Spoofing is when a caller “deliberately falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display” to hide their true identity, explains the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Spoofed calls are not just a nuisance, they are “gateways for criminals,” that erode trust in Canada’s telecommunications system, CRTC chairperson Ian Scott said last November. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
Sometimes phone numbers are spoofed to target a specific region.
Or a scammer might spoof a number of a company or government agency that people are more likely to trust. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
“If you answer, they use scam scripts to try to steal your money or valuable personal information,” the centre noted.
The anti-fraud centre recorded nearly 17,000 complaints from people on the receiving end of these calls last year. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
Call spoofing is not illegal in Canada, but the fraudulent activity is.
The anti-fraud centre, which is jointly run by several groups does not investigate complaints, but acts as a reporting centre and repository for information.
Toronto is moving from trying to eradicate COVID-19 to learning to live with the virus while minimizing its negative impacts — just as we do every year with influenza, says public health chief Dr. Eileen de Villa. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
De Villa told reporters at a Friday briefing that public health officials around the world are concluding that, given how many people are being infected with COVID-19’s Omicron variant, a “COVID zero strategy” no longer makes sense. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
You may see some flare-ups over time,” that will strain the health system and kill some people, she said. That suffering will be minimized with vaccinations, masking, distancing and ventilation, de Villa said. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…
Produced by Skrillex, Sorry” is dancehall pop track filled big brass bleats and a warm dembow riddim that oddly generates a feeling of happiness in a what should be a dark time. 1.5 billion streams on Spotify, and 3.5 billion views on YouTube. thestar.com/entertainment/…
“Despacito”
In 2017 “Despacito” was inescapable. Every club, every house, every car, was playing it. Remixing a Luis Fonsi track, Bieber brought "Despacito" to the peak, hitting number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart for 16 weeks.
Canada’s hate problem is reaching new heights, but its justice system has failed to dissuade prolific purveyors of hate and discrimination who repeatedly target vulnerable groups, an Investigative Journalism Bureau/Toronto Star investigation has found. torstar.co/s2sv50HGpH1
The three men featured in this story have faced up to four separate hearings — whether criminal, civil, or under human rights legislation — for alleged acts of hatred or discrimination. thestar.com/news/investiga…
Each has been found by a court or tribunal to have engaged in hateful or discriminatory behaviour, received penalties or orders to stop, and then proceeded to carry out similar acts in open defiance. thestar.com/news/investiga…
Early data on Ontario’s Omicron wave is offering a striking first glimpse of how many more of the province’s most vulnerable residents might be dying, if not for the COVID-19 vaccine. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
A new report released by Public Health Ontario this week provides the first data on COVID hospitalizations and deaths that both breaks down outcomes by patients’ vaccination status and includes a significant part of the Omicron wave. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
The report details how the oldest seniors are still being hit disproportionately hard — those over age 80 accounted for about half of all reported deaths in the two-month period ending Jan. 16. thestar.com/news/canada/20…
#StarInvestigation: The consultant at the centre of a controversy over a potential conflict of interest at Metrolinx has given up his title at the provincial transit agency. torstar.co/nEwY50HGpz0
The move by Brian Guest comes after a Star investigation revealed his consulting firm received valuable government contracts from the agency while he was serving as an executive there. thestar.com/news/investiga…
Metrolinx confirmed Thursday night that Guest “has relinquished his title at Metrolinx.”
The organization said Guest had informed Metrolinx’s chief legal officer of the decision earlier this week. thestar.com/news/gta/2022/…