Dear Editor:
Lately our household has received a significant number of prank calls from people purporting to be from government, technology or credit card organizations. I imagine many other readers have also received these calls. While these callers like to sound very urgent and forceful, their claims are strewn with errors in logic.
Please consider the following:
– there is no such thing as a Visa / Mastercard Control Centre. Indeed, Visa and Mastercard are competitors and would never be combined within a single organization;
– the only company able to monitor your credit card usage is the bank that issued your card. They are also the only organization empowered to offer you any discounts. Your bank will occasionally contact you if they suspect fraud, but they will always know who they have called;
– nobody would ever suspend your SIN number, because your SIN number is only used within the Canadian government to uniquely identify you. Aside from tax records and access to the Service Canada site, your SIN number has little value. Service Canada does not have a legal division.
– Nobody is monitoring your computer for possible virus activity. Who would be paying for such monitoring on a 24/7 basis? This cost is not included when you purchase MS Windows for your computer! How could anyone tell remotely that your computer has a virus? In most cases, your computer has no record of your phone number. This is a scam. Do not allow anyone to remotely connect to your computer.
– duct cleaning services calling you from offshore are merely looking for your credit card information if you agree to a down payment. Hang up on them!
Steve Hornett,
Rockwood