.

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“We were a little afraid two weeks ago that the weather would be against us. The original forecast was for soggy conditions,” said John Ross, chief organizer of the annual Iroquois Fly In Breakfast, held at the air port on Sunday, July 15. “But it didn’t. As you can see, it’s actually a bit of madness here in the kitchen with nearly 700 turning up for breakfast. But it’s wonderful madness. Just great!”

Two teams of volunteers from Ross Video served up the food while many other volunteers landed and parked planes and saw them safely on their way again.

Volunteer Perry Stacey, who was manning the pilot book indicated that “50 pilots signed in by 11 a.m. They came from all over, but I believe the farthest travelled from St. Sebastien and Palmer Rapids.”

Some pilots, like André Durocher, based in Rockcliffe, are  repeat visitors to the Fly In.  Durocher arrived in a fully restored 1946 VeeBee. “I try to get here to Iroquois every year,” he said. “It’s a great event.”

Other pilots, like Luc Thibault, who arrived in a very small, home-built Hummel Bird, were first time visitors. 

“I had heard about this Iroquois Fly In,” Thibault said, “but I had no idea how big it was. This is impressive.”

Adding to the interest and excitement generated by the Fly In was the addition, this year, of a Cruise In, organized by the Golden Gears Car Club. Club members and exhibitors set up their vintage vehicles just north of the air port and drew appreciative crowds all morning.

“This is our first venture in combination with the Fly In,” said Gears president Henry Swank. “John (Ross) seemed very keen for us to join in, so we thought we would try this venue out to see how it works. So far, I have to say the experience has been wonderful. We’ve had a big response, lots of people coming to see our cars and trucks. People really seem to like this car/plane combination. We actually signed up some new club members this morning.”

A big crowd pleaser among the arriving air craft this year was Otto Dietrich’s fully restored 1940 Tiger Moth. Dietrich, from St. Lazar, found the plane in 1993, and spent years bringing it back to its original condition. “I try to get down to this Iroquois Fly In every year,” he said. “Very enjoyable event.”

The funds raised at the annual Fly In Breakfast go to the maintenance and care of the Iroquois air port.

[…]

St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Morrisburg has long been the final resting place of fallen firefighter George Franklyn Hutt.  In recent years, a local man, and now local firefighters have taken an interest in the […]