Simon Tonekham’s Blog

I was reading a news article today that Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s iPod is finally heading to Canadian store shelves. The Zune, which was released back in the United States in the beginning of 2007 is finally to compete against the iPod. As an iPod owner, I personally haven’t tried the Zune out myself, but I saw a display at a Target store down in Erie, Pennsylvania on a snowy day back in February 2007. For some, it’s finally worth the wait after we left out in the cold for the Apple iPhone to come out. With the Zune and the iPhone finally hitting Canadian store shelves, people can decide which portable music player is best for them. There’s no word if the Zune will be “iTunes” friendly. Well, it’s anyone’s guess.

In other Microsoft related news, it seems that Microsoft has finally pulled out of the controversial bid to buy Yahoo which in turn cause a ripple effect on their stocks. Both shares of Yahoo and Microsoft were slightly dropped after the announcement. For my part, it seems that both companies have finally “Decided to break it” after they couldn’t agree on a certain deal. If Microsoft were to buy Yahoo today, it’ll be topsy-turvy in the information world and this could fuel the next dot-com bubble (like it was back in the late-1990s and heading towards the early-2000s).

In other news, the Virgin Festival in Vancouver (the music festival in which many big-ticket acts perform for two days) has cancelled after it had failed to secure many of the big-ticket and top acts. This is the second time that such a music festival has cancelled in the Vancouver (and B.C.) music scene. First, it was the Vans Warped Tour that pulled out of Vancouver. Now the Virgin Festival has finally fallen to it’s wrath.

Andrew Bridge, one of the organizers has quote in an interview: “It wasn’t from a lack of trying, but we just couldn’t make it come together this year for Vancouver. We don’t want to do a sub-optimal festival in Vancouver, We want to make sure that we hold up extremely high standards.”

Rock festivals in Vancouver bring a lot of money to the city’s economy. Now with two tours being nixed, it leaves many music fans in a uncertain economic future. The V-Fest website for the Vancouver listing mentions that they will be back next year. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen to one businessman who bilked up thousands of dollars on the Walkerton Watershed Festival (which was cancelled not once, but twice - back in 2003 and 2004).

In other news, I was a reading an article at durhamregion.com about residents protesting against Rouge Valley Health System’s move on moving the mental beds from the Ajax-Pickering Hospital to Scarborough’s Centenary Health Centre. The hospital coroporation suffered a massive debt worth $78 million CDN. According to one MPP (Member of Parliament), the person who is planning to go for treatment in Scarborough is unrealistic.

Many protesters, from residents to members who work for the Ontario Public Services Employees Union (or OPSEU) took part in a rally against the hospital’s decision to move all mental health beds to Scarborough. Despite the rainy weather, many of them won’t give up a fight. When I was in Grade 9 and attended the now-defunct Exeter High School, we used to participate in the Terry Fox Run and I can see the hospital in the distance.

In other news, my first day in the Electronics course went very well. I’m striving to be very well in this particular course. 7 weeks is not bad for me. Anyways, I’m leaving you a few lyrics that will fit the scenarios.

Westlife - “If I let you go”:

But if I let you go
I will never know
What my life would be
Holding you close to me
Will I ever see
You smiling back at me
How will I know?
If I let you go …

Marianas Trench - “Push”:

Hey, don’t you feel it now?
My shiny side down
Hey, burning brighter still
And you’re getting sick
And you’re feeling it

It’ll wear you down and wear you down
You chase it, breathing in and out and in and out
They’ll push you up against the wall, against the wall
You didn’t think you’d feel it all but you were wrong about it
Push

References:

http://www.electronista.com/articles/08/04/30/zune.for.canada.in.may/

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/06/zune-headed-for-canada-on-june-13th/

http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjU4WijVVNa5XulswezGrDtj0Tsw

http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/PCWorld/story?id=4785469

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/durham/article/98295

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/97948

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/412746

http://newsdurhamregion.com/news/ajax/article/98389

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/421227

“Cancelled Virgin Fest leaves B.C. cold”, Calgary Sun, 04 May 2008

“Don’t make cuts to Ajax Hospital”, Newsdurhamregion.com, 15 April 2008

Well folks, it’s that time again. Tax Time. The Tax man at the Canada Revenue Agency (aka Revenue Canada) is on the lookout for people who don’t file their taxes and/or how much many individuals own to the Tax man. The same thing applies for many businesses, incorporated or unincorporated.

Now let me get this straight. Your taxes are not due until April 30th, 2008. That gives you some time to gather up your T4s, Tution receipts (aka T2202A) and many other countless forms that the Tax man need to have from you. If you have a negative amount, it’s a refund. Positive amount - well you owe the Tax man a lot of money - big time.

While many people decided to file their taxes through E-Filing to a professional provider such as H&R block or Softtron, many people decided to opt in special tax preparation software that will do the work for them. In my humble opinion, not every tax software out there provide the best results. Here’s a list of NETFILE certified software:

• QuickTax
• U-file
• FutureTax
• GenuTax
• myTaxExpress
• TaxFreeway
• TaxTron
• StudioTax

If you don’t want to spend the money on buying professional software such as QuickTax or U-File. You have some options on getting different Tax preparation programs - for free! They are listed below:

•  FutureTax
• myTaxExpress
• TaxFreeway
• StudioTax (at this time of blog posting, this is a pre-certified version for the 2007 tax year)

Be warned though, some freeware based Tax Preparation software might have limitations - either the print function is disabled or certain forms are not active in the trial version. So the next time you want to choose a no-frills solution on filing income taxes on your computer, keep these factors in consideration.

We hope that these tips will help guide you in your desperate time on filing. Oh and btw, the CRA has set a limitation on filing 20 tax returns for filing on your computer using Tax preparation software.

References:

www.netfile.gc.ca 

http://www.futuretax.ca/ 

http://www.genutax.ca/

http://www.mytaxexpress.com/ 

http://www.taxfreeway.ca/ 

http://www.studiotax.com/ 

www.quicktax.ca 

TaxTron.ca

www.cra.gc.ca

www.taxamnesty.ca 

I was logging in to my Facebook today until something came to my attention: The 2008 Vans Warped Tour is coming to Toronto and this time - it’s personal. The tour will be held at Downsview Park on July 19th, 2008. Although the Warped Tour website hasn’t confirmed as of yet, there’s a slight possibility that they will change it - to the fans dismay. Either it’s going to be a different site in Toronto or as always in Barrie (either Park Place or Burl’s Creek Park as the organizers had planned).

It seems that my blog posting might have contributed to the tour being held at Downsview Park.  To my surprise, I was pleased with the fans demands. They don’t want to drive all the way to Barrie just to see the tour and spending the whole day listening to some Punk Rock performances. Most of the people who drive to Barrie either has friends or prefer to stay at a hotel. With the Warped Tour being held within Toronto city limits, getting the tour is very easy - if you have the knowledge of reading transit maps!

Downsview Park is situated at a former Canadian Forces base in Toronto. The land is owned by the Federal Government and is now a urban park. To get to Downsview Park, you have to take the TTC subway on the Yonge-University-Spadina line to Downsview station. There are many transit routes that serve the park, but one TTC bus route, the 101 Parc Downsview Park goes directly to the park - however it’s a seasonal route. I would highly recommend boarding this bus route if the Warped Tour is planned to be at the park. If you are coming from York Region, take the Viva Orange or Viva Purple bus to York University. Transfer to the 101 TTC bus. However, there’s one catch - you might have to pay two separate fares in this case (from VIVA to TTC).

This event listing from Tourism Toronto’s website explains explicitly:

July 19, 2008
Warped Tour, Downsview Park
www.downsviewpark.ca
An exciting touring music and extreme sports festival as it rolls into Downsview Park.  This event is for the music enthusiast as over 100 bands will play throughout the day on multiple stages. Downsview Park is a unique four season urban recreational green space developed according to the principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The park reflects Canada’s mosaic brilliance and celebrates its past, present and future accomplishments.

I hope that my dream will finally come true. I’ve waited for 4 to 5 years on having the Warped Tour to play within Toronto city limits.

Still with transit, GO Transit is looking for a $.15 CDN per ride increase (for an adult fare) - pending a vote by the GO Transit board this Friday. If the vote goes ahead, it would mean your monthly pass will cost $195 CDN. For a 10-ride adult ticket, it will cost $54.75 CDN - that’s $1.25 CDN more from $53.50CDN. This also applies to discount fares. It will be two years since GO increased its fares. The factors on the fare increase is the new services provided by GO include: the newly expanded train service to Barrie, new buses on the Highway 407 and Lakeshore corridors and most of all - inflation. Rising energy costs are the factor of the fare increase.

Despite the fare increases, GO Transit remains a reliable way to go to work, school or play. As for the Warped Tour, I wonder if Kevin Lyman will comply with the Downsview Park offer….

References:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=10104336125 

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080207/GO_fares_080207/20080207?hub=TorontoHome 

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_19369.aspx 

http://www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20080207_094251_4220 

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/301280 

To all bank account holders out there (and to those who rely on Online Banking), there’s a new trojan creeping up and you (and your entire bank balance) may never know it until the damage it has done. The new trojan (a similar manner like a virus) called “Silentbanker”, targets many financial institutions worldwide even those in Canada. This particular trojan can intercept transactions that require certain steps and then quietly change the bank details of the user and transfer that into the hacker’s own account.

This particular trojan uses the bank’s genuine (valid) website as part of the attack. Traditional hackers looking for access set up fake (phony) websites designed to look the same way as the online banking website. This is just like the same manner as “Phishing” (No, this term has nothing to do with the band Phish, which coincidentally is one of Bobby’s favourites), in which e-mails are set up to look like the same thing and the user won’t go unaware until the damage is done…..

I usually avoid phishing sites by installing an alternative web browser such as Mozilla Firefox and then add some extensions to enhance my user experience such as the NetCraft toolbar and McAfee’s SiteAdvisor. Here are some tips to avoid a potential victim of this latest fraud:

• Update all security software (Anti-Virus, Spyware)
• Check to see if there is a fix for a particular web browser (in this case Internet Explorer) or go to Mozilla Firefox
• Make sure you have a firewall installed on your system (hardware or software). I highly recommend ZoneAlarm’s Free Firewall (or if you prefer, you can spend the extra money on investing a “hardware firewall” such as AlphaShield. If you have an old computer lying around, you can use it as your own Hardware Firewall and using a special Linux distrobution (ClarkConnect, IPCop), but although I wouldn’t recommend going to the old PC turned into a hardware firewall route because you will have an impact on your hydro bill if you intend to run it all the time - it also create some problems with your hardware and eventually, a fire hazard.
• If you have a broadband (Cable/DSL) router that has a built in firewall, use it. But for maximum protection, I highly recommend installing a software firewall in conjunction of a hardware firewall. If you want to test your PC for securability, then I highly recommend going to GRC lab’s Shields UP! test, which you can do it for free - in your web browser. No extra software needed.
• Consider getting an Anti-Spyware application (program). The free programs I recommend are Ad-Aware, Spybot and Windows Defender.

If you do suspect that you are a victim of fraud, report to your financial institution immediately. They will often reimburse you for the loss. The same matter goes to your credit card company, if you realized that you didn’t make the purchase, you will not be held responsible for that purchase (some conditions may apply for Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover cardholders) - that’s the Zero liability policy.

We all have to be vigilant to all of our surroundings, guys. You must protect your precious assets - your bank account.

References:

http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=0e8222a8-aa09-406b-be1c-0bce3e7a2a8b&k=48015 

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/01/17/tech-trojan-banker.html 

http://news.google.ca/news/url?sa=t&ct=ca/0-0&fp=478fa5564f552b94&ei=z_uPR4C1Comk-wHwyqyvCA&url=http%3A//m-net.net.nz/2157/latest-news/latest-news/trojan.silentbanker-defeats-2-factor-authentication-attacks-400-b.php&cid=0 

With the holidays over for all, there’s one thing that most people should worry about: paying off your debts after you had spend recklessly with your credit cards (or charge card)! Now, I’m not trying to bash at you about your own health, but I had decided to offer some tips on how to avoid going into the long run of carrying your balance around. Whether it’s a major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) or a store credit card, my ideal tips will help you in desperate situations.

1) Try to pay at least the minimum balance (whenever possible) or if you can - pay the entire balance in full. Paying the entire balance in full will help you further and maintain a good credit rating.

2) Carry cash or debit card for smaller purchases or wait until there’s a certain sale, where prices are marked down.

3) Consider consolidating your debt and refrain from paying any minimum payments. The reason, it will end up costing you more down the road.

For example: if you have $3,000 outstanding on a credit card at 19.8% and you make the minimum payment, it’ll take you 17 years to pay it off and you’ll have paid over $3,300 in interest.

There are many companies out there offering credit counseling and consolidation services out there, either on the internet or by consulting your yellow pages (phone book). I’ve posted a few sites out for all of you to see. To finish off this blog posting, I’m going to leave you a few tunes from my favourite band, Marianas Trench.

Say Anything:

Decided To Break It:

Just like Josh Ramsay is saying in the beginning of the “Decided to Break It” music video, “I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!”. That’s the quote you will say if you can’t pay off your debts on time.

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_18158.aspx

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_17198.aspx 

InCharge Debt solutions

Credit Counseling Canada

Consolidated Credit Counseling Services Of Canada

As you people are preparing for hosting your own party at your house, or going to a friend’s place to do the celebrations there, heading to a public place to witness all the excitement or just wanted to watch the ‘tube for the celebrations, I want to say best wishes for the new year and I hope 2008 will be more exciting as it was for 2007.

Anyways, Music World, a struggling music chain once owned by the Pindoff family has finally closed down for good after they had liquidated it’s assets. When I last went to the Pickering Town Centre location of Music World, there was nothing left. The store was almost empty, but there was a few CDs left behind, even the currently released ones - all marked down by half price. Another interesting thing is that they are selling a box of surplus shopping bags - for only $5.00CDN a box!!! I wonder who will get those bags….possibly it’s anyone’s guess. My idea - sold those bags and take those surplus bags to a specialized recycle company and possibly turn into new shopping bags. That’s how recycling works.

I felt really sorry for the people who worked for the company, but if you are a former Music World employee reading my blog right now, I wish you the best of luck finding your new job or taking the job you currently have.

Changing gears, what are your new year’s resolution? My new year’s resolution goes as follows:

• Go to as much concerts as possible (even some Punk Rock concerts)
• Lose some weight
• Save money
• No strike by GO Transit (which all hell with break loose on January 7th, 200
• Recommendations that GO Transit should wear “ID badges” complete with the number of that particular employee.

The last two are my main points. First off, I don’t want a strike to happen by GO Transit bus drivers and second, I would highly recommend that all GO transit bus drivers, ticket staff, maintenance workers, locomotive engineers, etc. should wear ID badges complete with a unique number to identify that employee. This is my latest addition as my ongoing dispute with the transit authority. I already informed the student ID coordinator about my problem, which I’m still awaiting their response. If GO Transit does not apologize for the incident, all hell with break loose and that how I have decided to break it. I’m filing a class action lawsuit against the company for the “unfair” practices. As what the song by Marianas Trench goes:

You can take it all away and I’ll miss
There’s a little bit of you in all this
And you can say you only think you know, yeah
Please, there’s a better bit of me to see yet
Cause you haven’t seen any of my best
You know I hate myself without you now

Hurts the same when nobody knows
I guess that’s just how it goes
And I won’t say anything at all

To see the music video “Say Anything” by Marianas Trench, you can view it here:

To learn more about Marianas Trench, please visit their website at www.marianastrench.net. On behalf on myself, I wish everyone a safe and happy new year. If you drink, please don’t drive. Arrive Alive. Drive Sober and Use your RoadSense.

Well folks, I went down cross-border shopping to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York with my mom today and we had a lot of fun. That’s all I have to say. I bought two Famous Stars and Straps t-shirts, a can of Vurt deodorant bodyspray and some Vurt eau de toilette from a store called PacSun (Pacific Sunwear for short). I spent around $66U.S. As for my mom she spent some stuff from Guess, Bath and Body Works and Hickory Farms. I can’t remember what stuff she spent, but that’s ok.

Anyways, this is a take home message to all of you cross-border shoppers down there - especially if you are using your debit card in the United States. I just want to point out that not all Canadian bank cards (depending if you deal with a major Canadian bank or a credit union\caisse populaire) work in the United States. This “instance” occurred when I witnessed a Canadian trying to pay a purchase at a American store using his ATM card.  In this case, the person was using a CIBC bank card to pay for the purchase. That card does not work. He tried another bank card, that didn’t work. The cashier told them that there’s a bank machine somewhere in the mall, but instead the person decided to use his Visa Credit Card.

It seems that Canadian people followed a message on one contributor to the Toronto Star newspaper about our soaring dollar. Here’s what he have to say:

“Don’t forget folks, if you use your ATM card in the U.S. the good ol’ Canadian banks will charge you a 2.5% conversion fee on the withdrawn amount. ” - Ron Russell, El Naranjo Mexico

Let me point this out, folks: Not all Canadian bank cards will not work in the United States. Even thought that the card displays the PLUS or Cirrus logos doesn’t mean that this card will not work on an American debit network. Unless, if you are the lucky ones who bank with TD Canada Trust, Scotiabank, RBC Royal Bank, National Bank of Canada, le Mouvement Desjardins and ATB Financial, you can use your debit card in the states with no problem (NYCE is a debit card network in the states that will work with these financial institutions). I’ve decided to ammend Mr. Russell’s claim (sorry, dude. You just give the Canadian’s a misunderstanding) as a result (the explaination can be found on my old Livejournal blog, which since has been closed down).

There’s another debit network in the states called ACCEL/Exchange. As far as I know, Citizens Bank of Canada and Vancity are the only two financial institutions that offers access to that American debit network. A “minor” debit network called the CO-OP network has a debit system as well. Only two financial institutions, Alterna Savings and Alterna Bank offer such a service. There’s one benefit of that network: They’re all ding-free (surcharge-free)!

Now, don’t feel blue, you guys. I’m just posting my “second opinion”. When I checked out the Fashion Outlets Mall and the Walden Galleria, there’s is foreign exchange service provided by a company called “eFX” that recently accept Canadian bank cards!!! To give proof, I saw a sign that says, “Now accepting Interac”. Those were the only places that accept Canadian debit cards - but just only for changing currencies from Canadian dollars to the respective currencies such as the U.S. Dollar. I haven’t tried this myself, so if anyone is planning to go to these shopping malls, I highly recommend that you give a try. It’ll make a difference. If in doubt: you can always exchange money in Canada before shopping in the U.S. or use your Canadian Credit Card in the U.S. If you intend to cash money at an American bank machine (either using your bank card or debit card), be prepared to pay all the extra fees.

We hope that this information you find will be very useful.

References:

http://www.royalbank.com/products/deposits/cross-border-debit.html 

http://www.scotiabank.com/cda/content/0,1608,CID8186_LIDen,00.html 

http://www.desjardins.com/en/nouveautes/paiement_direct_eu.jsp 

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/ebanking/tda_dir.jsp 

http://www.nyce.net/consumers/crossborderdebit/crossborderdebit.html 

http://www.atb.com/Dev/features/abm_interac.asp and http://www.atb.com/Dev/aboutatb/atb_index.asp (scroll down until you find the word, “NYCE”)

https://www.vancity.com/MyMoney/ProductsandServices/Banking/WaystoBank/

https://www.citizensbank.ca/Personal/Products/BankAccounts/HowtoBankwithUs/INTERACDirectPayment/

http://www.alterna.ca/Templates/BankPersonalSub.aspx?mid=338&id=1302 (this is the same page as Alterna Savings’)

http://www.thestar.com/printArticle/265884 - readers’ perspective about the benefits of our stronger dollar.

http://www.thestar.com/Travel/article/271896 - facts about Cross-border shopping and many ways for you on how to pay for the purchase while shopping in the U.S.

Do you guys remember there was a slogan by a major credit card provider that always ask the viewer, “What’s in your wallet?”. Well in that case, that company is Capital One and they decided to pitch in financial support for providing the TTC free rides on the transit system - streetcar, subway and buses! The TTC haven’t done this for almost 30 years. In the past, it’s business as usual for many riders - even on New Years’ Eve. But some TTC attendants like to “break the rules” on letting passengers in so they won’t pay the fare - that’s a bad idea to some and that’s in my humble opinion. If you live in Toronto and/or going to attend the celebrations in Toronto, you’re in luck. However, there’s one drawback: the free service does not start until 12.a.m on New Years Day - Jaunary 1st, 2008.

Many other transit systems in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) are offering similar or relatively identical promotions like the TTC. For example, Durham Region Transit is teaming up with Ontario Power Generation or OPG (the province’s power generator) and the Manufacturing and Technology Centre on providing free transit service from 8a.m. to 2a.m. GO Transit in the meatime will provide free rides after 7p.m. until end of service (All times Eastern). It is uncertain for Durham Region Transit, as they are in a middle of a $2.3 Million CDN deficit and it could rise…..As for GO Transit, their bus drivers are currently planning to have a strike sometime on January 7th, 2008. Which is blasphemy because, people will have nowhere to go! This is the worst experiences I had as a college student.

Today, I was catching a bus home from Oshawa to Ajax (I was at the Oshawa Centre to do some Boxing Day shopping). I showed my UPASS to my bus driver (a universal transit pass on my Durham College student ID card. UOIT students and Trent @ Oshawa students also participate in the program and it’s included in the tuition) and the bus driver told me that the UPASS is NOT valid on holiday service. I’ve tried to persuade him that it is valid during on holidays, but the driver refused my claim. I was then forced to pay with my leftover DRT adult ticket. Another colleague of mind - this time a UOIT student showed the UPASS to the driver and she got the same response as mine. She was then forced to pay cash as a result. She didn’t got angry at first and for myself, I tried to cool down my frayed tempers. By the time I left the GO bus, I was mumbling to myself on my head. Shortly after the incident, I briefly recorded the bus number, the date and time of the incident and where the incident occurred. I filed a complaint to GO Transit and to the Better Business Bureau. To view my progress of the BBB report, click here.

This is the third time that I got ding’d! The first time I got ding’d was a DRT bus driver thinking that my pass is not valid. My second incident happened when another (you got that right), another GO bus driver checked my pass at the back and she thinks that I had altered my pass, but what I was suppose to mean is that the inked that the student ID office stamped for me got smudged. So after that, I have to get my student ID replaced. This is a very bad experience for me, I’m considering to file a lawsuit against Durham Region Transit and GO Transit (the problem is, i don’t know where to start and as the old saying goes, it’s up to the courts to decide). The College’s paper had written an article about the UPASS misuse and you can view it right here. Here’s what a co-ordinator for student identification services referred about me:

“The onus is on the bus services. Some drivers don’t check, and it’s up to them to enforce it. We had one guy come in and he’d written over his stamp in marker……as if we couldn’t tell it was his handwriting. We will re-stamp cards if they become faded, scratched or damaged, though. It happens.” The bottom line is that using a fake stamp on campus ID cards is considered fraud.

Anyways, free transit rides are a sure thing that the TTC has finally get their hands in their pockets. To close it off, I would like to say best wishes for a better 2008. If you are going to a public place, like an arena (such as Oshawa’s Celebrate 2008 at the General Motors Centre) or a square (like CityTV’s New Year’s Bash 2008 at Nathan Philips Square in Toronto), this is my take home advice for you: Remember to be kind and generous to other people at this time of year. If you exaggeratedly filed with excitement, you have decided to break it. Just like the song by a band from Vancouver, B.C. called Marianas Trench. The song goes like this:

A thousand promises that never seemed to help me before
A hundred less and I would stumble till I found the back door
With nothing left to think I’ll probably sit around and ignore
The apathy it always leads me
It always finds a way to break me down…

And that’s when I decided to break it

Remember what the phrase in a scene in the “Decided to Break It” music video:

“Failure is not an opinion. It’s inevitable.”

You can view Marianas Trench’s music video below. To learn more about the band, please visit www.marianastrench.net:

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_18024.aspx

http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20071226/free_TTC_071226/20071226?hub=TorontoHome

http://www.thestar.com/News/article/288699

http://680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20071226_094649_4740

As you people are doing your last-minute Christmas shopping for the big day, I want to tell you a very big nightmare that could happen to you and you may never realized unexpected until you find out the damage has finally done:

I was reading an article on Citynews.ca about a debit card scam taken place on the streets of downtown Toronto (Queen Street to be exact) and someone out there allegedly decided to spy on the customers’ PIN numbers as they use their bank card to steal the customer’s information and somehow steal that person’s money!!! From what I heard, this is blasphemy! This is ridiculous! This is an outrage! It literally traumatized many customers and eventually asked the banks to compensate for the entire loss.

From my experience, I demanded that the implementation of chip-based bank cards should be expeditied as soon as possible. It will be at least after 2010 until all bank cards (debit and credit) will be equipped with chip cards. So far, many PIN pads are equipped to handle the new chip cards. However, there’s one serious loophole. Fraudsters might find a way on how to break the chip card system and eventually steal the money!!!!!

If you have a bank card, here are a few tips that you should to protect yourself:

• Change your PIN number at least once a month
• Cover the PIN pad on the external device or bank machine by using your hand or covering up your entire body
• Check your statements daily.
• If you suspect that you have a fraudulent transaction that you didn’t do, REPORT TO YOUR BANK IMMEDIATELY.

So far over the past few months, many debit card rings were broken up and many individuals arrested. Debit card scam in the common numerator is equal to traumatized consumers on the common denominator. Here are few pictures of many devices seized by the police:

As I speak, a pilot project is now underway in the Kitchener-Waterloo area on Chip cards. The trial will conclude next fall on October 2008. The town of Saint-Jérôme, Quebec will commence it’s own pilot project starting in the Spring of 2008. As for Tim Hortons (who is already accepting Mastercard for it’s payment along with PayPass), I’m not sure how they will play a role on chip card-based transactions. Until they can solve a problem to that, it’s anyone’s guess how they will cope.

I have yet to see Visa Cards in Canada equipped with PayWave, along with Amex’s ExpressPay system….

References:

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_15438.aspx 

http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_17940.aspx 

http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Edmonton/2007/03/16/3763801.html 

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=7b850a1b-6e7b-46b7-a0d1-231542e5fefe&k=23360

http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=92038&sc=82 

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071016/Interac_test_071016/20071016?hub=Canada 

http://www.pwgsc.gc.ca/recgen/colloquium2007/presentations/workshop5-paolo-pizzuto-e.html 

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=748409 

http://www.secureidnews.com/news/2007/07/05/national-bank-of-canada-to-conduct-a-smart-card-pilot-project-summer-2008/ 

Information about Chip Cards:

http://www.cibc.com/ca/features/chipcard/index.html 

http://www.desjardins.com/en/a_propos/publications/carte-puce/ 

http://www4.bmo.com/personal/0,2273,35649_29771630,00.html 

http://www.tdcanadatrust.com/security/chip.jsp 

http://www.banking.pcfinancial.ca/a/security/CHIP.page?referid=tx02 

https://www.laurentianbank.ca/en/personal_banking/my_money/chipcard.html

https://www.vancity.com/MyMoney/ProductsandServices/Banking/VISACards/Benefits/VisaChipAndPinCards/ 

http://www.interac.ca/consumers/chip.php 

http://www.mastercard.com/ca/personal/en/technologies/chip/index.html 

http://www.visa.ca/chip/ 

https://www.atb.com/Dev/features/protect_chip.asp 

http://www.chipmigration.ca/ 

http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/cards/chip/ 

Hey guys,

I’m finally back after almost a week’s break of writing my exams. Therefore, blog posting will continue throughout the holidays until January at least. I’m just happy that my exams are finally over and as we go over towards the holidays, it’s time to relax and enjoy the comfort of our own homes and we await what a new year will bring us.

Changing gears, has one of you people finished your Christmas shopping yet? If you haven’t, I highly urge you to do your shopping NOW. Don’t wait until the last minute and remember these things:

If you are using a credit card or debit card, plan a budget and only spend what you really need for your family or friends. You could save a lot of hassle from getting a lot of debt in January…

If you don’t know what to get your family member of friend, then gift cards are a good way to go. Most retailers have stopped issuing gift certificates in favour of the reloadable, reusable and durable gift card. If you live in the Province of Ontario, Canada, you have some good news: The Ontario government has banned expiry dates of all gift cards. However, some gift cards might have expire dates and some retailers are not in compliance with the Ontario legislation. I highly urge you to read the fine print before making a decision.

Until then, good luck.

- P.S. I will post a flashback posting on this blog tomorrow.

Article:

http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/283382