Alberni Valley Times from Alberni, British Columbia, Canada • 3

League Canadian COLUMBIA ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2007 3A ALBERNI VALLEY Protecting RBC latest target your account for phishing scam of and Due Canada to integrity Online concerns, of the Service for Royal the we safety Bank have issued this warning message. As a result of too many incorrect attempts to access and Login By SHAYNE MORROW an online bank account. Most recipi- official advised that the company is vay you normally would." failures, AV Times ents of the scattershot scam attempt already investigating this particular The e-mail then advises that RBC Please note that Your Royal Bank won't, so they ignore it. phishing attempt. A close reading of willperiodically update theclient about of Canada Online Account has been It's the kind of notice that strikes But suppose you do have an account the e-mail reveals one giveaway and 'site changes and terminated.

In order for it to remain dread in the average person: you get with RBC. Local computer specialist one bit of false advice. "Visit our Privacy Policy and User active, an e-mail notice from the bank advis- Cliff Seiben says phishing is one of "Please use the link below to Agreement if you have any questions. Please use the link below to ing that somebody has been trying the major hazards for internet users. proceed and restore access to Your Royal Bank of Canada Security and proceed and restore access to Your to hack into your online account.

"It's widespread, and it's not just Account: Restore Your Royal Bank of Privacy https://www.rbcroyalbank. Account: Because they're so diligent, bank offi- the banks," Seiben said. "Major online Canada account Restore Your Royal Bank of cials have temporarily closed down companies like E-Bay and PayPal are No, banks won't send you updates Canada account account. also hit all the time." "Sicilian Mafia? That's pretty bla- on site changes and enhancements. fia.nl/.RBC/RBC/> Here's the kicker: in order to re- The 'notifications' from the victim tant," Seiben observed.

But in a court If they didn't get you the first time, Thank You. open your account, they provide a companies look very official, and con- of law, one could argue that the address they'll get you the second time, when Royal Bank of Canada. link. Just click here and, presumably, tain the same graphics used by RBC, was an obvious joke, he added. And if you check out their 'Security and Accounts Management As outanswer all the right questions, such PayPal or -Bay.

But the link they you click on the link without reading Privacy' site. lined in our User Agreement, Royal as, your account number and pass- provide you is as trap. carefully, you're too late. Notice that the web address looks Bank of Canada (r) will periodiword. If you fall for it, you're about to "When you reply, you're not send- "Imagine if you're new to comput- convincing except 'rbcroyalbank' is cally send you information about get taken to the cleaners.

ing your information to the bank, ers, and somebody sends you some- redundant: RBC uses 'rbc' alone. site changes and enhancements. It's called phishing. And in this or PayPal or -Bay. You've sent it to thing like this," Seiben said.

"The best RBC asks that anyone who believes Visit our Privacy Policy and case, the fraud artists tipped their whoever wants to get a hold of your advice is, if you want to be sure about they are a victim, or potential victim of User Agreement if you have any hand by sending the e-mail to the confidential banking information," your account, whatever it is, shut a fraud scheme, to contact them immedi- questions. AV Times newsroom address Seiben explained. down your mail. go to your web- atelyat1 2555. Tolearnmoreabout Royal Bank of Canada Security avtimes.net), purportedly from the Contacted Thursday morning browser and manually type in the real phishing and online fraud, visit their and Privacy https://www.rbcroyRoyal Bank of Canada (see sidebar).

(before disappearing into the elec- address, not the one they've given you. security website (the real one) at www. albank.com/onlinebanking/privacy. Obviously, a newsroom doesn't have tronic voice-messaging maze), an RBC Then log in to check your account, the rbc.com/security/bulletinPhishing. 1 SHAYNE MORROW ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES Cpl.

Ian Arklie interviews the driver of a pickup truck which rolled after losing control coming down Victoria Drive on Thursday afternoon. The vehicle ended up facing in the opposite direction, at the intersection of Warnock and Maitland. Island-wide beach monitoring now underway Thanks to expansion of the Vancouver Island Health Authority's on environmental monitoring service, local residents can have access to more information on water quality around the Island. The information, posted online, includes the most popular swimming beaches on Vancouver Island, including Sproat Lake to make it easier for residents and visitors to understand. "Vancouver Island is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world." said VIHA Board Chair Jac Kreut.

"We want to ensure that residents and visitors across the Island have access to easy to interpret information on water quality for these popular swimming destinations. We want to raise the public's awareness so everyone can make informed decisions on their water recreation activities." VIHA is adopting a region-wide approach to establish more consistency in testing methods and sampling protocols. Previously, testing was done regularly on the South Island area only, and on an as needed basis in the Central and North Island regions. Now, the most popular swimming areas will be sampled based on how often a beach is used by swimmers, Roll over AV Times pollution risk, tides and historic data. Testing and monitoring of less-frequented beaches will continue based on need as determined by environmental health officers.

The VIHA website will be updated each week with a list of beaches, the frequency of sampling, and the beach's status with a notation of either "open or This ad sponsored by Alport Insurance COME Forest PARTY Start of fest US! WITH Summer Festival! Port Alberni's 5th Annual FORESTFEST Get your JULY 6-8 Early S10 Bird Spoken Word Museum trailable at Now! Blacksmith Demo Art Family Tent Tin Pants Theatre Centre Sat. Night Concert Tillers Folly Ivan Covote Checo Tohomaso Friday Victoria Sunday Soul Gospel 11am Choir Capital Theatre McLean Mill co HI 1-( hannel BRITISH Connell Vous fist the Arts ARTS 1 COASTAL TIMES Foundation COMM Am Poets FLYING TANK LARGEST FLYING BOATS EVER I FLOWN OPERATIONALLY AND THE COMPANY WHICH OPERATES THEM AS WATFR9OMRERS THE COULSON GROUP OF COMPANIES Invites the Community to Share in the Opening Day Celebrations of Our New Martin Mars Fire Base Sunday, July 8, 2007 12pm-4pm. Bomber Base Road Off Highway 4 Official Opening Ceremonies Water Drop a 2:30 pm displays on the Historic Life of the Mars Bombers New Gift Shop loaded with souvenirs clothing of our famous aircraft hog dogs and cake Due to limited parking a shuttle bus will run from Sproat Lake Park boat launch parking lot from to 4pm.