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This man thought he was paying his electricity bill over the phone. Instead, he ended up with a scammer
When West Hants resident Drew Kaulback wanted to pay his Nova Scotia Power electricity bill, he did what most people do: He looked up the phone number online.
The first result was a toll-free number and he called it.
In fact, the number was not the utility, but a sponsored link for an elaborate scam that would force him to scramble to secure his accounts.
Before giving out his card number, he asked the fraudster to prove that he worked for Nova Scotia Power and to provide him with the date of his last bill, the amount owed and the amount already paid.
The man put Kaulback on hold briefly and came back with the correct information. Kaulback is not sure how the scammer got this information.
Kaulback gave his credit card details, but fortunately the bank intercepted the payment.
Casey Spears, social and digital adviser for Nova Scotia Power, told CBC Radio’s “Information Morning Nova Scotia” that the utility is receiving an increasing number of calls about fraudulent websites, advertisements and phone numbers.
“Our IT and cybersecurity teams are aware of the issue and continue to monitor it daily,” Spears said in an email.
“They have taken down several domains through Google, but unfortunately these scams are sophisticated and quick, often only active for one day at a time, making it difficult to succeed.” Read more
First-time home buyers can now apply for a 30-year mortgage. Is this a good thing?
The federal government is giving first-time buyers with insured mortgages on newly built homes longer mortgage repayment periods. Andrew Chang examines the pros and cons of a 30-year repayment versus the current 25-year rule for future homeowners. CORRECTION: At 1:38 in this video, we miscalculated that 20% of $500,000 is $125,000. It’s $100,000. It’s been edited out for clarity.
The 30-year amortized mortgages announced in the 2024 federal budget came into force on August 1.
First-time buyers purchasing a newly built home can now qualify for a 30-year mortgage, giving them five additional years to pay off an insured mortgage. Other mortgages that require default insurance will still have a 25-year repayment limit.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland hailed the changes as an opportunity to restore “generational equity” for younger people seeking to enter the housing market.
Some say the changes will result in lower monthly mortgage payments and open up the housing market to younger buyers who have a harder time affording a home. But other mortgage analysts warned that the new rules would not apply to many people – and that they may cost more in the long run.
The extended insured mortgages are reserved for persons who:
- Are first-time home buyers.
- Buy a newly built house with no previous occupants.
- You have not lived in a home or other place owned by your current spouse or partner, unless the marriage or partnership recently ended.
- You have a high-interest mortgage, that is, a loan that exceeds 80 percent of the purchase price of the home.
To qualify for an insured mortgage, buyers must purchase a home valued at less than $1 million and put down less than 20 percent of the purchase price as a down payment. Read more
A US court has ruled that Google has an illegal monopoly on online searches
A US federal court ruled on Monday that Google had broken the law through its monopoly behavior in online search and related advertising, the first victory for antitrust authorities, which had filed numerous lawsuits against the market dominance of the big technology companies.
The decision represents a significant victory for the U.S. Department of Justice, which had sued the search engine giant for its control of about 90 percent of the online search market and 95 percent on smartphones.
“The court concludes that Google is a monopolist and has acted as one to maintain its monopoly,” wrote U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta.
His ruling against Google paves the way for a second trial to decide on possible remedies, such as breaking up the company or requiring the company to stop paying smartphone makers billions of dollars each year to make Google the default search engine on new phones.
Ultimately, Google will have the opportunity to appeal the court’s rulings before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit. Read more
What else is going on?
Rents are still rising across Canada, but at a slower rate than they have in two and a half years
In the provinces with the cheapest rents (i.e. not Toronto or Vancouver), rents are rising the fastest.
More than 70% of dentists now accept patients through the Canadian Dental Care Plan
Enrollment skyrocketed after Ottawa allowed dentists to file individual insurance claims without having to officially register.
The Gerber brand of infant formula has been recalled due to possible bacterial contamination.
Nestlé Canada states that the company has not received any reports of illnesses related to the recalled foods.
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