Scammers Are Working Hard This Holiday Season

Protect Yourself From Scammers

First Published Date: December 16, 2016

Hard working Canadians are busy this time of the year trying to make their families happy by presenting a memorable holiday season. Likewise, relentless scammers and con artists are busy on innocent Canadians to make their holiday season a miserable one. Scammers are always coming up with innovative ways to scam and it’s just not possible to warn everyone about each specific type. However, here are some common scams that are popular among scammers and con artists this time of the year.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

Text Message Scam – Scammers send a text asking you to be a mystery shopper, wrap your car with advertisements, a job offer, a moneymaking opportunity, etc. You will receive a cheque from scammers and in return you have to refund the extra money they paid you or give them your banking info. The cheque they sent is fake, so they will have your extra money and can empty out your bank account if they have banking details.

Shaved Cat Scam – Scammers shave or pluck cats’ hair and sell them as pricey hairless sphynx cats or kittens.

Fake Online Retailers – Scammers set up fake online stores and send out mega-sale flyers or online deals via email or text directing consumers to their fake websites.

Door-to-Door Scam – Scammers are on foot going door-to-door and asking for donations for various charities. Obviously there are no charities and the collected money is going to their own pockets.

There are many other scams that con artists come up with. Your best defence is your common sense and vigilance. If you believe you or someone else have been a victim of a scam, contact your local police and central anti-fraud authority such as The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC).

What To Buy and What Not To Buy At Dollar Stores

How to Shop at Dollar Stores

First Published Date: October 30, 2016

I still remember that day when I first found out that I was paying ten times or more for the same item at a regular retail store than a dollar store. It was a plastic shower curtain. I bought it somewhere for $10, and then accidentally I found out that the dollar store located next to the other store had the same item for $1. Since then, whenever I need to buy something and I doubt that there is a possibility that this product will be available at a dollar store, and it is not on my not-to-buy-at-dollar-store list, I check at a dollar store first. Today, I will go over some items I consider buying and some items I would never buy at dollar stores.

Author/Copyright: Ahmed Dawn www.adawnjournal.com

What Not to Buy

Do not buy any food items, drinks, soap, can food and vegetables, shampoos, baby food, toothpaste, shaving products, lotions, razor, sanitary pads, pregnancy test tools, vitamins, pills, school supplies, pens, perfumes, and so on. You should be very cautious about buying anything you eat, drink, or put on your skin from dollar stores. The quality of these products usually is very low and you don’t want to jeopardize your health in the short or long term to save a few bucks. There is no way to know what they put in these in factories in China.

What to Buy

You can buy items like cleaning products, decoration products, kitchen products, disposable items, greeting cards, small tools, craft items, and so on. You will have a good idea of what types of items can be bought at dollar stores after going through what I mentioned. Items that have no direct relation to your health, consumptions, contact with skin, etc. can be bought at dollar stores.

What to Try

There are some items at dollar stores that you can try to check if these are worth buying later on. Some of these items are toys, educational supplies, pet toys, and so on.
Dollar stores give you the opportunity to save some money. However, money can be totally wasted too if you don’t shop smartly at dollar stores.

How Not to Hold: Using Apps That Let Customer Service Reps Call You Back

Make Customer Service Reps Hold for You

First Published Date : September 8, 2015

We all have those frustrating moments of calling customer service; they put us on hold for hours and to make matters worse we don’t know how long we will have to hold. In the past, I always thought there was no solution to this infinite hold, but I guess I was wrong.

What technology makes possible today was unthinkable just years ago and yes, I am talking about the end of the vicious cycle of being forwarded from one number to another at customer service and the endless hold times. There are apps now for your smartphone that can do all that, as they will make customer service call you back. You don’t have to be transferred from one number to another because these apps will tell you what numbers to press at each prompt to get you to the right department.

FastCustomer: When you call your desired company using the FastCustomer app on your phone, FastCustomer calls the number, navigates through the menus, listens to the music, and once it gets a live rep, it will call you back. So you don’t have to hold and wait for someone; the app will call you back and you can spend time doing something else.

GetHuman: GetHuman gives you more options, as it shows how long the wait time is for the number you are trying to reach and what options to press at prompt to get through. Or if you prefer to have a call back, GetHuman will call you back once a live rep is available, just like FastCustomer.

Keep in mind that not all companies are on these apps’ database yet and there might be problems with calls occasionally, as these apps are still developing. I tried both apps from Canada to call WestJet, American Express, and VISA and they worked. I had a call back from these companies and everything went smooth. What I noticed is that if one company is not on one app’s database, probably it will be on the other one’s. So it’s a good idea to use more than one app to get your customer service. And there are other similar apps available like these two, but I find these two work the best and the most user friendly.

3 VOIP Communication Apps That Save You Money

Cheap International Calls from Smart Phone Apps

First Published Date: February 11, 2015

A VOIP App like Skype will give you very good voice quality, there is no doubt about it. However, whenever it comes to balance, getting good voice quality, and lower rates, Skype fails to make the list, as its rates are very high and unrealistic. Today, I will talk about 3 telecommunication apps you can use to make international calls on your tablet or smart phone at reasonable rates without compromising voice quality.

Ringo: Ringo is distinctive in that rather than using Wi-Fi it uses your local cell network on your phone to make international calls at incredibly low rates. I have not seen any other apps that beat Ringo’s low rates and still retain excellent voice quality. The only drawback of Ringo is that you wont be able to use it on your tablet, as it requires a cell network to make calls. However, as phones are getting bigger like tablets, most people will abandon their tablet at some point in the future, making Ringo a must-have app on your smart phone. Minimum load is $5.

OTO: OTO uses Wi-Fi to make calls and call quality is good enough to keep it as your Wi-Fi VOIP app. Rates are comparable with other VOIP apps and sound quality can beat most other Wi-Fi VOIP apps available. OTO also offers free international calling only from Korea. Minimum load is $10.

Google Hangouts: In the past, Hangouts voice quality was not that good. I noticed that it has improved a lot since then. The main advantage is if you are using Android phone, Hangouts is already on your phone. International rates are low and you can call anyone in Canada and USA for free.

How To Go Green With Bamboo

The Power of Bamboo

Published Date: May 07, 2010

One of the greatest gifts the Earth has given us to go green is a plant that has been used in Asia for thousands of years; bamboo. In the west, bamboo is not used as much as it is in Asia, but that is beginning to change as more and more people discover just how amazing this plant is.

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world, usually growing about one foot every single day. This means that rather than reach maturity in 30 years like trees in North America, a bamboo stalk can reach maturity within three years. In addition, one bamboo stalk can be harvested many times as each time the stalk is cut; a new stalk will continue to grow.

However, the fast growing ability of bamboo is not the only thing that makes the plant so great. There are several facts about bamboo that most people do not realize which show how versatile the plant is.

1.    Bamboo stalks are used in Asia to reinforce concrete because it has the same tensile strength as steel.

2.    While bamboo stalks are as strong as steel, fabric made from bamboo is actually as soft as silk.

3.    Bamboo towels are much better than cotton towels because bamboo is better for the environment, it does not take as much space to grow and bamboo towels are 1.5 times as absorbent as cotton towels.

4.    Bamboo can grow nearly anywhere and where it does grow; it helps to protect the soil from erosion.

5.    Bamboo can be made into a variety of environmentally-friendly products including floors, countertops, furniture, clothes, towels, baby clothes, baby products, toys, scaffolding and construction materials.

One of the biggest concerns about bamboo is that people feel that it costs more. This is not true at all. In fact, bamboo is beginning to fall in cost because it is becoming so commonly used throughout the world now. Even Wal-Mart, is beginning to sell bamboo products for a very low price. Many studies have also been done and found that bamboo is going to be one of the biggest exports and imports throughout the world in the 21st century. Many countries are starting to jump on this and grow their own bamboo. Currently though, China accounts for about 80 percent of all the bamboo exports in the world, and China grows all the bamboo it uses. The United States, Canada, Europe and Australia account for some of the bamboo exports and their hold on the market is beginning to grow.

So, if you are thinking of going green in your home, you can do no wrong by implementing bamboo everywhere you can. The floors are strong, the countertops are beautiful and the fabrics are soft. In addition, if you are thinking of investing in something that will increase in value in the coming years, then you should look at bamboo.

What other plant on Earth is as strong as steel, as soft as silk, waterproof and more absorbent than cotton? Bamboo is the wonder plant of the 21st century.

To streamline and minimize blog maintenance, I will be discontinuing maintaining the Thegreenlivingblog.com website (however, I will still hold the domain). I will gradually move all articles from this site to A Dawn Journal. This article originally published on the above website on Mar 7, 2010