Maberly man warns of Microsoft scam

A Maberly resident is hoping his close call with a Microsoft scam artist will serve as a warning to others.
On June 23, Rob Richardson received a phone call from someone claiming to work for Microsoft. “He asked if I had a Windows Operating System and that they had found a glitch in it and he wanted me to go online,” Richardson said. “I knew where he was going to head with this so I ended the conversation fairly quickly.”

Richardson said he knew it was a scam because his aunt had recently received a similar phone call.
Unfortunately for the scammer, Richardson’s aunt didn’t have the internet. "She isn’t even on the internet so that’s what threw her off,” he said. 

Knowing it was a scam, Richardson told the man he was calling the police, which he did.
They directed him to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, formerly known as Phone Busters, and Richardson reported the fraud attempt. 

Richardson said he hopes by sharing his story, others won’t falls for the scam. “I thought people in the area should probably know this is going on,” he said.  Louis Robertson is the RCMP officer in charge of criminal intelligence with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. He said the centre began receiving reports of the scam last year, but peaked this spring.  Approximately 1,992 incidents were reported between January and May of this year.

Scammers use recognizable company names such as Microsoft, Windows, Jars Support or Online PC Care to gain the trust of victims. Robertson said the scam has been executed in a few different ways.
In some instances, someone claiming to be a Microsoft employee calls the victim and tells them they have a computer virus, or that their computer has somehow been compromised. The victim is then asked to supply personal information such as addresses and passwords so the “technician” can check to make sure everything is in order. 

In another instance, victims are instructed to download a software program that will protect their computer; however, the software is actually a program that allows the scammer to gain remote access to the computer.  Robertson said the software program is often a completely legal, free download available on the internet.
The program is often used by companies to allow someone, such as a computer technician, to gain access to a computer from a different location. 

“If you install it on your PC and you gave me the identification and password, I’ll be able to connect to your PC and see your screen,” Robertson said about the program. “I can control the mouse and keyboard.” In the wrong hands, the program can be used by scammers to gain access to a victim’s home computer from anywhere in the world. “Imagine when you do decide to do your online banking and that little (program) turns on and they basically see all your passwords and all your banking information,” Robertson said. “It’s a good scam.” Sometimes, victims will be asked to send money to ensure their computer is protected from future viruses. Robertson said the amount is usually between $200 and $400. 

Robertson said it is believed the calls are originated from a call centre in East Asia, and that the individuals hired to make the phone calls may not be aware they are participating in a scam.  “They’re basically hired by fraudsters to pitch the scam,” he said. “There is a strong possibility they don’t have a clue it’s a scam.” John Weigelt, a technology officer for Microsoft Canada, said the company is well aware of the scheme.

Microsoft even performed a survey in Canada, the United States the UK and Ireland to find out how prevalent the scam had become. Out of 7,000 people surveyed, 15 per cent had been contacted by scammers since the beginning of 2010. In Canada, that number was nine per cent of 1,000 people surveyed.
Almost 80 per cent of people contacted were duped by the scammers. Robertson said fraudsters use fear tactics, in this case, the fear of a computer virus, to scare people into following their instructions. “They use that magic word, ‘virus’,” he said. “People are falling for it.”

Robertson said the best defense against this scam is to simply hang up the phone. Corporations such as Microsoft never call individuals at home to let them know they have a problem – unless they are returning a call from a customer who has called them first. Anyone who believes they have been victimized by the scam (if they have provided information or sent money) should call the police, as well as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.  Robertson said victims should also call their bank and other financial institutions to put an alert on their credit profile. 

For anyone concerned about computer security, security software is available for free at Microsoft.com/security, Weigelt added. 

Robertson said internet fraud has become “the crime of the 21st century.”
“A dumb criminal will take a gun and go to your local Mac’s Milk and see if he can get $50,” he said. “A smart criminal will definitely go online.”

OPP lay 76 charges in connection with violations under PSISA

Members of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Anti-Rackets Branch have laid 76 charges in connection with violations of the Private Security and Investigative Services Act (PSISA).

Between April 28th and April 30th, OPP, assisted by members of the South Simcoe Police Service, conducted enforcement initiatives in Ottawa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, and Toronto, within and near the site of the recent Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) venue in Toronto April 29.

Officers attended a number of establishments in Ottawa, Bradford-West Gwillimbury, and Toronto, including licensed premises within each jurisdiction. A number of businesses were found to be in violation of provisions of the PSISA. Det. Staff Sgt. Rick LePage said the names of those charged have not yet been released.

Charges include:
•    16 counts of working as an unlicensed security guard,
•    16 counts of employing an unlicensed security guard,
•    37 uniform violations,
•    four (4) counts of being an unregistered business,
•    two (2) counts of operating an unlicensed business entity, and
•    one (1) count of failing to produce a license.

A total of 28 charges were laid in Ottawa, 12 charges were laid in Bradford-West Gwillimbury, and 36 charges were laid in Toronto , including 16 uniform violations within the UFC venue. The investigations are continuing and further charges may be pending.

The three initiatives bring the total to 21 in terms of law enforcement efforts to ensure provisions of the PSIS Act and Regulations are adhered to within the province of Ontario.

Charges by location:
Ottawa (28 Charges) - April 28, 2011
•    Eleven (11) counts of working as an unlicensed security guard
•    Eleven (11) counts of employing an unlicensed security guard
•    Four (4) uniform violations
•    One (1) count of being an unregistered business
•    One (1) count of operating an unlicensed business entity

South Simcoe (12 Charges) - April 29, 2011
•    Three (3) counts of working as an unlicensed security guard
•    Three (3) counts of employing an unlicensed security guard
•    Four (4) uniform violations
•    Two (2) counts of being an unregistered business

Toronto (36 Charges) - April 30, 2011
•    Two (2) counts of working as an unlicensed security guard
•    Two (2) counts of employing an unlicensed security guard
•    20 uniform violations, including 16 inside the UFC venue
•    One (1) count of being an unregistered business
•    One (1) count of operating an unlicensed business entity
•    One (1) count of failing to produce a license

Under the Private Security & Investigative Services Act, individuals performing security work in Ontario must be licensed. Additionally, establishments employing in-house security guards must be registered with the Private Security and Investigative Service Branch.

Business entities selling the services of security guards are required to be licensed by the ministry and responsible to ensure their security guards are licensed. Persons convicted of working as unlicensed security guards are subject to a maximum fine of $25,000, under the PSIS Act and up to one year in custody.

Police Issue Scam Warning

St Thomas police are warning city residents about an e-mail scam that is making province-wide rounds. In it, victims are messaged that Canada Revenue Agency is checking company tax returns and needs personal information. "Do not respond to these requests," Const. Cam Constable says. "If you have, . . . contact your local police agency, and the Canada Anti Fraud centre at info@antifraudcentre.ca."

In the fake CRA e-mail, recipients are told, "While checking your company tax reports, several discrepancies were found by comparing the real and declared profit. An investigation has been started to determine if this is a mistake or a tax evasion attempt. A new revised tax form, with additional fields is attached to this message."

Victims are asked for social insurance numbers, bank account information, and passport numbers. The attachment is then to be e-mailed to a specified address.

"Remember, the Canada Revenue Agency does not request personal information by e-mail, nor do they divulge personal information to another person unless formal authorization is provided by the taxpayer."

Fake Cheese

For years, inferior cheese masquerading as the finest from Switzerland has snuck onto the shelves of stores around the globe. You might think that slice of holey cheese is authentic – but it may be the food world equivalent of a Louis Vuitton knock-off.

Dairy counterfeiters, however, should watch their backs. Cheese detectives are on the case.

Fraud Facts

The following statistics and facts on mass marketing fraud come from data collected by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Mass marketing fraud are scams perpetrated on a large scale using mass media such as telephone, Internet, and regular or electronic mail. They include but are not limited to:

• Prize lottery or sweepstakes fraud
• Nigerian scam or 419 fraud
• Employment/work from home fraud
• Advance fee loan fraud
• Bogus health product or cure fraud
• Emergency (any e-mail from someone claiming to be in some kind of trouble)

In 2010, 9,977 people reported being victims of fraud. That breaks down to: 831 victims a month or approximately 27 victims a day. Only 5 per cent of people who’ve been victims of fraud ever report it.

In 2010 Canadians reported losing almost 13 million dollars to mass marketing fraud in 2010. The RCMP's Commercial Crime Branch estimates that Canadian fraud losses total between $10 billion and $30 billion annually.

Canadians between the ages of 50-59 are the most targeted by mass marketing fraud operations. Canadian victims between the ages of 40-49 reported the highest dollar loss. Nearly 80 per cent of all mass marketing frauds in Canada involve organized crime groups. Fraud-related offences, such as credit and debit card fraud, are now thought to be more numerous and as profitable as drug-related offences in Canada

“Telephone / Facsimile” is reported as the most prevalent solicitation method used to solicit Canadian consumers. Western Union is the top reported payment method used to receive funds from Canadian victims.

Nigerian Scam Fraud
In 2010 the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre received 1,948 complaints about Nigerian or foreign money offer scam. The reported dollar loss was $2.6 million.
The Nigerian scam is also referred to as the 419 scam after a formerly relevant section of the Criminal Code of Nigeria. The Nigerian Scam is, according to reports, the third to fifth largest industry in Nigeria.

Identity Fraud Statistics
Last year, 18,146 Canadian reported being a victim of identity fraud. In total they lost almost 9.5 million dollars ($9,436,996)
According to the Canadian Anti-fraud centre Identity thieves are looking for the following information:

• full name
• date of birth
• Social Insurance Numbers
• full address
• mother’s maiden name
• username and password for online services
• driver's license number
• personal identification numbers (PIN)
• credit card information (numbers, expiry dates and the last three digits printed on the signature panel)
• bank account numbers
• signature
• passport number

Online Passwords
The most commonly used online password is “123456”, the second most common is “password."
For every 20 passwords you find, there is a good chance that one of the passwords will also be chosen by another user.

Be Where of the Income Tax Scam

Every year during tax season thousands of Canadians are targeted by phishing e-mails attempting to represent the Canada Revenue Agency.

Phishing is the creation of email messages and Web pages that are replicas of existing, legitimate sites and businesses. These Web sites and e-mails are used to trick users into submitting personal, financial, or password data. These e-mails often ask for information such as credit card numbers, bank account information, social insurance numbers, and passwords that will be used to commit fraud.

The message replicating the CRA is generic in nature and states you are entitled to a tax return once you provide your personal information. What the unsuspecting victim doesn’t realize is that they’ve now subjected themselves to identity theft and fraud.

The following is a recent example of a phishing e-mail targeting Canadians:

Canada Revenue Agency
Online Refund Form
After the last annual calculation of your fiscal activity we have determined that you are eligible to receive a tax refund of 386.00.

Please submit the tax refund and allow us 3-9 days in order to process it.
A refund can be delayed for a variety of reasons. For example submitting invalid records or applying after the deadline.

To access the form for your tax refund, please click here »

Copyright Canada Revenue Agency. All rights reserved. www.cra-arc.gc.ca.

The CRA does not collect information in this manner and e-mails requesting your personal information should be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca/ or by calling 1-888-495-8501.

Workplace fraud costs more than you realize

Fraud has a higher cost than most people realize. March is fraud prevention month in Canada and a good time to review the losses from, and reasons for, workplace fraud.
Fraud occurs when someone uses deceit, falsehood and/or any other fraudulent means to steal your money, your property or some other valuable. With technology and globalization, both the incidence and innovativeness of fraud has been growing. Some of the more common fraud includes requesting upfront fees for a product or service that doesn't get delivered, false billing, counterfeit cheques, writing cheques when there are insufficient funds and/or misrepresenting the financial activities of a company.
Not long ago, for instance, police uncovered a major mortgage fraud where people deliberately used false, misleading and fraudulent information to secure a mortgage. Last year saw an Alberta man plead guilty to selling counterfeit cancer drugs on the Internet. Car insurance schemes have also been discovered and of course, everyone is familiar with incidents of personal identity theft and falsifying a resumé.
Employee theft or occupational fraud, as it is also known, occurs when an individual fraudulently acquires company assets such as cash, supplies or equipment.

For instance, money orders and expense claims can be altered and/or padded, petty cash can simply disappear, multiple office supplies and various company products drift homeward and sick leave benefits are abused. Sales employees have been known to sell a product and keep the cash, sell products to clients who were not on the company sales records and/or direct payment into their own bank accounts.

Accountants who are dipping their fingers into the till, so to speak, have been known to divert or misappropriate money from office operations into their own bank account or issue cheques to fictitious cost centres or even to a ghost employee, while the money is actually directed into their own bank account. Others have been caught using company funds to pay for personal items such as a cellphone.

According to a recent study commissioned by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, approximately 39 per cent of fraud occurs in privately owned companies, while the public sector experiences 26 per cent of fraud. Smaller organizations with fewer than 100 employees accounted for almost 43 per cent of those experiencing fraud losses of $150,000. This translates into a five-per-cent loss for every $100 of sales.
According to the study, most fraud occurs as a result of three types of theft. Misappropriation or misuse of assets includes such schemes as skimming sales, payroll fraud, padding expenses or fraudulent billing. Pure corruption leads to bribes, illegal gratuities, conflict of interest or engaging in self-dealing transactions. In the third type, people will deliberately falsify financial statements, record fictitious sales or hide liabilities and expenses.

There are a number of interesting details about the perpetrators. For instance, employees steal more often than managers, but the loss from managerial theft is much larger. Theft by owners and/or business executives, as can be expected, is much larger. More men than women engage in occupational fraud and these individuals are typically found in sales, accounting departments and/or in upper management. Finally, those individuals involved in theft are typically longer term employees who know the internal systems well.

So, how is an incident of employee theft typically discovered? A 2008 Statistics Canada study, Fraud Against businesses in Canada: Results from a National Survey, indicates that most fraud comes to light through employee and/or customer tips rather than through the internal controls an organization has put in place. Interestingly enough, many instances of fraud are never even reported to police. The incidents may be considered too minor, the loss was recovered, and/or the resources required to pursue criminal charges may outweigh the losses. Still others indicate they didn't want to create negative publicity.
Those thefts reported to police and criminally prosecuted typically involved higher losses; however, when these steps were taken, at least 50 per cent of the perpetrators pled guilty.

It is unfortunate that employee theft takes place, but the real question is why do employees steal? According to U.S. fraud expert Terry Shulman, author of Biting the Hand that Feeds: the Employee Theft Epidemic, people who steal at work aren't really professional thieves or wholly dishonest, they often steal as a result of some type of disgruntlement, an addiction and/or compulsion. Still others justify theft because they feel they are jealous of an owner's lifestyle and success, they may feel they are a victim or they are angry and feel unappreciated.

This perception of people who steal was echoed by Det. Sgt. Sandra Martin, an officer in commercial crime with our local police force, who says that many people who steal feel a sense of entitlement. For instance, one individual her office had investigated had been denied a raise and subsequently started diverting company cash to her own bank account as her own form of compensation. As well, Martin suggests that most people who engage in theft believe they won't get caught if they steal money in small increments. Then, when an arrest does occur, they are shocked at how much money they have stolen.

At the same time, we know there are indeed employees who simply lack any sense of ethics and will steal from their employer without feelings of guilt or concern. These employees don't even think about having to justify their behaviour, they just steal. Unfortunately, as well, there are a growing number of employees who steal to feed an addiction such as alcohol or gambling and these are difficult situations to deal with.

What can be done about employee theft? While the first answer is often guidance toward improving internal controls, keep in mind that studies are showing that most fraud comes to light through employee and/or customer tips. This suggests to me that the best means of fraud prevention is to create a positive organizational culture where there are strong and trusting employee/employer relationships.

Source: Det. Sgt. Sandra Martin, City of Winnipeg Police Service; Fraud Against businesses in Canada: Results from a National survey, Andrea Taylor-Butts and Samuel Perreault, Statistics Canada, 2007/2008; Detecting Occupational Fraud in Canada: A Study of its Victims and Perpetrators, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners and Dr. Peltier-Rivest of Concordia University, Montreal