XPost: van.general, vic.general, nanaimo.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   I remember this happening about 3 or 4 years back.  Now they're at it again -   
   and they seem to be targeting businesses, which are likely to have much higher   
   Hydro bills.   
   _____________________________________   
   CBC News Posted: Oct 28, 2014   
      
   Fake BC Hydro rep scams Vancouver woman out of $2,500   
      
   Police warn of 'BC Hydro scam,' where callers use threat of cutting off power   
   to extort funds   
      
   In the past six months, over two dozen people across Canada have lost an   
   average of $1,400 each to scammers who pretend to be from a utility company and   
   threaten to turn off power over unpaid bills, according to the Canadian   
   Anti-Fraud Centre.   
      
   Vancouver businesswoman Vera Eftovska is one of the most recent to fall victim.   
   She lost $2,500 last week after following the instructions of a man who she   
   thought was a BC Hydro representative.   
      
   Vera Eftovska, Vancouver restaurant owner - Oct. 27, 2014   
      
   Vancouver restaurant owner Vera Eftovska fell for the 'utility shutoff scam'   
   last week, and now she's warning others not to do the same. (CBC)   
      
   She got a call last Tuesday, during the morning breakfast rush at her Denman   
   Street café. The caller said he was from BC Hydro and he demanded she pay her   
   overdue bill, or she would lose power in 30 minutes.   
      
   She said it was a lot for her to pay, but losing business was too big of a   
   threat so she agreed to pay the amount.   
      
   She was given a number to call back, and when she did it seemed legitimate.   
      
   "It was connected with a message saying, 'Welcome to BC Hydro,' so it was   
   really easy for me to believe that I'm talking with the right person," she   
   said.   
      
   The caller then said a regular credit card or bank transaction would take too   
   long to go through, and that she needed to pay with a prepaid PayPower Visa   
   card. He directed her to the nearest prepaid card seller, in this case a   
   Safeway store.   
      
   Once she had the card, the caller got her to read him the 10-digit code on the   
   back of the card, which gave him immediate access to the cash.   
      
   When Eftovska tried to call the phone number she'd been given back, the number   
   was no longer in service.   
   Prepaid cards a red flag   
      
   Dan Williams, a spokesman with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, warned that   
   using prepaid cards is much like sending cash, and as soon as you give the code   
   on the back to somebody, they can access the cash within minutes.   
      
      
   Prepaid Visa cards   
      
   Using prepaid cards in much like sending cash, and as soon as you give the code   
   on the back to somebody, they can access the cash within minutes.   
      
   "There is no reason why you'd be paying with prepaid card to a stranger. If   
   someone's steering you towards prepaid cards, there's a 99.9 per cent chance   
   it's a scam, especially if they are presenting themselves to be a government   
   agency or institution," he said.   
      
   The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre tallied 106 instances of similar attempted hydro   
   bill scams in Toronto, Quebec, B.C. and Manitoba since May of this year, with   
   at least 27 people falling prey and losing an average of $1,400 each.   
      
   Williams said the targets often seem to be small restaurants or independent   
   businesses that would be financially hurt by a day without power.   
      
   "They think everything is in good order and then, for whatever reason, they   
   check and realize they've been duped," he said.   
      
   BC Hydro did issue a warning about this scam on its website on Sept. 4, but   
   Eftovska said she wishes the warning was more prominent.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)