A Courtenay woman, bothered by repeated calls from a person offering to fix her computer, is concerned somebody – namely a senior – is going to fall for the scam.
Linda Jeffrey — herself a senior — has so far received about 30 calls, five of them last week. The caller claims she has a bug in her computer, which can be repaired for a price. She has tried hanging up but continues to receive calls, as have her neighbours.
"If you say you're not interested, then they get really nasty," Jeffrey said. "This is bad. They get really rough with me."
Jeffrey is on a list to stop solicitors from calling within Canada. However, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has told her the calls are coming from India.
The CRTC encourages people to forward information about unwanted telemarketing calls, especially if their number is on a national do-not-call list.
The commission can investigate complaints when it has sufficient information. The public is asked to write down as much information as possible — number on the caller ID, time of day, what the caller is saying — and pass it on to the CRTC online or by phone.
''The more information we have the better we can investigate," a spokesperson said, noting out-of-country calls are a "very complex issue."
Besides the CRTC, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre is another option for complaints. The centre collects information and criminal intelligence on mass marketing fraud (telemarketing), advance fee fraud letters, Internet fraud and identity theft complaints.
For more information call 1-866-580-3625.
Contact the CRTC at 1-877-249-2782.