Old Boots Veterans Association

by **Falcon** Wed 26 Jun 2019, 4:17 pm

June 26, 2019

Edmonton veteran support group battles isolation and re-integration

WATCH ABOVE: Every week, a group of retired military veterans and former RCMP members get together to have an open and honest discussion about adjusting to civilian life. Kendra Slugoski has more.

Old Boots Veterans Association Website: https://oldboots.ca/old-boots-veterans-group/

https://globalnews.ca/news/5429619/edmonton-veteran-support-group-old-boots/

by Tazzer Sun 05 Jan 2020, 4:45 pm

First Hussars Association London On

Old Boots Veterans Association Gettyimages-1046153146-170667a

London veterans group on alert as email scammers angle for cash

January 5, 2020

A London regimental association is on alert after email scammers posing as the group’s president tried to fool veterans into sending cash.

The First Hussars Association, representing about 140 retired members of the London-based regiment, saw its members targeted by two fraudulent emails in a week, president Lt.-Col. Joe Murray said.

Murray said the scammers pretended to be him, but a close look at the messages showed they weren’t sent from his email address. Both emails said Murray had fallen on hard times and asked members to send money.

“They were trying to set the hook,” Murray said. “Luckily, we’re a tight-knit group and we know each other . . . I got phone calls from members saying, ‘This doesn’t sound like you, Joe.’ ”

Murray isn’t sure how scammers got the group’s email list, but said the group will be even more vigilant in future.

“No damage was done, but it’s a lesson learned,” Murray said. “This is the way of the world and we have to evolve with it and we just have to watch out for each other and our community.”

The phoney emails are examples of a scam known as spear phishing, in which emails that appear to be from a known sender, such as a boss, co-worker or client, use the connection to solicit sensitive information or money from the recipient.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the federal organization that tracks and investigates scams, received 436 reports of spear phishing scams involving 228 victims and losses totalling $12.7 million between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, 2019, the agency said. That was down from 593 reports, 240 victims and $15.1 million in losses the year before.

The centre said people can protect themselves from speak phishing by paying close attention to the sender’s email address. Sometimes the fraudster will add an extra dash, dot or letter to the email address.

The public should be suspicious of emails requesting money, independently verify the source and report scam attempts to police or the anti-fraud centre, the agency said.

The First Hussars Association alerted its members about the scam emails, and Murray plans to report the scam attempts to police.

Though he’s glad none of his members were victimized, Murray said the scheme is upsetting.

“It goes to show you how low people will go to exploit veterans and people who are legitimately trying to help others and make Canada and London a better place,” he said.

“We’re a bunch of old soldiers, but we still have to keep our guard up.”

jbieman@postmedia.com

twitter.com/JenatLFPress

To report a scam
Contact police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre

Online:www.antifraudcentre.ca

Phone: 1-888-495-8501

https://lfpress.com/news/local-news/first-hussars-veterans-targeted-by-email-scam

Old Boots Veterans Association

Old Boots Veterans Association

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