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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, July 25, 2014 | 6 Beware the scams A string of recent reports from Halton police serves as an important reminder you can't be too careful when it comes to solicitors over the phone or at your front door. In yesterday's (Thursday's) edition of the Oakville Beaver, we carried a story about Oakville Hydro warning residents not to be taken in by a phone scam currently making the rounds in which the fraudster pretends to be an Oakville Hydro employee seeking payment. Cassandra Umbriaco, a spokesperson with the utility, said a handful of customers were contacted on Friday, July 18 from a 1-800 number and told they owed Oakville Hydro money, which needed to be paid immediately. The caller demanded credit card or banking information and stated he would cut off the customer's power in one hour if they did not provide the money. The calls were not placed by Oakville Hydro, the person isn't af liated with Oakville Hydro and that's not how the local utility does business. Halton Regional Police Service has been contacted about these incidents. They are the latest in a series of such occurrences in Halton communities. Last week, a man was going door-to-door in southwest Burlington allegedly claiming to be a police of cer and collecting money for charity. A citizen had a hunch something wasn't right and called the police. The man was neither a police of cer nor af liated with a registered charity. He's now facing charges. Halton police remind people canvassers should have photo identi cation for the charity they represent and should be willing to wait while the organization is contacted to con rm their legitimacy. A Milton couple spoke out in the media last week after recently thwarting a fraud attempt. The woman received a personally-addressed letter from a U.S.-based market research company. Inside was a $3,998.90 cheque and letter allegedly from the research rm, asking she deposit the money into her bank account and transfer funds to two separate addresses in New York. She was told to keep the remaining balance, $800, as payment for her services. Indeed, this turned out to be too good to be true. She wisely called the phone number for the bank branch in Toronto listed on the cheque. Bank staff con rmed the cheque wasn't legitimate, and the market research company said it didn't send it, warning it's a scam. Halton police also reported this month a Burlington couple received a phone call from a man stating there was a $300 fraudulent charge on their Visa credit card. The caller ID displayed `Visa' followed by a 989 area code phone number. The man asked for detailed personal information, including what credit cards the couple possessed and their respective card numbers. Believing the caller was legitimate, the information was provided. Fortunately, an attempt to transfer money overseas was prevented by MasterCard. Unless you're certain of the corporation, you should always end up following your bank's hold policies when depositing a cheque. Police ask residents to never provide personal information to an unknown caller. Unfortunately, seniors are often the target of fraudsters. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says they are targeted for many reasons, and runs a SeniorBusters awareness program. Halton police say recognizing and reporting fraudulent activity is the best method of prevention. Editorial O P T I M I S T I C F O R "Connected to your Community" F U T U R E 447 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 52 | Number 89 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS The Optimist Club of Oakville Don MacDonald Bursary awards are given annually to Oakville students pursuing post secondary education in the next school year with a major in academics, theatre, art/sports or technical trades. Recipients have demonstrated leadership by participating in school and local community projects. Pictured, from left, are Optimist members Andy Mann and Don MacDonald, Sean McKellar (T. A. Blakelock High School), Carolyn Akadious (Iroquois Ridge HS), Enna Giumares (Abbey Park HS), Liyza Csanyi (Oakville Trafalgar HS), Educardo Jaimes (St. Ignatius of Loyola Secondary School). Absent is Sylvia Michalski (St. Thomas Aquinas SS). | submitted photo Advertising Director DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS Letter to the Editor In June 2012, I moved to Oakville... a return to the province after a 26-year absence, a retreat to rural life in western Prince Edward Island. While picturesque PEI has its own issues, mainly all the youths leaving for work... and thus the beginning of the journey back... I lived downtown Toronto for 10 years prior to my retreat, and all those years ago, noise was not the issue it is today. Oakville is a wonderful, vibrant community with everything you need at your ngertips, including a charming village chock full of shops and food offerings. It has the most beautiful trees I've seen in years, where I came from deforestation continues. I am consistently in awe of their scent and splendour on my walks. I have even given up my car. It's about the noise and the complete lack of consideration for pedestrians, cyclists and the list goes on. Over the past while, I have witnessed an increase in heavy truck traf c on Speers Road. Lately, I have heard, then seen, trucks hauling two and three shipping containers, up to 16 axles hitting manhole covers, all explosive to the ear. This neighbourhood, between Trafalgar Road and Dorval Drive, has been transforming from industrial to residential, with many condo- MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution Reader finds no peace or respect on Speers CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager miniums being built and lled quickly. Heavy truck through-traf c should be limited -- if not altogether prohibited -- at the very least on weekends. Aside from the noise, damage to the roads is inevitable. Even those horri c leaf blowers, landscapers now use instead of rakes to reposition grass or leaves, are outrageous. There are days when six to 10 such blowers are being used. I am almost positive if you measured the sound levels at this point, they would far surpass what a human should be exposed to on a daily basis. There are days when my ears ring, literally, trying to lter my own thoughts as I walk the dog. It starts around 5 a.m. and lasts till about 11 p.m.(leaving) a very small window for recovery and rest. All of the illegal turns made with no regard to pedestrians or cyclists, crosswalks blocked by inconsiderate drivers, some distracted, most invisible through heavy window tint, leave me guarded and anxiety ridden. There is always a vehicle that wants to take away that 24 seconds we have to cross by making a turn or running a light. All I ask is for some peace and a little respect, just like the song says... Donna Lewis, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5040 Mainway, Burlington ON L7L 7G5 or via e-mail to; ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.