Following a peculiar phone call from a man after an in a Langley resident called the newspaper Thursday to confirm her suspicion.
Linda Bellamy said she received a phone call from a man Thursday. The man, who called from a Connecticut phone number, didn乌鸦传媒檛 identify himself during the brief telephone conversation.
Bellamy told PAN that he asked for her email address so that he could email her the 乌鸦传媒渄esign layout乌鸦传媒� for a news article PAN wrote about her and her mother Linda Vohlidka last February. The article was a feature on a crochet circle Bellamy started at Whitecliff Retirement Residence, where participants would make sleeping mats for homeless people out of plastic grocery bags.
Bellamy didn乌鸦传媒檛 provide her email address to the man, and ended the conversation.
The man called a second time Friday.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre acting call centre manager Jessica Gunson, based out of Ontario, told PAN that Bellamy乌鸦传媒檚 call was unusual, and the intent of the suspected are unclear.
乌鸦传媒淵our guess is as good as ours when it comes to that,乌鸦传媒� Gunson said Friday.
Gunson said the majority of complaints CAFC receives are based on phishing techniques. Phishing is an attempt to obtain sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, for malicious reasons by disguising as a trustworthy entity.
乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 always a number of reasons why someone would want an email,乌鸦传媒� she added.
Another possibility, Gunson said, adding that she was only speculating, is that the suspected fraudster may have wanted to email malware or a malicious link, something that could mine personal data from the recipient.
乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 hard to know what the intent was without having more information,乌鸦传媒� she added.
Gunson offered some tips to the public to protect themselves from scammers.
乌鸦传媒淩ight off the bat, if you乌鸦传媒檙e receiving an unknown call or receiving a call from a number you don乌鸦传媒檛 recognize, our number one recommendation is don乌鸦传媒檛 pick up,乌鸦传媒� she said.
Gunson, who said she regularly receives suspicious calls from 800- and 855-area-code numbers, says she routinely lets the call ring to voice mail.
乌鸦传媒淚f it乌鸦传媒檚 really important, they will leave me a message. If something is urgent, and if someone needs to get a hold of me, those who need to get a hold of me know how to reach me.乌鸦传媒�
The most popular scam CAFC is dealing with at the moment 乌鸦传媒� across the country 乌鸦传媒� is fraudsters pretending to be representatives from the .
乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 what we乌鸦传媒檙e receiving non-stop here, 100 per cent. It乌鸦传媒檚 something that our centre here is inundated with,乌鸦传媒� Gunson said.
Victims, and potential victims, reported to CAFC that the caller display read CRA when they answered the phone.
乌鸦传媒淐all spoofing is out there, it乌鸦传媒檚 not illegal but the frauds behind it are,乌鸦传媒� she added.
is a technique that will mask the identification of a phone number. Fraudsters use it to dupe victims into thinking that they乌鸦传媒檙e dealing with a legitimate representative.
乌鸦传媒淲hen a scammer calls and tells you that you乌鸦传媒檙e being investigated for tax fraud, it乌鸦传媒檚 a lie to get you to send iTune cards, Steam cards, bitcoin. That乌鸦传媒檚 the endgame.乌鸦传媒�
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