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