Canada Post Update
New community mailboxes will be introduced to these communities this year :
- Calgary (Postal codes starting with T2B, T3J)
- Fort McMurray (Postal codes starting with T9H, T9J, T9K)
- Winnipeg (Postal codes starting with R2P, R2V)
- Oakville (Postal codes starting with L6H, L6J, L6K, L6L, L6M)
- Kanata (Postal codes starting with K2K, K2L, K2M)
- Rosemere (Postal codes starting with J7A)
- Lorraine (Postal codes starting J6Z)
- Bois-des-Filion (Postal codes starting with J6Z)
- Charlemagne (Postal code starting with J5Z)
- Repentigny (Postal codes starting with J5Y, J6A, J5Z)
- Lower Sackville/Bedford Area (Postal codes B4A, B4B, B4C, B4E, B4G)
Instead of nine individual square compartments, these feature sixteen individual rectangular compartments per mailbox so more addresses can be serviced per mailbox. And some mailboxes that don’t feature a mail slot and parcel compartments will have more individual compartments.
A picture of the new community mailboxes can be found in the Community Mailbox Backgrounder (PDF). Comments and questions in regards the new community mailbox will be accepted at feedback.canadapost.com.
By the way, you have until the end of this month to stock up on domestic “permanent” stamps at 63 cents. The domestic postage rate for letters under 30 grams with be 83 cents on April 1st in booklets, coils and panes and $1 per stamp when purchased by single unit.
Rates in general for domestic and international letter mail will be going up on April 1st, 2014. Light parcel rates had gone up in mid January.
Suspended Membership Phishing/Hacking Scam
There appears to be a new Netflix scareware scam going around and I thought I’d inform you as to how it works.
Basically victims are sent a fake email directing victims to a fake Netflix site where members are asked to enter their email address and password.
Once entered this information is captured by the criminals and victims are then forwarded to another fake page claiming their account had been suspended.
This fake page then urges victims to call an 800 number to reinstate their membership which actually directs individuals to a call center in India, where fake Netflix technicians are waiting to continue their con.
When victims call this 800 number they are told that their computers have been taken over by hackers and are asked to download software to remove the hackers and/or clear their computers of viruses.
This software enables the fake Netflix technicians to access your computer and all the sensitive information found on this computer’s hard drive. But access to Netflix and your sensitive information is not the only objectives of this scam.
Victims who have gone through this process are also asked to pay for the privilege of being violated.
They are asked to pay for the clean-up, a five year membership for an anti-virus program and a five year membership for a firewall.
In exchange for payment by credit card the fake technicians offer a coupon code for a discount on Netflix membership. But not only do they request credit card information for payment but also ask their victims to send photo identification to them.
This information of course enables them to steal identities, as well as to defraud their victims through their credit card. And Netflix members will not likely be the only target because it can be adapted to target any online membership.
The best defense against this scam is to ignore the links and phone numbers provided in these emails and contact a company directly via their web site.
If there are real issues with your account at a particular company their customer service department should be able to help you.
I bookmark the sites I access the most in my internet browser and use those links instead. And using spam filters on your email also helps because some filters will keep these phishing attempts out of your inbox if enough people label it as spam.
Most webmail sites have spam filters and you can install free spam filters for your PC by clicking on the following logo :
Budget Day Goodies ?
Today is Budget Day in Ottawa. And the current government has been promising to address some issues related to the higher prices Canadians pay for certain products.
Canadians pay significantly more for certain products than the Americans and although some of the price differences can be attributed to tariffs, labour and transportation costs, much of the purchase price is pre-determined by the manufacturer.
“Country Pricing” has become the standard and unfortunately Canada’s prices have not been adjusted to match our dollar’s strength.
Some online retailers have done their best to match prices but Canadians were still forced to either import products from the states or pay higher prices at their local retailers.
I suspect that tariffs will be reduced or eliminated on certain products in this budget, perhaps on books, clothing, electronics and home appliances.
Those are the most imported products, especially on Black Friday. But I’m also hoping they will follow the recommendations in the February 2013 Senate Committee report of the US/Canada Price Gap and raise the de minimis threshold for postal shipments from $20.
When you import most products by mail you are exempt from duties, fees and taxes if the product or products shipped are valued at less than $20 Canadian.
I’ve managed to save some money using they exemption. But many countries like the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore had raised this minimum to US$100 in November 2011, enabling their citizens to avoid paying the hefty brokerage fees some couriers charge on parcels.
Brokerage fees have recently gone up in Canada so I’m hoping they will at least consider a CAN$50 threshold.
The other probabilities in the budget are reductions in credit card/banking fees, funding for an expansion of high speed internet into rural areas, and the unbundling of cable channels so I guess lots of Canadians will be watching this afternoon.
The budget broadcast will air on television and online on CPAC at 4PM Eastern. Details on the budget will also be made available on the Government’s Official Site after 4 PM Eastern.
Gift Card Offers
Until February 7th, 2014 you will be able to obtain a 15% discount off $50 iTunes Cards at participating Shoppers Drug Mart stores. Please consult your local Shoppers Drug Mart flyer for details.
Gift Card Offer At Best Buy
Some Best Buy Canada stores are offering $60 iTunes multipacks for $48.00. Please consult your local flyer for details.
This offer ends Jan 23rd, 2013.
Petition For Door To Door Delivery
A petition for Canada Post to keep door to door deliveries has been created on change.org and currently has over 120,000 signatures.