Tweet
For the latest news from Scotland see our ScotNews feed at:
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Being a smoker I find it is increasingly difficult to find accommodation which allows you to smoke. That being the case I thought I'd check with Mark Breed who is a long time advertiser on our site under "Unique Cottages".
He wrote back with...
The cottage search page has a filter under ‘property restrictions’ dropdown which allows you to search on ‘smokers accepted’. If you check this filter and the one for pets it should return a list of available pet and smoking friendly houses.
So for those smokers out there looking for accommodation in Scotland this is now your best choice for finding suitable accommodation for your holiday or business meeting. I did a search myself but with Wi-Fi instead of Pets and it found 2 and one was acceptable and I would have booked it.
So do check out: https://www.unique-cottages.co.uk/
-------
To Clan, Family, Scottish Societies and Highland Games organisations and St. Andrews Societies and Scottish businesses.
Due to me now being retired I find I no longer need the amount of income I generate from Google Advertising but I still need some so am looking to make some changes to the site and I am inviting the various clan, family and other Scottish organisations and Scottish businesses to consider sponsoring this web site.
I need to raise US$500 a month to pay for my hosting and search facilities. I am thus offering to ditch the left border of the site and replace it with a text link to your site or to our information with onward links to your site. So if I take a clan as an example... Under the Printer Friendly button in the left Border I would place a Sponsors Link under which I would then add your clan name to the list with a link to our page about your clan. That means that anyone clicking on the link would find all the information we carry on our site about your clan which would include links to your own web site(s), newsletters, etc.
Given that we are still the premier web site for historic information on Scotland and people and places of Scots descent around the world you should benefit from this high profile publicity. You would then be also able to take a copy of our own weekly newsletter and send it to your own members giving them a weekly fix on Scottish historical articles.
I will work with all such sponsors to add any information about your organisation to this site and as always any new information would be added to the weekly newsletter.
I estimate that at US$25 a month I would need 20 such sponsors or at US$10 a month I would need 50 such sponsors. So my question to you is this doable and would you be interested? I am willing to discuss options with you on this new idea. It might be that some high profile Highland Games and St Andrews Societies would be prepared to donate US$25,00 a month with some others at US$10 and that way the larger sponsors would get the top entries in bold with lesser sponsors under in plain text.
I would also look at replacing the top border and bottom borders of the site with banner adverts to a special sponsors page.
At this time this is just an idea but if there is sufficient interest then it could become a reality sp please get in touch and let me know your thoughts or suggestions.
--------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Help us Stop BBC Bias
A new campaign by David Keighley who monitors the corporation’s output for News-watch. He is seeking a judicial review into how the BBC measures its own impartiality and has launched a crowdfunding appeal to back his Help Us Stop BBC Bias campaign.
Read more at:
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stopbbcbias/
African leaders launch free-trade zone
African leaders met on Sunday to launch a continental free-trade zone that if successful would unite 1.3 billion people, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-af...-idUKKCN1U20BX
Labour's ambitions trump the needs of British Jews
That Labour is now seen as a safe space for anti-Semites should at least be acknowledged
Read more at:
https://capx.co/for-labours-leadersh...-british-jews/
New Children's Laureate wants to take on TV
Cressida Cowell, who has been named as the new Children's Laureate, is ready to do battle to encourage children to love books. You might also like to visit our page which contains some 800 children's stories at: https://electricscotland.com/kids/childrens_stories.htm
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-48909869
Why do so few people buy electric cars?
The government’s enthusiasm for electric cars is well known.
Read more at:
http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2019/07...-electric-cars
Glaswegian chef living in Australia exports one of Scotland’s top inventions Down Under
Now, in another illustrious chapter in Scotland’s history of innovation and international entrepreneurial spirit, we have exported the munchie box to Australia.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/glaswe...he-munchie-box
Labour's misguided energy policy is already costing Britain
The prospect of a Corbyn led government has long been considered the biggest risk facing the UK's economy.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/labours-misguided-en...osting-britain
Buccleuch holds talks with communities over south of Scotland land
It has now confirmed that two communities have expressed an interest in buying some or all of the land.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...tland-48942792
Pentland tidal energy scheme could outgun Dounreay
Full build out would represent a capacity which is 50 per cent higher than Dounreay, the Caithness nuclear power plant that is currently undergoing long-term decommissioning.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/business/pe...reay-1-4962295
Europe should brace for U.S. tariffs on several fronts - German official
Trump administration nonetheless appeared poised to impose tariffs over disputes about aircraft subsidies, the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline and European car imports.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-us...-idUKKCN1U51TY
The Irish Government has revealed the bad faith with which the EU has treated the border issue
But it has now become totally clear that the EU’s position on the border was a falsity peddled in order to exercise maximum pressure on the UK
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/the-irish-...-border-issue/
Mark Carney FINALLY drops project fear as he admits UK ready for no deal
BRITAIN's banks hold enough capital to cope with both a no deal Brexit and a global trade war, Bank of England (BoE) Governor said - but warned leaving the European Union on WTO terms would still tighten financial conditions for businesses and families.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...p-johnson-hunt
Is the Brexit Party unpatriotic?
Farage can back Trump to the hilt, or he can back Britain - he can't do both
Read more at:
https://capx.co/is-the-brexit-party-unpatriotic/
It’s time for Britain to get tough with Iran
The UK has options at its disposal to deal with Iran
Read more at:
https://capx.co/its-time-for-britain...ough-with-iran
Electric Canadian
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 34 (1911) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
The Gaelic Folk Songs of Canada
By Alexander Fraser (1903) (pdf)
You can read this and the English translations at;
https://www.electriccanadian.com/lif...-Canada%20.pdf
Canadian Motor, Tractor and Implement Trade Journal
Volume II (1920). Do read the story "Rosenheim Buys a Farm" on page 13 which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...nautotrade.pdf
Canadian Druggist
Volume 1 (1889) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...druggist01.pdf
Oscar Peterson, Fisherman
An interesting article from Canadian History magazine which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...hing/oscar.htm
The Canadian Therapeutist and Sanitary Engineer Incorporating the Canadian Journal of Public Health
Volume 1 issue 6 (June 1910) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...ianjourn01.pdf
Note: when adding Canadian Magazines I am also adding them to our Magazine page where I am also providing links to the Internet Archive where additional copies can be found so do always check toward the foot of that page at;https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
Electric Scotland
The Blood is Strong
It Is No Joy Without Clan Donald.
An interesting video which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macdonn4.html
Registrum Episcopatues Brehinensis
By Patrick Chalmers of Aldbar in two volumes. This is mostly in Latin but there is an excellent Preface and also a good wee biography of the author. Some of the texts are also in Scots. Added this to the foot of our Brechin page at:https://electricscotland.com/history/brechin/index.htm
Report on the Leckmelm Eviction Inverness 1882
By Alexander Mackenzie which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...s/Leckmelm.htm
Protestant Exiles from France in the Reign of Louis XIV
Or The Huguenot Refugees and their Descendants in Great Britain and Ireland by the Rev. David C. A. Agnew (Second edition) in three volumes (1871) which I've added to our Scots in France page.
You can read about them at: https://electricscotland.com/history...protestant.htm
Estimate of Scottish Nobility During the Minority of James the Sixth
With Prelimiary Observatios by the Rev. Charles Rogers, LL.D. FSA Scot, (1873) (pdf)
This can be read at: https://electricscotland.com/webclan...shnobility.pdf
The Genealogy of the House and Surname of Setoun
By Sir Richard Maitland of Ledington, Knight, with the Chronicle of the House of Setoun compiled in Metre by John Kamington, alias Peter Manye (1830) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/webclan...seofseaton.pdf
Trump Tariffs
A new poem from the Bard o' Banff long with a poem about his grandfather which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...mptarriffs.htm
Middlemarch
A study of Provincial Life by George Elliot (New Edition) (1891) (pdf)
And this can be read at: https://www.electricscotland.com/boo...iddlemarch.pdf
British Tribes
An audio file is available and the first 7 minute or so detail the Scottish Tribes. There is also a BBC page which I've provided a link to at the foot of our Clans and Families page. You can listen to this at:
https://archive.org/details/ScreenHunter144Feb.1417.28
Clan Wallace Society
Added the Winter and Spring 2019 newsletters which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...lace/index.htm
Clan MacInnes
Did an update on this clan and added links to two of their very excellent newsletters and you can view all this at;https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macinne.html
The Presbytery of Ross and Sutherland 1693 - 1700
By the Rev. Professor Donald Maclean, D.D.
You can read this article at: https://electricscotland.com/history...sutherland.pdf
The Story
I got an email in with this article and thought I'd make it the story for this week...
Scam Calls
What spam is to email, robocalls are to your phone. They're annoying, automated, and often illegal pre-recorded messages. Cybercriminals use robocalls to steal information and money from victims.
The volume of robocalls continues to grow, having reached an estimated 3.4 billion in April 2018.
How effective is caller ID?
We all rely on caller ID to screen our calls, but how effective is it as a measure against robocalls? The answer is, not very.
That’s because scammers like to use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to hide their actual number and location. VoIP calls are almost free, which is why they can do this 24/7, and why you can’t trust your caller ID to flag suspicious numbers.
Here’s how that works. The responsibility of caller ID lies with the originating call. And if that caller is a scammer, then they know caller ID is very easy to disguise, or “spoof.” In that way, no matter where in the world they are actually located, the scammers behind a robocall can make it appear as if it comes from a trusted business, or from your same local area code, complete with a familiar first three digits of your own contact number. So the effect is a nefarious bit of social engineering, making it more likely that you’ll pick up the call if you see what looks like a familiar number, say from a friend, co-worker, local dentist, or even a major business or government organization such as Microsoft or the local police department.
What are the main types of robocall scams?
Whether the intrusion starts out as just an annoying robocall pitch, or succeeds in its ploy to pass you on to a live scammer, you’re likely to encounter a variety of typical robocall-initiated scams, such as:
Tech support scams. You pick up and immediately hear a distressing message, pressuring you to act fast: “Hello, we are calling from Windows and your computer looks like it is infected. Our Microsoft Certified Technician can fix it for you.” If you fall for it and get connected to a remote technician, he may sell you phony security software at a cost of hundreds of dollars in order to “clean up” your alleged problem. Or worse yet, he’ll persuade you to give him remote control of your computer, and he can plant malware to ferret out and steal any valuable data (social security number, credit card information, bank accounts, etc.). Among the bad news downloads that malware can plant on your computer are those that hold your data hostage, spy on your computer activity, clog your screen with popup advertising, or take over your computer’s resources in order to mine for cryptocurrency.
Charity requests. After all, who wouldn’t want to contribute to wipe out world hunger? Cure cancer? Or save the endangered snipes? Such robocalls prey on trusting souls, and count on them to take the bait and make a pledge by credit card.
Bogus Surveys. These scams can come at you as telephone, text-message, or even online surveys—asking you to answer questions or give your opinion about the merchandise, service, or quality of your favorite store. They may even claim that there’s an incentive to participate, such as a gift card for your favorite retailer, or some similar prize. But more often than not, they end with pitches for dubious products or services. Questions may also focus on the bank or financial institution you use, whether you are happy with their service, and if you would consider changing banks. And as part of the survey, they might ask for your bank account number so that they can provide a “competitive comparison” with the fake bank they represent. They may even request your banking and credit card information, because it is “necessary” to claim your supposed reward.
Banks, FBI, police, the IRS, and other institutions of authority. This will be another call that seeks to alarm you with a sense of urgency in order to derail your common sense. The script usually centers on some alleged wrongdoing that you’re guilty of, with the threat of imminent fines or arrest. The call might even involve abusive threats, which are a sure sign of a scam.
Stranded grandchildren. This is a particularly cruel form of social engineering, which targets older folks. The caller claims to be a grandchild calling from jail, and seeks to first fluster the recipient, and then ask for bail money, to be sent via a cash transfer service.
One-ring scam. In this scenario, the scammers place calls to blocks of phone numbers (often using robocall devices), and then hang up the call after a single ring. If the owners of some of those numbers are curious enough to call back, they might connect to a pricey international call. And during this call, scammers may use social engineering or outright harassment to persuade the consumer to subscribe to a pay service or to provide credit card information.
Who are phone scam callers?
Tech support scams have often historically originated in India. Operating out of boiler rooms, these fraudsters call internationally to consumers in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the U.S., whom they find from public records. They also attract calls from their targets by placing legitimate-looking technical assistance advertisements in popular search engines and high-traffic websites.
How do you stop robocallers?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) offers the following advice:
Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a "local" number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
If you answer the phone and the caller—or a recording—asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes." The scammers can record your voice, then fraudulently splice it into what seems like a statement giving them permission to sign you up for an expensive service.
Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.
Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.
If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List. Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list.
In the U.S., you can also file a complaint with the FCC, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as the agencies choose which robocallers to pursue for legal or regulatory enforcement based partly on these complaints. You can also report the robocalls to the office of your state’s attorney general.
Finally, make yourself less of a target by never giving out your numbers online or posting them publicly in your social media profiles, as they will likely be scraped by scammers.
Does the Do Not Call Registry work?
If you’ve registered your home and mobile phone with the National Do Not Call Registry, you’re one of about 200 million people who’ve done so. The fact that you’re still getting robocalls trying to scam you might indicate that the registry does not work, but it actually does. Telemarketers who ignore the list can be fined up to $40,000. So for the legitimate businesses within the U.S. who do adhere to the law, the Do Not Call list is a useful barrier.
The trouble is, the law has never stopped scammers willing to break federal law. And that’s who makes most robocalls these days. They know that enforcement is a problem for the government, since the FTC doesn’t have the budget or manpower to track down and prosecute the robocallers. So the scammers are willing to take the risk.
Still, adding your phone numbers to the list will stop legitimate telemarketers from contacting you, which can at least reduce the number of calls by some measure. So it’s definitely a place to start.
How do I protect myself from robocalls and scams?
Your Android or iPhone is a handheld computer, so it makes sense to protect it from any potential infection that might result from a robocall scam in the same way you do your other devices, whether they are Windows or Mac, in your home or business. Malwarebytes for iOS, for example, blocks all incoming robocalls and text message scams. The Malwarebytes iOS app also protects you from phishing attacks and malware. If, by chance, you click a malicious link or attempt to navigate to a fraudulent site, Malwarebytes will block the site from loading.
Wireless companies are also providing new services, which will display some variation of the message, “possible scam” on the screen for unknown numbers that are ringing you. T-Mobile's system is automatic, with nothing to sign up for or download. At AT&T, you can sign up for its free Call Protect. Verizon has also added a feature to its Caller ID, which will show “SPAM?” before a caller’s name that has been identified as a possible unsolicited call.
“Wireless companies are also providing new services, which will display some variation of the message, ‘possible scam’ on the screen for unknown numbers that are ringing you.”
One more thing. As we mentioned previously, we don’t recommend talking to scammers yourself. However, if you’re the mischievously vindictive sort, look into the Jolly Roger Telephone Company, which offers a program that lets you put the phone on mute and patch a live scammer call to a robot. Friendly and patient, the robot understands speech patterns and inflections, and strings the caller along, complete with realistic background interruptions, vocal fillers like “Uh-huh, OK, OK,” and requests after several minutes of talking to have the caller repeat his entire sales pitch from the beginning. Check out the recordings on the site of the angry telemarketer meltdowns it inspires.
Bottom line, robocalls are a complicated problem with no single easy solution. But by taking sensible precautions and approaching unknown callers on your ID with skepticism, you can help protect yourself and deprive robocallers and the scammers behind them from their illicit income.
I might add that I phoned my Telco (Cogeco) and they can block up to 30 numbers which is better than nothing, You do need to phone them to enable the service. You can read their web page about this feature at: https://www.cogeco.ca/en/faq/how-do-...mbers-60-51516
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
https://electricscotland.com/scotnews.htm
Electric Scotland News
Being a smoker I find it is increasingly difficult to find accommodation which allows you to smoke. That being the case I thought I'd check with Mark Breed who is a long time advertiser on our site under "Unique Cottages".
He wrote back with...
The cottage search page has a filter under ‘property restrictions’ dropdown which allows you to search on ‘smokers accepted’. If you check this filter and the one for pets it should return a list of available pet and smoking friendly houses.
So for those smokers out there looking for accommodation in Scotland this is now your best choice for finding suitable accommodation for your holiday or business meeting. I did a search myself but with Wi-Fi instead of Pets and it found 2 and one was acceptable and I would have booked it.
So do check out: https://www.unique-cottages.co.uk/
-------
To Clan, Family, Scottish Societies and Highland Games organisations and St. Andrews Societies and Scottish businesses.
Due to me now being retired I find I no longer need the amount of income I generate from Google Advertising but I still need some so am looking to make some changes to the site and I am inviting the various clan, family and other Scottish organisations and Scottish businesses to consider sponsoring this web site.
I need to raise US$500 a month to pay for my hosting and search facilities. I am thus offering to ditch the left border of the site and replace it with a text link to your site or to our information with onward links to your site. So if I take a clan as an example... Under the Printer Friendly button in the left Border I would place a Sponsors Link under which I would then add your clan name to the list with a link to our page about your clan. That means that anyone clicking on the link would find all the information we carry on our site about your clan which would include links to your own web site(s), newsletters, etc.
Given that we are still the premier web site for historic information on Scotland and people and places of Scots descent around the world you should benefit from this high profile publicity. You would then be also able to take a copy of our own weekly newsletter and send it to your own members giving them a weekly fix on Scottish historical articles.
I will work with all such sponsors to add any information about your organisation to this site and as always any new information would be added to the weekly newsletter.
I estimate that at US$25 a month I would need 20 such sponsors or at US$10 a month I would need 50 such sponsors. So my question to you is this doable and would you be interested? I am willing to discuss options with you on this new idea. It might be that some high profile Highland Games and St Andrews Societies would be prepared to donate US$25,00 a month with some others at US$10 and that way the larger sponsors would get the top entries in bold with lesser sponsors under in plain text.
I would also look at replacing the top border and bottom borders of the site with banner adverts to a special sponsors page.
At this time this is just an idea but if there is sufficient interest then it could become a reality sp please get in touch and let me know your thoughts or suggestions.
--------
You can view a video introduction to this newsletter at:
Scottish News from this weeks newspapers
Note that this is a selection and more can be read in our ScotNews feed on our index page where we list news from the past 1-2 weeks. I am partly doing this to build an archive of modern news from and about Scotland as all the newsletters are archived and also indexed on Google and other search engines. I might also add that in newspapers such as the Guardian, Scotsman, Courier, etc. you will find many comments which can be just as interesting as the news story itself and of course you can also add your own comments if you wish.
Help us Stop BBC Bias
A new campaign by David Keighley who monitors the corporation’s output for News-watch. He is seeking a judicial review into how the BBC measures its own impartiality and has launched a crowdfunding appeal to back his Help Us Stop BBC Bias campaign.
Read more at:
https://www.crowdjustice.com/case/stopbbcbias/
African leaders launch free-trade zone
African leaders met on Sunday to launch a continental free-trade zone that if successful would unite 1.3 billion people, create a $3.4 trillion economic bloc and usher in a new era of development.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-af...-idUKKCN1U20BX
Labour's ambitions trump the needs of British Jews
That Labour is now seen as a safe space for anti-Semites should at least be acknowledged
Read more at:
https://capx.co/for-labours-leadersh...-british-jews/
New Children's Laureate wants to take on TV
Cressida Cowell, who has been named as the new Children's Laureate, is ready to do battle to encourage children to love books. You might also like to visit our page which contains some 800 children's stories at: https://electricscotland.com/kids/childrens_stories.htm
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-48909869
Why do so few people buy electric cars?
The government’s enthusiasm for electric cars is well known.
Read more at:
http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/2019/07...-electric-cars
Glaswegian chef living in Australia exports one of Scotland’s top inventions Down Under
Now, in another illustrious chapter in Scotland’s history of innovation and international entrepreneurial spirit, we have exported the munchie box to Australia.
Read more at:
https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/glaswe...he-munchie-box
Labour's misguided energy policy is already costing Britain
The prospect of a Corbyn led government has long been considered the biggest risk facing the UK's economy.
Read more at:
https://capx.co/labours-misguided-en...osting-britain
Buccleuch holds talks with communities over south of Scotland land
It has now confirmed that two communities have expressed an interest in buying some or all of the land.
Read more at:
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland...tland-48942792
Pentland tidal energy scheme could outgun Dounreay
Full build out would represent a capacity which is 50 per cent higher than Dounreay, the Caithness nuclear power plant that is currently undergoing long-term decommissioning.
Read more at:
https://www.scotsman.com/business/pe...reay-1-4962295
Europe should brace for U.S. tariffs on several fronts - German official
Trump administration nonetheless appeared poised to impose tariffs over disputes about aircraft subsidies, the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline and European car imports.
Read more at:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-us...-idUKKCN1U51TY
The Irish Government has revealed the bad faith with which the EU has treated the border issue
But it has now become totally clear that the EU’s position on the border was a falsity peddled in order to exercise maximum pressure on the UK
Read more at:
https://brexitcentral.com/the-irish-...-border-issue/
Mark Carney FINALLY drops project fear as he admits UK ready for no deal
BRITAIN's banks hold enough capital to cope with both a no deal Brexit and a global trade war, Bank of England (BoE) Governor said - but warned leaving the European Union on WTO terms would still tighten financial conditions for businesses and families.
Read more at:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/polit...p-johnson-hunt
Is the Brexit Party unpatriotic?
Farage can back Trump to the hilt, or he can back Britain - he can't do both
Read more at:
https://capx.co/is-the-brexit-party-unpatriotic/
It’s time for Britain to get tough with Iran
The UK has options at its disposal to deal with Iran
Read more at:
https://capx.co/its-time-for-britain...ough-with-iran
Electric Canadian
The Canadian Horticulturist
Volume 34 (1911) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...culturirst.htm
The Gaelic Folk Songs of Canada
By Alexander Fraser (1903) (pdf)
You can read this and the English translations at;
https://www.electriccanadian.com/lif...-Canada%20.pdf
Canadian Motor, Tractor and Implement Trade Journal
Volume II (1920). Do read the story "Rosenheim Buys a Farm" on page 13 which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...nautotrade.pdf
Canadian Druggist
Volume 1 (1889) can be read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...druggist01.pdf
Oscar Peterson, Fisherman
An interesting article from Canadian History magazine which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/tra...hing/oscar.htm
The Canadian Therapeutist and Sanitary Engineer Incorporating the Canadian Journal of Public Health
Volume 1 issue 6 (June 1910) which you can read at:
https://www.electriccanadian.com/mag...ianjourn01.pdf
Note: when adding Canadian Magazines I am also adding them to our Magazine page where I am also providing links to the Internet Archive where additional copies can be found so do always check toward the foot of that page at;https://www.electriccanadian.com/magazines/index.htm
Electric Scotland
The Blood is Strong
It Is No Joy Without Clan Donald.
An interesting video which you can watch at:
https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macdonn4.html
Registrum Episcopatues Brehinensis
By Patrick Chalmers of Aldbar in two volumes. This is mostly in Latin but there is an excellent Preface and also a good wee biography of the author. Some of the texts are also in Scots. Added this to the foot of our Brechin page at:https://electricscotland.com/history/brechin/index.htm
Report on the Leckmelm Eviction Inverness 1882
By Alexander Mackenzie which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/history...s/Leckmelm.htm
Protestant Exiles from France in the Reign of Louis XIV
Or The Huguenot Refugees and their Descendants in Great Britain and Ireland by the Rev. David C. A. Agnew (Second edition) in three volumes (1871) which I've added to our Scots in France page.
You can read about them at: https://electricscotland.com/history...protestant.htm
Estimate of Scottish Nobility During the Minority of James the Sixth
With Prelimiary Observatios by the Rev. Charles Rogers, LL.D. FSA Scot, (1873) (pdf)
This can be read at: https://electricscotland.com/webclan...shnobility.pdf
The Genealogy of the House and Surname of Setoun
By Sir Richard Maitland of Ledington, Knight, with the Chronicle of the House of Setoun compiled in Metre by John Kamington, alias Peter Manye (1830) (pdf)
You can read this at: https://electricscotland.com/webclan...seofseaton.pdf
Trump Tariffs
A new poem from the Bard o' Banff long with a poem about his grandfather which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/poetry/...mptarriffs.htm
Middlemarch
A study of Provincial Life by George Elliot (New Edition) (1891) (pdf)
And this can be read at: https://www.electricscotland.com/boo...iddlemarch.pdf
British Tribes
An audio file is available and the first 7 minute or so detail the Scottish Tribes. There is also a BBC page which I've provided a link to at the foot of our Clans and Families page. You can listen to this at:
https://archive.org/details/ScreenHunter144Feb.1417.28
Clan Wallace Society
Added the Winter and Spring 2019 newsletters which you can read at:
https://electricscotland.com/familyt...lace/index.htm
Clan MacInnes
Did an update on this clan and added links to two of their very excellent newsletters and you can view all this at;https://electricscotland.com/webclans/m/macinne.html
The Presbytery of Ross and Sutherland 1693 - 1700
By the Rev. Professor Donald Maclean, D.D.
You can read this article at: https://electricscotland.com/history...sutherland.pdf
The Story
I got an email in with this article and thought I'd make it the story for this week...
Scam Calls
What spam is to email, robocalls are to your phone. They're annoying, automated, and often illegal pre-recorded messages. Cybercriminals use robocalls to steal information and money from victims.
The volume of robocalls continues to grow, having reached an estimated 3.4 billion in April 2018.
How effective is caller ID?
We all rely on caller ID to screen our calls, but how effective is it as a measure against robocalls? The answer is, not very.
That’s because scammers like to use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to hide their actual number and location. VoIP calls are almost free, which is why they can do this 24/7, and why you can’t trust your caller ID to flag suspicious numbers.
Here’s how that works. The responsibility of caller ID lies with the originating call. And if that caller is a scammer, then they know caller ID is very easy to disguise, or “spoof.” In that way, no matter where in the world they are actually located, the scammers behind a robocall can make it appear as if it comes from a trusted business, or from your same local area code, complete with a familiar first three digits of your own contact number. So the effect is a nefarious bit of social engineering, making it more likely that you’ll pick up the call if you see what looks like a familiar number, say from a friend, co-worker, local dentist, or even a major business or government organization such as Microsoft or the local police department.
What are the main types of robocall scams?
Whether the intrusion starts out as just an annoying robocall pitch, or succeeds in its ploy to pass you on to a live scammer, you’re likely to encounter a variety of typical robocall-initiated scams, such as:
Tech support scams. You pick up and immediately hear a distressing message, pressuring you to act fast: “Hello, we are calling from Windows and your computer looks like it is infected. Our Microsoft Certified Technician can fix it for you.” If you fall for it and get connected to a remote technician, he may sell you phony security software at a cost of hundreds of dollars in order to “clean up” your alleged problem. Or worse yet, he’ll persuade you to give him remote control of your computer, and he can plant malware to ferret out and steal any valuable data (social security number, credit card information, bank accounts, etc.). Among the bad news downloads that malware can plant on your computer are those that hold your data hostage, spy on your computer activity, clog your screen with popup advertising, or take over your computer’s resources in order to mine for cryptocurrency.
Charity requests. After all, who wouldn’t want to contribute to wipe out world hunger? Cure cancer? Or save the endangered snipes? Such robocalls prey on trusting souls, and count on them to take the bait and make a pledge by credit card.
Bogus Surveys. These scams can come at you as telephone, text-message, or even online surveys—asking you to answer questions or give your opinion about the merchandise, service, or quality of your favorite store. They may even claim that there’s an incentive to participate, such as a gift card for your favorite retailer, or some similar prize. But more often than not, they end with pitches for dubious products or services. Questions may also focus on the bank or financial institution you use, whether you are happy with their service, and if you would consider changing banks. And as part of the survey, they might ask for your bank account number so that they can provide a “competitive comparison” with the fake bank they represent. They may even request your banking and credit card information, because it is “necessary” to claim your supposed reward.
Banks, FBI, police, the IRS, and other institutions of authority. This will be another call that seeks to alarm you with a sense of urgency in order to derail your common sense. The script usually centers on some alleged wrongdoing that you’re guilty of, with the threat of imminent fines or arrest. The call might even involve abusive threats, which are a sure sign of a scam.
Stranded grandchildren. This is a particularly cruel form of social engineering, which targets older folks. The caller claims to be a grandchild calling from jail, and seeks to first fluster the recipient, and then ask for bail money, to be sent via a cash transfer service.
One-ring scam. In this scenario, the scammers place calls to blocks of phone numbers (often using robocall devices), and then hang up the call after a single ring. If the owners of some of those numbers are curious enough to call back, they might connect to a pricey international call. And during this call, scammers may use social engineering or outright harassment to persuade the consumer to subscribe to a pay service or to provide credit card information.
Who are phone scam callers?
Tech support scams have often historically originated in India. Operating out of boiler rooms, these fraudsters call internationally to consumers in Australia, Canada, the UK, and the U.S., whom they find from public records. They also attract calls from their targets by placing legitimate-looking technical assistance advertisements in popular search engines and high-traffic websites.
How do you stop robocallers?
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) offers the following advice:
Don't answer calls from unknown numbers. If you answer such a call, hang up immediately.
You may not be able to tell right away if an incoming call is spoofed. Be aware: Caller ID showing a "local" number does not necessarily mean it is a local caller.
If you answer the phone and the caller—or a recording—asks you to hit a button to stop getting the calls, you should just hang up. Scammers often use this trick to identify potential targets.
Do not respond to any questions, especially those that can be answered with "Yes." The scammers can record your voice, then fraudulently splice it into what seems like a statement giving them permission to sign you up for an expensive service.
Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names, passwords or other identifying information in response to unexpected calls or if you are at all suspicious.
If you get an inquiry from someone who says they represent a company or a government agency, hang up and call the phone number on your account statement, in the phone book, or on the company's or government agency's website to verify the authenticity of the request. You will usually get a written statement in the mail before you get a phone call from a legitimate source, particularly if the caller is asking for a payment.
Use caution if you are being pressured for information immediately.
If you have a voicemail account with your phone service, be sure to set a password for it. Some voicemail services are preset to allow access if you call in from your own phone number. A hacker could spoof your home phone number and gain access to your voicemail if you do not set a password.
Talk to your phone company about call blocking tools they may have and check into apps that you can download to your mobile device to block unwanted calls.
If you use robocall-blocking technology already, it often helps to let that company know which numbers are producing unwanted calls so they can help block those calls for you and others.
To block telemarketing calls, register your number on the Do Not Call List. Legitimate telemarketers consult the list to avoid calling both landline and wireless phone numbers on the list.
In the U.S., you can also file a complaint with the FCC, or the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as the agencies choose which robocallers to pursue for legal or regulatory enforcement based partly on these complaints. You can also report the robocalls to the office of your state’s attorney general.
Finally, make yourself less of a target by never giving out your numbers online or posting them publicly in your social media profiles, as they will likely be scraped by scammers.
Does the Do Not Call Registry work?
If you’ve registered your home and mobile phone with the National Do Not Call Registry, you’re one of about 200 million people who’ve done so. The fact that you’re still getting robocalls trying to scam you might indicate that the registry does not work, but it actually does. Telemarketers who ignore the list can be fined up to $40,000. So for the legitimate businesses within the U.S. who do adhere to the law, the Do Not Call list is a useful barrier.
The trouble is, the law has never stopped scammers willing to break federal law. And that’s who makes most robocalls these days. They know that enforcement is a problem for the government, since the FTC doesn’t have the budget or manpower to track down and prosecute the robocallers. So the scammers are willing to take the risk.
Still, adding your phone numbers to the list will stop legitimate telemarketers from contacting you, which can at least reduce the number of calls by some measure. So it’s definitely a place to start.
How do I protect myself from robocalls and scams?
Your Android or iPhone is a handheld computer, so it makes sense to protect it from any potential infection that might result from a robocall scam in the same way you do your other devices, whether they are Windows or Mac, in your home or business. Malwarebytes for iOS, for example, blocks all incoming robocalls and text message scams. The Malwarebytes iOS app also protects you from phishing attacks and malware. If, by chance, you click a malicious link or attempt to navigate to a fraudulent site, Malwarebytes will block the site from loading.
Wireless companies are also providing new services, which will display some variation of the message, “possible scam” on the screen for unknown numbers that are ringing you. T-Mobile's system is automatic, with nothing to sign up for or download. At AT&T, you can sign up for its free Call Protect. Verizon has also added a feature to its Caller ID, which will show “SPAM?” before a caller’s name that has been identified as a possible unsolicited call.
“Wireless companies are also providing new services, which will display some variation of the message, ‘possible scam’ on the screen for unknown numbers that are ringing you.”
One more thing. As we mentioned previously, we don’t recommend talking to scammers yourself. However, if you’re the mischievously vindictive sort, look into the Jolly Roger Telephone Company, which offers a program that lets you put the phone on mute and patch a live scammer call to a robot. Friendly and patient, the robot understands speech patterns and inflections, and strings the caller along, complete with realistic background interruptions, vocal fillers like “Uh-huh, OK, OK,” and requests after several minutes of talking to have the caller repeat his entire sales pitch from the beginning. Check out the recordings on the site of the angry telemarketer meltdowns it inspires.
Bottom line, robocalls are a complicated problem with no single easy solution. But by taking sensible precautions and approaching unknown callers on your ID with skepticism, you can help protect yourself and deprive robocallers and the scammers behind them from their illicit income.
I might add that I phoned my Telco (Cogeco) and they can block up to 30 numbers which is better than nothing, You do need to phone them to enable the service. You can read their web page about this feature at: https://www.cogeco.ca/en/faq/how-do-...mbers-60-51516
And that's it for this week and hope you all have a great weekend.
Alastair
Comment