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The Citizen, 2015-09-03, Page 11THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2015. PAGE 11. A Central Huron resident is out $2,100 after she fell victim to a convincing scam this week. On Aug. 12 the victim received a telephone call at home from a male reporting he was a RBC fraud investigator. He reported he was working with the RCMP and they were jointly investigating someone that had compromised her credit card. The victim was led to believe someone had compromised her credit card and had sent a wire transfer in the amount of $1,100 to another party overseas. The supposed fraud investigator stated that the scam was likely an internal scam originating from a bank employee. The scammer then tricked the victim into believing she was viewing a legitimate online banking page with her account details. The scammer advised her that they had deposited $2,100 into her account to cover her losses that were taken from her account. The scammer then informed the victim the minimum amount they could credit her account was $2,100 so she was then directed to use a money transfer service to wire them back the excess. The victim reported she is very cautious and aware of various scams however she stated the scammer was very smooth and convincing. She stated the fake web page she viewed was identical to her actual banking page. In this particular scam the scammers used “Phishing” or “brand spoofing” to create an e-mail message and web page that was a replica of a legitimate online banking website. These web pages and websites are used to trick users into submitting personal, financial or password data. Often the e-mails will ask for information such as credit card numbers, bank account information, social insurance numbers and passwords that will be used to commit fraud. The goal of criminals using brand spoofing is to lead consumers to believe that a request for information is coming from a legitimate company. In reality, it is a malicious attempt to collect customer information for the purpose of committing fraud. To protect yourself from being a victim: Never send money to a stranger using a money transfer service. If you have any suspicions at all to the legitimacy of the call/off/request take your time before you take any action. Consult with family, friends, banking officials and police prior to providing personal information or sending money. If you have any questions or concerns about this scam or any other types of scams, contact your local police agency immediately. You can call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222- 8477(TIPS). Brussels student serves as MVCA weather reporter The Maitland Valley Conversation Authority has been actively participating in Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network reporting for years, but over the last 10 months, one of its most reliable volunteers is an 11-year-old boy from Brussels. Justin Morrison, who lives near the Brussels Conservation Area, is a young man who is fascinated by the weather, so when the opportunity arose to volunteer with the conservation authority, he jumped at the chance. Every morning between 7 and 9:30 a.m., Morrison heads to his backyard and checks the level of precipitation that is in his rain gauge. He does the same in the winter for snow precipitation levels. He then enters the data into the network’s website at www.cocorahs.org, where levels can be checked from all over North America, entered by thousands of volunteers. Jeff Winzenried, the Authority’s Watershed Resources Technician, says that there are about 20 volunteers throughout the Maitland Valley watershed and that Morrison is one of the most dedicated and most consistent. Winzenried says he can guarantee that when he logs in to the website, which he does daily, Morrison will have charted his results, even if it was a night where there had clearly been no rain or snow. He also added that Morrison remained dedicated through the winter months chronicling snow precipitation. Historically, Winzenried said, the volunteer base shrinks slightly during the winter months as people don’t want to venture to their gauges in colder temperatures. In volunteering for the network, Morrison, a former North Woods Public School student who is now on his way to Grade 7 at F.E. Madill School, has truly found a way to play out his passion in a way that helps the world. For almost as long as he can remember, Morrison has been fascinated by the weather. He became seriously interested after the 2011 F3 tornado in Goderich. He said he found himself stumped as to how a tornado forms and why it does what it does, so he began looking into it and fell down the weather rabbit hole, wanting to learn as much as he could about all kinds of weather from all over the world. Now, every day he checks four different weather websites, including the radar on Environment Canada’s website, while also checking out weather around the world. Earlier this month, when a tornado touched down in Teviotdale, the Morrison family was in Ethel and Justin convinced his mother Glenda to drive him along with the storm. The pair didn’t get very close for fear for their safety, but they did get close enough to see a funnel cloud touch down, which Justin thought was pretty interesting to see live. He began his time with the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority late last year (his first network log post was on Nov. 16, 2014). Since then, he has kept up with it steadily. He’s hoping to expand this winter to help track snow accumulation and depth, as well as his existing precipitation gauge work. As he prepares for his first day at F.E. Madill, Justin’s response to the question of whether or not he’s thought about his future is “lots”. In school he says he’s interested in math and science, but as he grows older, he hopes to focus on video game production or perhaps become a meteorologist, with a little storm chasing on weekends, he says. He also has a newfound interest in robotics after he was entered in a Lego robotics course in Stratford earlier this year. For more information on the network, visit www.cocorahs.org and for more information on the Conservation Authority, visit www.mvca.on.ca. Checking his levels Justin Morrison of Brussels has had an interest in weather for years, but at the end of 2014, he found a perfect outlet for his passion in helping the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority to report precipitation levels in his backyard. Since he began volunteering, the 11 year old has become one of the Authority’s most dedicated volunteers. (Shawn Loughlin photo) OPP pass on new scam alert Take Us Back to School Electronic Subscription Stay connected to The Citizen while you are away at college or university with an Go to our website and pay by PayPal or come into the office and pay by cheque or cash www.northhuron.on.ca 413 Queen St., Blyth 519-523-4792 541 Turnberry St., Brussels 519-887-9114 Only $1680 for 8 months (includes GST) This offer is valid for students only 1ST AVENUE,VANASTRA 519-482-7869 519-482-5816 Andersen is the registered trademark of Andersen Corporation. All other marks where denoted are marks of Andersen Corporation IF B U S Y CALL Truckload Sale Fri Sept 11th - 9-4 Sat Sept 12th - 10-2 Windows, Doors & More “Come to See Our Newly Renovated Showroom!” Special Patio Door Pricing 5'-$579 / 6'-$649 Cash & Carry Many odds and ends at Discounted Prices Will have BBQ & Refreshments By Shawn Loughlin The Citizen BUY? SELL? TRY CLASSIFIED