New scam alert; Guests and gossip policed by condo: CBC's Marketplace cheat sheet
Consumer and health news you need from the week
Miss something this week? Don't panic. CBC's Marketplace rounds up the consumer and health news you need.
Want this in your inbox? Get the Marketplace newsletter every Friday.
Be on alert: After that big global tech outage, scammers might try to target you
If you were impacted by the global tech outage last week, your computer may be back to running normally, but you should still be on the lookout: phishing schemes trying to reel in businesses and individuals are now coming to light.
Security specialists are warning people to be aware of malicious actors purporting to be tech specialists offering help to recover from the outage, which was caused by a faulty software update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike.
Some of the scammers may even be posing as employees of Texas-based CrowdStrike, which has offices around the world.
CrowdStrike said it doesn't believe a hack or cyberattack was behind the outage and it delivered a fix to address it. The company has apologized and vows to be as transparent as possible in assessing what happened, while warning some people may be trying to take advantage of the situation.
For instance, in Latin America, there have been attempts by scammers trying to trick people, and the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Centre said it has noticed an increase in phishing attempts related to the outage.
Carmi Levy, a technology analyst in Canada, says scammers are always scanning news headlines to jump on opportunities to go phishing.
Typically, they'll reach out by email or social media instant messaging, he said. Some will even call and say they're from a support department, a way to "look for opportunities to hit us when they least expect it."
"We tend to think of scammers, cybercriminals, fraudsters as these James Bond-like masterminds — these super-villains who use incredible technology and incredible knowledge — when in reality, they're lazy," Levy told CBC from London, Ont.
"They go after us when we're at our most vulnerable ... they'll target us in the wake of a natural disaster or a human-caused disaster like this one when there's lots of chaos and lots of uncertainty." Read more
Struggling with infertility, this Ottawa couple was told they can't foster children, either
Alana and Alec Jenkin had hoped to welcome a foster child into their home with the help of CAS Ottawa (CASO) in September 2021.
The couple said before embarking on what turned into a nearly yearlong application process, they were honest with their case worker about their difficulties conceiving a child of their own, and said they were seeking treatment.
They never suspected the information would be held against them, but 10 months after applying they learned they'd been rejected.
"By phone she told us that she was worried there was a sense of emotional instability because we were going through fertility treatments, and as a result were not a stable enough home," said Alana Jenkin.
The couple was doubly devastated.
"It literally felt like the universe thinks we can't have children, and now the government's telling us we aren't capable either. That is what it felt like," Alana Jenkin said. "We know that's not true."
The couple had initially thought they'd have an excellent chance at being approved as foster parents because they checked all the boxes on CASO's website: they're married, working stable jobs with the federal government and were open to fostering a child of any age, identity or culture. They were even willing to foster siblings, considered a high-need category at the time.
At the mandatory information session they attended, three different foster families were brought in as examples. One couple had recently given birth and still had two newborns placed in their care, Jenkin said.
It left them wondering how being pregnant or already having children was acceptable to CASO, but working on having a family was not.
In a statement, CASO said matching each child with the right family is a complex process and potential foster parents must be able to adapt to the diverse needs of the children in the agency's care.
The Jenkins said they understand that kids in the child welfare system can have complex needs, and the agency must be careful about where they're placed. At the same time, the couple fears that given their own experience, other potential foster parents who would make good caregivers are being overlooked. Read more
How much control can a condo board have over your home? These residents say their board is policing everything from overnight guests to gossip
Richelle Komes's first warning from management at her Mississauga, Ont., condominium came in February 2023.
The issue: Komes had allowed a visitor — her cousin — to stay overnight in her home and park in her underground parking spot.
"[Y]our visitor appeared to be intoxicated which is [a] danger to the public safety and to the other residents in the building," read the letter from the condo's on-site manager.
Komes insists her cousin was not drunk. She also said her cousin was only in a public space while walking to her unit.
Komes said she wasn't aware of any visitor restrictions, and when she asked management for a copy of the rule, it wasn't provided.
The building does now have a visitor restriction in place, requiring permission from the property manager or board of directors for any guest staying overnight for more than one night per month. However, the rule didn't come into effect until July 2023 — five months after Komes's cousin came to visit.
She's one of more than a dozen owners at 135 Hillcrest Ave. who are raising concerns about how the building is run. Many say they fear harassment and intimidation from the condo's board and management, due to the condo corporation's frequent use of legal warnings, which the owners say serve to silence them.
CBC has reviewed legal letters sent to seven of those owners on behalf of the corporation over the past several years for alleged issues ranging from harassment to violation of rules, spreading gossip, noise complaints and derogatory comments. In each case, the board also ordered the owner to pay for the legal costs associated with sending the letter to them.
Last year, Arpil Dedhia and Dhawani Shah, also owners at 135 Hillcrest Ave., got into a legal dispute over blinds that apparently did not comply with rules about the style of window coverings — despite appearing to meet the written requirements specified in the corporation's bylaws.
Another owner there, Raulson Sequeira, received three noise complaints in February and March this year, one of which stated his daughter was running in a hallway.
Sequeira requested relevant records, including the security footage from the seventh-floor hallway where his daughter was allegedly running and "causing a considerable amount of noise" on the evening of Feb. 24. The board's response states that "no such records exist."
Board president Ismael Jirby, building management and their lawyer have not responded to CBC's emails and phone calls. Read more
What else is going on?
Do you drive a Chrysler Pacifica?
Parent company Stellantis is recalling certain plug-in hybrids and telling owners to park outdoors due to a battery fire risk.
Borrowers, rejoice! The Bank of Canada has cut the interest rate again.
It's down to 4.5 per cent, with more cuts to come if inflation keeps easing.
The recall applies to products with a best before date of July 20.
Marketplace needs your help!
Are you in a battle with your insurance company over a stolen car? We want to hear about it! Send us your stories, pictures and documents to marketplace@cbc.ca.
Are you looking for the latest in business news? You'll want to subscribe to this newsletter, too.
Mind Your Business is your weekly look at what's happening in the worlds of economics, business and finance. Subscribe now.
Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
