September 25, 2024
-by Bonny MacIsaac
Be careful! Fall is the peak time for fundraising drives. We are known in Cape Breton for having big hearts and opening our wallets for fundraisers. We all want to do our best to help out a cause, but a person has to be careful to whom you are giving your money to. The Consumers' Bureau has these recommendations:
– Verify that the charity has authorized the solicitation.
– Resist high-pressure appeals.
– Never send cash donations through the mail.
– Do not provide any credit card or bank information until you have reviewed all of the information from the charity and made the decision to donate.
– Ask if the canvasser is a volunteer or paid by a professional fundraising business.
– If the canvasser is being paid, you may want to know what percentage of the money actually goes to the charity.
– If products are being sold on behalf of a charity, ask how much of the purchase price goes to the charity.
– Be aware that some direct sellers hire students to sell items such as chocolate bars for profit rather than for charitable fundraising.
– Unauthorized charities sometimes use names that are similar to those of well-known, legitimate groups to confuse donors.
– Ask for a receipt showing the amount of the contribution and stating that it is tax – deductible; and avoid cash gifts. For security and tax record purposes, it is best to pay by cheque – made payable to the beneficiary, not the solicitor.
If you feel you a victim of a scam phone your nearest detachment of the RCMP.
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I see a few social media posts asking about where one can find hardwood for their woodstoves. It can be hard to come by for many. By mid fall it is worse. You don't want to be left out in the cold!
I like to share with my readers this information each year as a gentle reminder. We hear or read stories about consumers not getting what they ordered when it comes to firewood. Then the news alerts go out. Being an educated consumer ensures it's not going to happen to you. For some this may be new as you decided to heat with wood this year. Have you received what you have ordered?
In Canada, wood is measured by the cord. A cord is a legal measurement defined by the Weights and Measures Regulations as “128 cubic feet of stacked round wood (whole or split, with or without bark) containing wood and airspace with all bolts of similar length piled in a regular manner with their longitudinal axes approximately parallel.”
Natural Resources Canada (NRC) says to measure, follow these steps: Stack the wood neatly in a line or row, ensuring that individual pieces are touching and parallel to each other with as few gaps as possible. Measure the length, width, and height of the stack in feet (for example, four feet x eight feet x four feet). Multiply these measurements to calculate the volume in cubic feet. If your result is equal to 128 cubic feet, you have a cord.
Some firewood dealers use different terms other than a cord. Be careful about what you are paying for. Terms that are not recognized (illegal) for the sale of firewood in Canada are: truckload of wood, apartment cord, furnace cord, short cord, bush cord, rack of wood, pile of wood, tossed cord, single cord, face cord, processed cord, and stove cord.
The NRC advises to protect yourself when buying firewood to make sure:
– You can be there for the delivery in person.
– Ask for a receipt which indicates quantity of wood purchased, sellers name, address and phone number, and the amount paid for the wood.
– Stack the firewood as soon as possible to ensure you received the correct amount.
Note: If you received less firewood than you paid for, contact the seller before using any of it and try to resolve the issue. If you are unable to resolve the issue, you may file a complaint with Measurement Canada at canada.ca/measurement-canada. Measurement Canada is an agency of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and has a host of information on the topic if you want more information.
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As these devices are getting more and more popular, this is an important reminder! Scam alert: Using voice search? Use caution when asking for auto dial from your smart device says the Better Business Bureau! Tell Alexa to play for your favourite song. Ask Siri about the weather. Use Google Assistant to turn down the air conditioner. But don’t ask your smart device to look up a phone number, because it may accidentally point you to a scam.
Here is how the scam works – You need the phone number for a company, so you ask your home’s smart device – such as Google Home, Siri, or Alexa – to find and dial it for you. But when the company’s “representative” answers, the conversation takes a strange turn. This representative has some odd advice! They may insist on your paying by wire transfer or prepaid debit card. In other cases, they may demand remote access to your computer or point you to an unfamiliar website.
It turns out that this “representative” isn’t from the company at all. Scammers create fake customer service numbers and bump them to the top of search results, often by paying for ads. When Siri, Alexa, or another device does a voice search, the algorithm may accidentally pick a scam number.
According to the BBB, one victim told BBB.org/ScamTracker that she used voice search to find and call customer service for a major airline. She wanted to change her seat on an upcoming flight, but the scammer tried to trick her into paying $400 in pre-paid gift cards by insisting the airline was running a special promotion. In another report, a consumer used Siri to call what he thought was the support number for his printer. Instead, he found himself in a tech support scam.
Tips to avoid this scam:
– Be careful when searching for support phone numbers. Rather than doing an online search or letting your smart device look up a number, use the contact information on the business's website (double check the URL), on your bill, or in your confirmation email.
– Beware of fake ads. Scammers make ads with fake customer service numbers. Using voice search to find a number can make it harder to tell a phony listing from the real one. Get your information from the official company website or official correspondence.
– Make payments with your credit card. It’s easier to dispute a credit card payment. Paying by wire transfer or pre-paid debit card is like using cash. There is almost nothing you can do to get the money back.
Thanks to the BBB for this great information! To learn more about scams, go to BBB Scam Tips (BBB.org/ScamTips). If you’ve been targeted by this scam, help others avoid the same problem by reporting your experience on BBB.org/ScamTrack.
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