Zoom Airlines operations suspended
 
Zoom Airlines has announced suspension of their operations on their website. 

Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority recommends pursuing the following avenues to inquire into obtaining refunds:

1. If the trip was booked through a travel agent or wholesaler, ask them for assistance or to request a refund.
2. If they purchased travel services with a credit card, call or write to find out if they will reverse the charges.
3. If they have purchased insurance, contact the carrier to confirm their coverage.

American Express has stated that they will refund their customers who purchased Zoom Airlines tickets using their credit cards. View the American Express media release.

MasterCard is advising Canadians who purchased Zoom Airlines tickets with their MasterCard and who are unable to obtain a refund or replacement ticket for flights cancelled in connection with Zoom Airlines to contact their card issuers. View the MasterCard media release.

Nigerian letter fraud explained  

The Globe and Mail did a recent article on the topic which gave a good outline of two common advance fee frauds aka Nigerian letter schemes. Here is an excerpt:  

"Nigeria didn't invent the advance fee fraud, better known as the 419 after the section of the Nigerian criminal code that prohibits making money through fraud. By some accounts it existed in the late 1600s and was known as the Spanish prisoner scam. You will recognize the elements. The mark is approached by someone who claims to be in correspondence with a wealthy person who has been wrongly imprisoned. All the mark had to do to win a handsome reward was to provide money to bribe the guards."

Her are two email examples provided in the Globe story:

"One is from a person claiming to be Mrs. Suhu Tawil Arafat, who says she is the widow of the late Yasser Arafat and needs my help to gain access to $10.5-million (U.S.). It appears that she wants me to put this money into my account to safeguard it for her. In return, I will receive a percentage and may even be trusted with more money later. All she needs is my bank details. You know what happens next.

"Another is from someone who says he is Mr. Jesslie Chui and is a senior manager at the Bank of China in Hong Kong. He apparently had a wealthy Iraqi client who deposited $10.8-million with him and subsequently died, leaving no next of kin. He's worried that the Chinese government will get the money, so wants me to pretend to be the next of kin. We're apparently going to share this money (70 per cent for him and 30 per cent for me). But first he needs a few personal details."

Source: Canadian Press and www.LNNTE-DNCL.gc.ca

What is green advertising?
Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers addresses a number of commonly used green claims and provides examples of best practices on how such claims can be used by businesses to comply with the false or misleading provisions of the laws enforced by the Competition Bureau.
Source: Competition Bureau website

Helpful info about door-to-door vacuum cleaner salespeople
Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority has some great tips for consumers who are approached by door-to-door marketers. These tips are from a recent release from their website:

· A common way for salespeople to get your attention is to say they are conducting an air quality or air purification survey. This leads to a vacuum demonstration and potentially a hard sell. When you run into this kind of phone pitch, make sure you ask lots of questions so you know what to expect.

· You may be offered a free gift to give someone a chance to demonstrate their product or if you purchase the item. Again, make an informed decision, be sure you want the vacuum before accepting any free gifts.

· Some vacuums can be very expensive and you may be offered a financing arrangement that allows you to make payments on the product. If you decide to pursue this option, get the contract in writing, read the fine print and make sure you know the interest rate. Often the rates are very high.

· If you’ve done all your research and decided to purchase the vacuum, ensure that the vacuum is new. Some consumers have paid a large amount for a vacuum only to receive a second-hand product. Source: BPCPA website

Social networking and ID theft a concern
Criminal Intelligence Service Canada has recently released an intelligence report on organized crime in Canada.

The report warns that popular sites like Myspace and Facebook are quickly becoming breeding grounds for identity theft.

Our key tips are to restrict the amount of personal information you put on your Facebook or Myspace page and invite only people you know as friends. The more information that is publically available, the more liable you are to ID theft and financial loss.

Scammer posed as bus victim's sister 
The family of Tim McLean, the man beheaded on a Greyhound bus last month, has been victimized by an Internet scamster. A person posing as the sister of McLean had set up a Facebook page to solicit funds using an online payment service. Source: Canada.com


BCSC makes reciprocal orders based on Alberta and New Brunswick decisions
Vancouver - British Columbia Securities Commission panels have made reciprocal orders in six decisions against eight individuals who were sanctioned by the Alberta Securities Commission and the New Brunswick Securities Commission. Source: BCSC website


Ontario investment firm fined for advising in B.C. without registration
Vancouver - The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with an Ontario-based investment firm, Doherty & Associates Ltd., who has agreed to pay $19,825 in fines and fees for advising clients without being registered. Source: BCSC website

Fight Fraud on the Front Lines
The Bank of Canada, in collaboration with the RCMP and other police agencies, Payment Card Partners (representing Visa, MasterCard, and Interac issuers and acquirers), Canada Post, and several industry associations, has developed Fighting Fraud on the Front Lines: a Retailer's Guide. Source: Bank of Canada website

Protect your good name - crooks want to steal it
The Vancouver Province published a story on the growth of identity theft scams. Here are some tips they suggested from the story:

"To minimize your risk of becoming a victim of identity theft you should:

1. Guard Your Personal Information.
- Buy a shredder and shred anything with personal or financial information such as credit card receipts, copies of credit applications, insurance forms, cheques, financial statements and old income tax returns;
- Use complex passwords on your computer, credit card, financial and other accounts;
- Don't leave personal information lying around;
- Don't give personal information to anyone who phones or e-mails you unless you know who they are ;

2. Keep Your Computer and Its Contents Safe.
- Don't use an automatic log-in feature that saves your user name and password, it's a gold mine for a hacker;
- Use a firewall program, especially if you have a high-speed Internet connection that connects your computer to the Internet 24 hours a day, switched on or off;
- Add virus protection software and update it regularly;
- Use a credit card rather than a debit card to make purchases.

3. Be Vigilant.
- Order a credit report once a year;
- Pay attention to credit card expiry dates and if the replacement card hasn't arrived, call the credit card company;
- Keep a list of the names, account numbers and expiration dates of your credit cards in a safe place;- Memorize all passwords."

Source: Vancouver Province

Counterfeit Currency Alert
The RCMP Integrated Counterfeit Enforcement Team in Vancouver would like to remind merchants of the importance of examining currency when accepting it over the counter. Source: RCMP website

RCMP does not solicit funds through mail or phone
The RCMP would like to make it clear that they do not engage in, endorse or conduct mail or telephone solicitation to raise funds for community policing programs. If you receive telephone calls or mail asking for donations to support community policing programs - you are at risk of being a victim of fraud. Source: RCMP website 

Whistler Rental Scam
An office manage had read on Craigslist about a home to rent in Whistler. After providing the supposed owners with background information and references, he was told to send them $2,200 by Western Union. The alarm bells went off for the consumer when he realized that they wanted to wire the money. Never send money to a stranger using a money transfer service. Source: Globe and Mail

Tax Agency warns of scam
The Canada Revenue Agency is warning taxpayers of a scam that uses agency letterhead to solicit personal information. Source: Canada Revenue Agency