Immigration Scam Alert! Toronto woman charged in $1.5M fraud scheme

CBC

A Toronto woman has been charged in connection with a scheme that defrauded would-be immigrant workers of more than $1.5 million, police say.

The investigation into GoWest Jobs International, an employment recruiting agency on Finch Avenue West that specializes in immigrant workers, began in October last year.

According to police, the company took payments from foreign applicants, many of Filipino descent, to produce fraudulent documents, references and employment contracts. These materials were then submitted to foreign government agencies to create the appearance that all the necessary paperwork was in order.

When the applicants tried to follow up, however, they were denied entry to Canada because of the false documentation submitted on their behalf.

How Come! RBC Customer's Bank Accounts Wiped Out 3 Times By Fraud

RBC downtown Toronto. CP

Meghann Johnston has seen her RBC bank accounts looted three times by someone who stole her identity. The fraudsters walked away with tens of thousands of dollars. 

Johnston calls it "an incredibly stressful" situation. 

Each time, a fraudster walked into an RBC branch during business hours pretending to be Johnston, presented fake ID and was allowed to withdraw money from Johnston's account. 

The first time it happened in Toronto in 2012, Johnston was a law student. She was home studying when the call came from RBC telling her she had to get to her branch right away.

"I found out that somebody had gone into a branch and was impersonating me and had withdrawn quite a large sum of money from my student line of credit," she told Go Public. 

Johnston said the fraudster took $26,000. The bank gave her the money back and launched an investigation. Johnston had to go through the process of changing all her accounts and her automatic payments and had to pay the associated fees.

That Quick! Fake tax man defrauded Calgary victims of $60K in phone scam

The Canadian Press 
As if dealing with the tax man isn't already bad enough, police in Calgary are warning about a telephone scam involving a caller who claims to be from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Police say it began last month when members of the public received a call from a man who said they owed back taxes and would be arrested if they didn't pay immediately.

The faux tax man had some of the victims' personal information, including their name, address and bank account details.

They were instructed to pay the debt with prepaid credit cards or through a money transfer service, and were kept on the phone until the transaction was complete.

Police say 35 victims were identified in 2014 and defrauded of a total of $60,000

US military Twitter, YouTube accounts hacked by ISIS

This screengrab shows the hacked YouTube page for U.S. Central Command. The account was disabled shortly after it was hacked. (YouTube)

Meagan Fitzpatrick, CBC News
The Twitter and YouTube accounts of the military's U.S. Central Command were taken over Monday by hackers claiming to be working on behalf of Islamic State militants.

American and coalition fighters are launching airstrikes against the group known as ISIS, or Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Canada is participating in the mission in Iraq by conducting airstrikes and helping to train Iraqi soldiers.

The first message on the hacked Twitter account appeared around 12:30 p.m. ET. "American soldiers, we are coming, watch your back," read one message. Other postings appeared to list names and phone numbers of military personnel as well as PowerPoint slides and maps.

61 yr-old man accused of trying to abduct baby at Vancouver grocery store

Police allege that the man tried to forcibly remove an infant from a stroller while the baby’s mother shopped in a Vancouver grocery store

CTV - A 61-year-old man is in custody and facing charges after he attempted to snatch a baby out of a stroller in a grocery store, Vancouver Police allege.

The incident occurred at Donald's Market in Vancouver shortly before noon on Saturday.
Police allege that the man tried to forcibly remove an infant from a stroller while the baby’s mother shopped.

Canadian government freeze bank accounts in Arthur Porter fraud case

The headquarters of engineering giant SNC-Lavalin are seen in Montreal on March 26, 2012. Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press

Torstar News Service
The ongoing fraud and money laundering case against Dr. Arthur Porter and former executives with engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has prompted Canadian authorities to freeze bank accounts around the world and attempt to seize a half-dozen luxury properties, new court documents reveal.

The documents in support of the various forfeiture orders sought by Crown prosecutors include bank accounts in the name of Porter — who was head of the Montreal’s McGill University Health Centre — in the Bahamas, Sierra Leone, Canada and the United States, as well as others in Israel, Cyprus, Hong Kong in the name of an alleged co-conspirator, Yanai Elbaz.

Spain’s King Felipe VI Sister to Stand Trial for Fraud

The sister of Spain’s King Felipe VI, Infanta Cristina, is to stand trial for tax fraud after her appeal was thrown out by Judge Jose Castro in a Palma court on Friday.

The 49-year-old princess would become the first member of the Spanish royal family to stand trial.

She was cited as an accessory in an alleged tax fraud by her husband and former Olympic handball star, Inaki Urdangarin, charged with embezzling about 6 million euros (7 million dollars) public money through a charity he ran.

Bill Skippers Randy Quaid and Wife Denied Asylum In Canada

Randy Quaid and his wife went to Canada and now they're not allowed to come home ... so they're suing the United States Secretary of State so they can return to their homeland.

Seems Randy and Evi are paying the piper for all the trouble emanating from some hotel hijinks. They skipped out on their $10K hotel bill in 2009 by using bogus credit cards. Criminal charges were filed but they evaded authorities and felony arrest warrants were issued.

Ontario man charged in alleged US$70m Ponzi scheme

The Canadian Press
 An Ontario man charged by American authorities four years ago in an alleged US$70 million Ponzi scheme has been arrested after arriving at Toronto’s Pearson International airport.

Ontario Provincial Police say Nicholas Smirnow, of Lake of Bays, and his wife Dianna were arrested Friday night on outstanding warrants after getting off a plane from the Philippines.

Police have charged Nicholas Smirnow with two counts of fraud over $5,000 and one of possession of property obtained by crime in what a U.S. district attorney alleges was a scheme defrauding more than 40,000 people in upwards of 120 countries.

The Southern District of Illinois attorney charged Smirnow in absentia back in 2010 with 10 counts including mail fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.

Hacked Ontario Government Website Service Is Restored

 The Canadian Press
A hacking problem that affected the Ontario government's websites have been resolved and the province says full service is being restored.

A government statement says the websites were not directly hacked, but a third party domain routing service that routes traffic to the government's site was compromised on Friday.

The statement says the third party service provider has fixed the problem, but it is expected to take up to 24 to 48 hours for service to get completely back to normal.

The government says until then, some users may still see the hacker’s website when they attempt to access Ontario.ca websites.

The government says the hacker's identity is not known but police have been contacted.

The government also says no personal information or any government data was ever at risk and the websites remain secure.

Chinese hackers went phishing for Canadian research secrets

A laptop computer sits on a desk in this file photo. Alastair Grant/The Canadian Press

Jim BronskillThe Canadian Press
Chinese hackers used tempting emails, malware and password theft to worm their way into National Research Council computers in pursuit of valuable scientific and trade secrets, a newly released federal analysis reveals.

The attack, which prompted a shutdown of the government research council’s computer network in July, relied on textbook moves commonly seen in state-sponsored digital assaults, says the case study by the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre.

Highly skilled perpetrators used complex techniques to infiltrate the council and “establish a foothold” within its networks, says the study, released under the Access to Information Act.

Portions of the document remain secret because they deal with computer-system vulnerabilities or methods used to protect networks.

The council carries out advanced research — often with outside partners — in fields including aerospace, health, mining and physics.

Government officials publicly confirmed the attack in late July and took the unusual step of openly blaming the intrusion on a highly sophisticated, Chinese state-sponsored player. Beijing has denied involvement, accusing Canada of making irresponsible charges.

Busted! Gambian Diplomats Found Guilty Of Tobacco Fraud

BBC - Gambian diplomats who sold tax-free tobacco from their London embassy have been found guilty of cheating the UK taxpayer out of almost £4.8m.

Deputy head of the Gambian Diplomatic Mission in Kensington, Yusupha Bojang, and his colleagues ordered 29 tonnes of rolling tobacco over three years.

They imported more than half a million 50g pouches at tax-free rates for personal or High Commission use.

Much of it was sold from the embassy, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Because it was sold and not actually for personal use, VAT and excise duty should have been paid, the CPS added.

The trial was held at Southwark Crown Court in London.

Bojang, first secretary Gaston Sambou, welfare officer Georgina Gomez and finance attache Ebrima John, who all had diplomatic privileges, along with Veerahia Ramarajaha, Audrey Leeward and Hasaintu Noah, were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the Inland Revenue .

Ottawa website hacked with dancing banana photo

Ottawa City Hall | Metro/Jessica Smith

The Canadian Press
The City of Ottawa says it doesn’t believe any sensitive information has been compromised after its website was hacked.

Visitors to the site for several hours Friday ended up seeing an image of a dancing banana and a brief text message directed against an officer with the city’s police force. There has been no comment from police.

In a release Saturday, the city says it is “confident that no corporate or resident information was compromised as a result of the breach.”

Meet transgender who tricked Michael Phelps into sleeping with her

When you see her photos, you won't blame legendary swimmer Michael Phelps for getting down with her. With cosmetic surgery & weaves, it's hard to tell real women from men-turned-women these days.

41 year old Taylor Lianne Chandler was actually born a boy, and named David Roy Fitch at birth. She revealed recently that she had a fling with Michael Phelps, 29, that involved sex. She told National Enquirer how they met and claimed he didn't know she was a transgender;

"We hooked up on the dating app Tinder, in late August. They finally met of Sept 21 when he invited me to his home to watch a Baltimore Ravens game. I was a bit nervous, but after a few minutes he made me feel so comfortable. One thing led to the next and we made love during halftime. Later we had intimacy again. The intimacy with him was amazing! It was the first time in my life that someone made me feel like a true woman."

"I never lied to him. We were together for such a short period of time. I never had a chance to tell him about my life."

If you were Michael, how would you feel if you later found out you had sex with a former man?

Home Depot hackers stole US and Canadian 53M email addresses

In an Aug. 14, 2012 photo, a person walks toward a Home Depot in Nashville, Tenn. Mark Humphrey/The Canadian Press/AP

 Anne D'Innocenzio And Sarah Skidmore Sell |The Associated PressHome Depot says hackers stole 53 million U.S. and Canadian email addresses in addition to data from millions of payment cards.

One of North America’s largest home improvement chain says Thursday that hackers stole 53 million customer email addresses from April to September.

It had disclosed in September that 56 million debit and credit cards were compromised.

Home Depot said the file containing the email addresses did not contain passwords or other sensitive personal information.

However, it said that customers should be on guard against phishing scams that might trick them into sharing personal information.

Ebola News: Blackmailers Threaten to Release Virus in Czech Republic

Milos Zeman, President of Czech Republic

Some blackmailers, who are being referred to as terrorists, are threaten to unleash Ebola into Czech Republic unless the government pays them a ransom of €1m (£788,000, $1.26m) in bitcoins.

 

The blackmailers have also threatened to launch a viral smear campaign on social media, to reveal to the world “how negligent the Czech offices are,” International Business Times reports.

 

They intend to use Ebola virus as a biological weapon if their demands are not met.

 

Sources say the unidentified individuals are demanding that the money should be paid in 3 installments – The first on November 3rd, the second on November 5th, and the third, after they have given up the infected material.

Reports: Cyber breaches put 18.5 million Californians' data at risk

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris speaks at the 2014 California Democrats State Convention at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, March 8, 2014.

CREDIT: REUTERS/DAVID MCNEW

Cyber intrusions and other data breaches put the personal records of 18.5 million Californians, nearly half the state's population, at risk in 2013, a seven-fold increase over the year before, the state attorney general reported on Tuesday.

The number of data breaches reported by companies and government entities increased 28 percent, from 131 in 2012 to 167 last year, more than half of them, or 53 percent, caused by cyber incursions such as computer hacking and malware, the report said.

The physical loss or theft of laptops and other devices containing unencrypted personal information accounted for 26 percent of the reported breaches last year, while the rest stemmed from unintentional errors and deliberate misuse.

Fraud Alert | Hackers release 100,000 photo and video intercepted from Snapchat

More than 100,000 videos and images sent using Snapchat have been leaked by hackers who have been intercepting and collecting the images for years.

Earlier this week, an anonymous 4chan user claimed to have obtained images on Snapchat — the ephemeral messaging service that allows users to send pictures and videos that should disappear after a few seconds.

Hackers release 100,000 photos and videos intercepted from Snapchat, in huge trove that includes child pornography

• Hackers released the photos this weekend
• Follows claims a third-party app has collected Snapchat photos for years
• Some users say the huge trove of images includes child pornography
• About half of all Snapchat users are teens between ages 13 and 17
• Not the first security breach for SnapChat   

The pictures were posted in an event dubbed ‘The Snappening,' Business Insider reported.
Users have told the website that the collection includes a large cache of child pornography — as half of Snapchat's users are teens between ages 13 and 17.

Son of Equatorial Guinea’s President In $300Million Fraud Settlement

The son of Equatorial Guinea’s President Reaches Court Deal with US over Alleged $300 Million Fraud. Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, the son of Equatorial Guinea’s president, has reached a deal with a US court, to atone for his alleged corruption.

Mangue, who is also the country’s vice-president, reportedly  looted over $300 million from the country. He allegedly used $70 million out of the money to purchase exorbitant possessions, including a Gulfstream jet, Michael Jackson memorabilia, and a mansion — which has a nine-hole golf course, Times Colonist reports.

His official government salary is said to be less than $100,000, however; he reportedly used his influence to loot millions of dollars from the country. As a result, three years ago, U.S. authorities filed civil-forfeiture cases against Mangue.

Obiang’s mansion in Malibu, California

A court settlement was finally reached a few days ago. Here are the terms: He must sell his $30 million Malibu mansion, Ferrari, and Michael Jackson memorabilia and  give the proceeds to the citizens of Guinea

Keke Palmer: iCloud Hack Latest Victim

Keke Palmer seems to be the latest target of nude photos being leaked online. Early Friday morning, alleged nudes of the actress made their way to various social media sites.Palmer, 21, who is currently starring on Broadway as Cinderella, has now been added to a list of celebrities—including Rihanna, Jill Scott, Gabrielle Union, Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton—who have recently had their privacy violated.

Palmer hasn’t commented on the alleged pictures. But as vocal as she is on Twitter, chances are she will have a lot to say.

The star of Broadway’s Cinderella was on the master list of celebrities who were targeted by hackers, so apparently the picture pilferers are still working on leaking everything that they have in their possession.

 According to Gossip Cop, Keke Palmer’s alleged leaked photos were posted on Reddit and 4chan late Thursday night. They feature the actress in various states of undress.