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All of a sudden, many of us are getting one or more different but similar fake Quickbooks emails, as shown in the screenshots below…

A similar scam email is being sent from from an account in Colombia (.co), but this one claims you've received a much bigger payment — $65,000…

…and this one, which is being sent from an address in Brazil (.br) is the reverse — it claims to be a receipt for a hefty payment which you made…

In all of these cases, the View Reciept or View Payment button takes you to a fake QuickBooks log-in page hosted on the south Pacific island of Vanuatu (.vu)…

The fake webpage encourages you to provide your QuickBooks log-in info…

…if you do, you'll be prompted for your password, and if you give that, an overseas scammer will immediately use that info to try to get into your QuickBooks account, and if you have two-factor authentication turned-on, you'll be redirected to a fake page asking you to provide the security code which you've been sent — which is what the scammers need to get into your account and start stealing your money.

NEVER tap or click on links in emails like this!

The letter, as shown in the screenshot below, is being distributed both online, and in some cases, as an actual printed letter in an envelope placed in mailboxes in the Victoria area.

It accuses recipients of serious criminal offences involving child sexual exploitation and threatens that failure to respond within 24-hours or pay the fine will result in criminal prosecution and the public release of their identity as a sex offender….

This is a disgusting scam targeting immigrants who don't know how our justice system works.

The letter uses fear and intimidation to pressure recipients into acting quickly. It contains several indicators of fraud, including false allegations of criminal activity, threats of public exposure, deadlines for response, and references to legal processes that are inconsistent with how Canadian law enforcement conduct criminal investigations.

“The fraudsters behind these letters are relying on fear and urgency to manipulate victims into complying with their demands,” said Cpl. Nancy Saggar, Media Relations Officer, West Shore RCMP. “If you receive one of these letters, do not respond, do not send money, and do not provide any personal or financial info.”

If you know someone who's new to Canada who might fall for this, talk with them about this, and encourage them to spread the word!

The email, as shown in the screenshots below from Ron, purports to be a reciept for, in this case, a Springfield Armoury gun bought for $431 USD…

If you look closely, you'll see that the subject line has a reversed N replacing the U in "Update".

And the email is sent not by PayPal, but from an @gmail.com address, as shown in the second screenshot. The 'reciept' also does not have any of your info as the 'buyer' and does not say who the seller is.The large amount is designed to freak you out, and you're encouraged to call 'PayPal' at a number if you didn't order the gun. DON'T DO THAT — IT'S A SCAM!

If you call that number (which connects to a call-centre in India), scammers posing as PayPal will offer to refund you the purchase, and will try to talk you into logging into your credit card or bank account online, and sharing the screen with them. They'll then make it look like they vastly over-refunded you and will pressure you into transferring them the difference.

NEVER call phone numbers in emails like this.

A growing scam relies on Apple's popular FaceTime video calling app, with fraudsters using the service to impersonate bank reps and drain consumers' bank accounts.

Victims first receive a text message about account activity related to their bank or credit card, and are asked to call a phone number included in the text. Other times, they receive a direct call from the scammer, who says they require "additional verification." 

That's when the fraudster switches from an audio-only call to FaceTime. Victims are tricked into sharing their computer screens with the scammers while they log into their online banking accounts. The scammer watches in real-time while victims expose passwords, account numbers and even one-time security codes.

Apple says scammers are exploiting FaceTime because consumers generally trust the app and view it as a secure platform. But the tech giant urges consumers who believe they're receiving a suspicious FaceTime call from someone posing as a bank representative to take a screenshot of the call.  Tap the "info" button next to the call, hit "take live photo," and send the image to ReportFaceTimeFraud@apple.com.

Here are other tips you should heed to avoid falling victim to the FaceTime scam. 

Feel free to bookmark that page, as we'll keep updating it with screenshots of the latest scams!

A Rogers customer here in BC is speaking out after falling victim to a sophisticated delivery scam impersonating the telecom provider. “He had full access to my information. For this reason, I never questioned him and I never doubted that he was a Rogers employee,” said Shamim Rahimi.

Back in February, she signed up for a new device through her Rogers app and added a new phone line to her account. She says after placing that order, a Rogers rep called her that same day to confirm and verify the order.

However, Rahimi says she received another call from someone claiming they were a Rogers rep who convinced her to courier the phone back to Rogers so both her phone numbers could be combined under one account to qualify her for a special loyalty offer.

Rahimi says she was emailed a prepaid UPS shipping label. She dropped off the phone at the UPS store, all the while thinking she was sending the phone back to Rogers. In fact, the address on the shipping label was an address rented by scammers, who made off with the phone.

Rogers says the shipping box that contained the device Rahimi ordered included a physical paper insert warning about fraudsters impersonating Rogers employees with instructions on how to verify a shipping address for returns. Rogers says Rahimi shipped the package to a non-Rogers address in Mississauga, Ontario.

Rogers says it’s crediting Rahimi for her wireless services during its fraud investigation. However, she’s still left paying hundreds of dollars for a phone that ended up in the hands of a fraudster.

Items start at #10, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more security items above!

The World Cup Consolation Final will be at 2pm PT on Saturday in Miami…

The World Cup Grand Final will be at Noon PT on Sunday in New Jersey…

Radio

Saturday's Consolation final and Sunday's World Cup Grand Final will be streamed live on the iHeartRadio app, and on TSN 1050 Toronto, which you can stream live on radio streaming apps like Radio Garden, or on the web at Radio.Garden/listen/tsn-1050-toronto/D2LcQU2l.

There will be free outdoor public watch parties in numerous locations:

I was among the people gathered around a big-screen TV set-up on a window ledge outside the Irish Times in downtown Victoria last Saturday afternoon to watch the England/Norway quarterfinal…

I had friends who gathered at Fisherman's Wharf in James Bay to watch on a screen mounted on a boat moored next to the Puerto Vallarta Amigos restaurant…

In mid-June, the BC government over-ruled the BC College of Speech and Hearing Health Professionals, and not only approved the use of Apple AirPod Pro models 2 and 3 to help adults overcome mild to moderate hearing loss, but also ruled that hearing ads can be bought OTC (over-the-counter) without requiring a prescription.

The hearing aid industry in BC had previously refused to allow that, because they knew they'd lose a lot of business if they did, but the government over-ruled them. The Ontario government is considering doing the same.

Health Canada last year approved the use of AirPods Pro 2 and 3 to assist people with mild to moderate hearing loss — but the final say is up to each Canadian province and territory.

Apple says it's still waiting to receive official approval from the BC Government, and once it gets that — hopefully shortly — the hearing aid feature will be enabled here in BC.

Note that in the USA, people can also use AirPods 3 & 4 models which have with Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), but here in Canada, the approval is limited to only AirPods Pro 2 & 3 models.

Once the hearing aids functionality is enabled, you can use the instructions below to use it…

If you're visiting Europe for less than 90 days for the first time since April, you'll now have to line-up to register for their new free EES (Entry/Exit System), which means you'll have to have your face, fingerprints, and passport scanned and registered, and then you'll have to proceed to a second set of kiosks to confirm that scanned info.

The EES system is free, and your scanned info will be valid for five years, or until your passport expires, in which case you'll have to re-register with your new passport the next time you visit any EU country.

Heads-up if you're going to Switzerland: although Switzerland is not part of the EU, the Swiss decided to join the Schengen-zone nations in using the EU's new EES; that began on June 12.

When the EES was first implemented in April, the lack of enough scanning stations led to lineups of in some cases three to four hours.

Under pressure from nations such as Spain and Greece which add lots of weekend holidays cancel plans, The EU agreed to allow border officials to go back to the old passport inspection-and-stamp system if lineups got longer than half an hour.

That appeared to have solved the problem, but once July began and summer tourists began arriving in droves, massive lineups reappeared, and they're continue to cause people to miss connections.

Because of the long lineups for this new system, it's recommended that you make sure a connecting flight or train doesn't leave within three hours of your scheduled arrival — especially if you're flying into one of the busiest affected airports.

The following European countries are using the EES:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden — and Switzerland starting June 12.

There is, as yet, no EES in Cyprus and Ireland. Travelers’ passports are still being manually stamped.

You can download the free Travel to Europe EES pre-registration app from the Apple or Google App Store, which will let you go in an Express Lane, but there's a catch…

It'll currently only save you time if you're flying into Sweden or Portugal, although other countries are expected to start accepting pre-registration in the coming months.

Here are some tips on how to minimize the impact of the EES rollout…

ETIAS stands for the European Travel Information and Authorisation System, and the EU created it in an effort to identify any risks associated with visa waiver-exempt visitors — including Canadians —travelling to Europe.

ETIAS waivers were supposed to be required starting last year, but that requirement has now been postponed yet again, this time not till sometime in 2027.

An ETIAS Visa Waiver was supposed to cost €7 — which is about $10 CAD — but now the EU has decided to hike the fee, whenever it begins, to €20 — which is about $32 CAD.

Canadians under the age of 18 or 70 years of age and older will not have to pay for an ETIAS Visa Waiver, but will still need to get one before travelling to Europe.

The start-up of the program has now been delayed until sometime next year to give EU countries time to get the bugs worked out in the new EU EES system. When it kicks-in sometime next year, there'll be a six-month transition period during which an ETIAS Waiver will not be mandatory, but will be strongly encouraged, with express clearance lines for those who have one.

More and more countries are now requiring you to show proof that you have Travel Health Insurance before they'll let you enter.

Some European countries such as France, Spain, and Italy, which were still exempting visitors who are allowed to enter without a VISA, have now removed that exemption, and will not let visitors enter without proof of valid travel health insurance.

Also note that some countries require the insurance certificate to be in their native language!

More info on what amount of travel health insurance you need for each country is below…

There are now more than 40 of them, and they're in a separate Travel Tech Tips notes, which you can find on our Home Page, or on the toolbar at the top of any of our Notes.

Several people in recent weeks have casually mentioned to me that their phone, tablet, or laptop has started to bulge, and asked how to fix it.

A bulging battery poses a huge safety risk, and you should immediately stop using it and take it outside, in case it explodes and starts an intense fire! Do NOT try to recharge it.

Here are some pictures of a 'pregnant' smartphone which a customer brought into Charles at London Drugs recently…

Here's what the dangerously-bulging battery looked like when removed…

If you're going to take a device with a bulging battery in somewhere to have the battery replaced, handle it very carefully, and keep it handy so you can quickly get rid of if it starts smoking.

Starting July 13, some users may have noticed that Office apps (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or OneNote) can open and print files, but cannot edit, save, or create new files – called “reduced functionality mode”. This happens when support for Microsoft Office apps is no longer continued for older operating systems or devices.

This issue is affecting both Microsoft 365 subscribers on macOS, iPhone, and iPad, and those with non-subscription software, including Office 2021 or Office 2019 on macOS.

For most users, updating your OS, and updating your apps will resolve the problem.

There are two important issues to be aware of here:

On a computer, you can use their website, JustTheRecipe.app…

Here's a screenshot of an example: a New York Cheesecake recipe from OnceUponAChef.com….

…and here's a screenshot of the top half of what it look like when you paste the address into JustTheRecipe.com…

You can save up to 20 recipes for free, or you can save unlimited recipes and print any or all of them, for $2.80/month CAD or $21/year CAD…

If you need a photo editor that's more powerful than what comes with a Windows or Mac computer, you can now access many of the pro features of Adobe Photoshop for free, using the online photo editor, PhotoPea.com…

It lets you create and open Photoshop .psd files, so you can create or edit a project, including adjusting layers and vector graphics, and much more.

No need to install heavy software on your device. Just open your browser and start editing for free!

Friday was World Emoji Day, and to mark the occasion, the World Unicode Consortium (yes, that's a real body) has revealed the nine new emojis which will be coming to our phones, tablets and computers next spring…

These nine new emojis are officially called…

Spotify is testing a new way for subscribers to interact with their music library by introducing a conversational voice and text assistant. The feature, called Talk to Spotify, is rolling out in a beta phase to select markets right now, but Canada is not included.

The streaming giant says eligible users can now have back-and-forth conversations with the app. You can type or speak directly to Spotify to change the music, learn about specific tracks, and look up details about podcasts or audiobooks.

The beta is currently restricted to Premium subscribers who are at least 18 years old and living in the USA, Ireland, or Sweden. Spotify says other countries will be added in the months ahead.

Motorcycles need different routes than cars; they can access narrower streets and are more sensitive to road surfaces.

Because of that, the Waze navigation app, which Google bought back in 2013, is adding a new motorcycle mode, which uses AI to incorporate two-wheeler shortcuts and restrictions, helping motorbikers find the best route and get an accurate ETA…

Waze's new Motorcycle Mode also shows hazards that are tricky for riders, like potholes, speed bumps, raised crosswalks, shoulder endings and narrow bridges. All of this is powered by Waze’s real-time traffic info and a dedicated group of motorcycle map editors who are constantly adding new hazards to the map.

Motorcycle mode is rolling out now in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and the Philippines, on both Android and iOS, with more countries on the way.

Last weekend, Meta wisely pulled a creepy new "Muse" image-generation feature from Instagram, after a massive backlash over its ability to let people grab a picture of you off your Instagram feed, and use AI to create and share new pictures of you in a setting and activity of their choosing.

But while that controversial IG-scraping feature has been pulled, the Muse image-generator itself is still available on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and at Meta.ai, and you can still take a screenshot of someone and use Muse to generate all sorts of fake images of them doing things they'd presumably never do.

For example, I asked Muse to take the picture of me on the left which I got off the C-FAX website, and turn me into a circus clown, and the result is on the right…

I took the picture of Ron which you'll see at the top of these Show Notes and had Muse turn him into first, a firefighter, and then an astronaut…

Muse appears to have some 'guardrails' built into it, to prevent it from creating inappropriate images of people, but users have already found ways to trick the image generator into creating fake images of politicans and celebrities engaging in activities and in settings that are proving controversial.

To be fair, other AI engines like Gemini, Grok, CoPilot, and ChatGPT will also create fake images based on pictures of real people, but they appear to now have far stronger guardrails than Muse.

The Ookla Speedtest people are out with their annual Canadian internet performance awards, and this year, Bell (full disclosure: the parent company of C-FAX) dominated the categories, winning 10 honours, including both the fastest and best-rated 5G mobile network, and both the best and fastest home internet service.

And unlike results from previous years, where there were only small differences separating the big three providers, this year to performance gaps were more noticeable…

You can check out all the results below…

Microsoft says it's been listening to the many people who've been asking for search that is faster, more relevant, and easier to use — whether when opening an app, finding a file, or changing a setting.

Because the Windows Search Box is where many people start, Microsoft says teams have been focused on making results more dependable, easier to scan, and clearer before we click.

As a result, Microsoft says these are some of the changes we'll see in the coming months…

Apple Music and Apple One just got more expensive here in Canada, and around the world.

Here are the new Canadian prices, which are the increase to these rates in four years:

Apple says these price increases are the result of rising licensing costs.

Meanwhile, Apple is also raising the price of AppleCare+ subscription plans for some of its models here in Canada…

The annual subscription price for Mac models (except the Mac Pro) has gone up by $10, and the three-year plan has gone up by $30. The Mac Pro, however, didn’t receive an increase.

For the iPad, the monthly subscription price has increased by only $1/month, while the two-year plan has increased by $20. Unlike the Mac, every model listed on the AppleCare website is affected.

Interestingly, amid all the price increases, the cost of a two-year plan for the Apple Watch SE decreased by $6.

These price increases shouldn’t come as a surprise; most of the headlines surrounding Apple in recent months have centred on price increases across most of its products except for iPhones. And when the new iPhone 18 models are released thsi fall, hefty price hikes are expected.

While a new iPad mini is expected before the end of this year, a new report says you'll need to wait longer for updates to the entry-level iPad, iPad Air, and iPad Pro.

The most recent rumours of the first update to the iPad mini since October 2024 have claimed that it will be released with an OLED screen before the end of 2026. Now according to Bloomberg, this update is the first of several iPad model refreshes.

Specifically, the report claims that Apple plans to release new iPads from the fall through to spring 2027:

Back in 2024, it was reported that Apple was planning an OLED iPad mini for release in 2026. To date, the higher-quality screen has solely been used in the iPad Pro, where it doesn't appear to have been the success that Apple hoped for.

Nonetheless, Apple is said to be intending to eventually transition the whole iPad range over to OLED. The iPad mini, codenamed J510, is to be the first.

It's not clear what could be the second to get the technology, though, as reports of updates to the rest of the iPad range do not specify their screen type. The report does say that the base iPad will not get OLED yet, and that seems likely given that this screen type would add to cost of that entry-level model.

Instead, the claim is that the new update to the base iPad, codenamed J581, is a faster processor. Apple is not expected to give it a major redesign.

There is also no word of a significant redesign for the iPad Air, whose next 11-inch and 13-inch models are codenamed J807 and J837.

Apple is also not expected to make significant visible changes to the iPad Pro, which the new report says will launch around the same time as the iPad Air. Separately, though, other recent reports have claimed that the iPad Pro will gain vapor chamber cooling in early 2027.

The "Our Favourite Apps" list — which will have a lot more added in the coming weeks — is on our home page, and you can also get to it by going to Tech-Talk.ca/apps.

Check out our new YouTube Favourites playlist #2:

YouTube.com/playlist?list=PLOKnlVLuXE5URgg0ou8uGg4CnHXcou1UA

Our original Favourites playlist maxxed-out at 5000 videos; it's here…

YouTube.com/playlist?list=FLPPpa_PY8rxt-z1RoYZ7QJ

Videos start at #40, so the numbers don't get thrown-off if we add more tech news items above!

40) Watch the mesmerizing opening of last weekend's massive Electric Love Festival attended by 180,000 people in Salzburg, Austria…

41) Watch Michael "VSauce" Stevens reveal the only plural word in the English language which becomes singular when you add an 's' to the end…

42) Watch the trailer for the new Ryan Reynolds/Sir Kenneth Branagh action movie "Mayday", which will stream on Apple TV starting Sep. 4…

43) Watch how “My Heart Will Go On” went from an unwanted demo to the emotional voice of one of the biggest films in history, "Titanic"…

44) Watch The Rolling Stones - Never Wanna Lose You from their new album, Foreign Tongues.

It was great to meet you all, and to help you save some money; we'll do another one in late August!

They have great free concerts every Sunday at 2pm at the bandshell at Beacon Park on the Sidney harbourfront; this was last Sunday's very popular concert by "Completely Creedence"…

This Sunday, the concert will be by "Got Stones" — a great Rolling Stones tribute band.

Here's the full schedule…