Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 31, 2006, Winnipeg, Manitoba July 31, 2006 editor Steve Pona 697-7292 b6 monday business business Calendar this mornings opening numbers up tax Dow Jones Nash a Canadian Dollar 11,823.68 11,219.7 2,094.14 88.35 cents us this weeks economic news. Today in Ottawa statistics Canada releases May Gross Domestic product by Industry and May payroll employment earnings and hours. In Chicago United airlines releases second Quarter earnings and holds a Confer ence Call. Tomorrow in Montreal Dom tar and Molson Coors brewing co. Release quarterly results. In Toronto financial results Are also expected from Rogers communications. Wednesday in Calgary West Jet releases its second Quarter results. In Winnipeg insurer great West life co issues its second Quarter earnings and holds a conference Call. Friday in Ottawa statistics Canada releases the july labour Force Survey. Tomorrow professional business associates luncheon meeting at the Canad inn 1034 Elizabeth re. For information Call 254-6140 or visit . Wednesday business networking International bin presents buying Revenue properties with Darryl Chetyrbok key move realty at noon at the Best Western charterhouse 330 York Between Donald and Hargrave. For information Call Georgine Cook at 488?8732. Business for Sale online Academy workshop How to sell & value a Small business for owners of Small businesses with Peter Siegel from 6 to 7 . Pacific 8 to 9 . Standard 9 to 10 . Eastern online at . Free. Canada Manitoba business service Centre / arc / student connections presents internet Security from 6 30 to 9 30 . At p403, arc Princess Campus. To Register Call 984-2272, 1?800-665-2019 or visit . Fee $30. Coming soon aug. 9 business for Sale online Academy workshop buying a Small business top strategies from successful business buyers with Peter Siegel from 6 to 7 . Pacific 8 to 9 . Standard 9 to 10 . Eastern online at . Free. Aug. 10 Manitoba trucking association presents transportation of dangerous goods for employees from 9 . To 4 30 . At 25 Bunting St. For information Call 632-6600. Fee $60 members $90 non members. Aug. 15 business networking International motivators chapter meeting on Holland America new England cruises with Patricia be Sann South Dale travel at 11 45 . At the St. Boniface Golf course 100 Youville St. Call 255-7625 to Reserve your seat. Aug. 17 Canadian Institute of management Winnipeg Branch information session at u of m fort Garry Campus room 160 extended education Complex. To a sep Call 474?9925. Aug. 23 Canadian Institute of management Winnipeg Branch information session at noon at the u of m downtown aboriginal education Centre 11 the promenade. To a sep Call 474-9925. Aug. 30 University of Manitoba continuing education information ses Sion financial and management accounting from 5 30 to 6 30 . At the University of Manitoba downtown Campus 11 the promenade. For information Call Sandra Woloschuk at 474?6661 or email . Free. Sept. 15 praxis conflict consulting present bylaws and Board member handbooks with Priti Shah from 1 to 4 ., charterhouse hotel 330 York ave. To Register Call 477?5985. Fee $ 90. Sept. 29 praxis conflict consulting present Legal duties and liabilities of boards what every Board member should know with Priti Shah from 9 . To 4 ., charterhouse hotel 330 York ave. To Register Call 477-5985. Fee $175. Nov. 15 Canadian Institute of management Winnipeg Branch information session at noon at the u of m fort Garry Campus room 160 extended education Complex. To a sep Call 474-9925. The free press welcomes items for the business Calendar. They should include time Date location sponsor and fee and be mailed to Diane Pratt free press 1355 Mountain ave., r2x 3b6, fax 697?7412, email . No attach ments please deadline is wednesday. Heat drought plague crops across Prairies by Kristine Owram to Farmers across the Prairies it looked like it was going to be an Ideal growing season ? warm temperatures combined with just the right amount of moisture to create what could have been a bumper crop. At least until the beginning of july. Since then the three Prairie provinces have been plagued with varying degrees of heat and drought leading to Early har vests Small yields a Lack of topsoil and poor crop conditions. And while a Good drenching will help the problem in some areas its too late to make a difference in others said Bruce Burnett director of weather and crop surveillance for the Canadian wheat Board. Certainly there Are some areas where the damage is permanent said Burnett. In some of the Southern grow ing areas across the Prairies we be seen some deterioration in the crops to the Point where they re beginning to mature the Alberta government reported that crop development was about two weeks ahead of Normal As of july 20, and that will have a negative effect on the final product said Burnett. With this Type of heat that we be had crop development accelerates and that causes the yields to decline so the Benefit of earlier maturing crops Are counterbalanced by this drop in yield and in some areas certainly in parts of Manitoba and Southern Saskatchewan yield declines have been canola and Barley have been hardest hit by the heat and Lack of moisture while Hay and Cereal crops Are doing bet Ter said Lionel Kaskiw farm production adviser for Manitoba agriculture food and Rural initiatives. The canola crops Are the ones that probably Are going to suffer the most mainly because the heat caused the flow ers to abort he explained. The later the crops were seeded the More moisture they need he added. Livestock pasture is also being negatively affected by the weather. Accord ing to the latest Saskatchewan crop report Only one third of pastures were rated As Good to excellent compared with 92 per cent in june. Normally july is our hot and dry month but the extreme heat that we be been getting for an extended period of time is not average that a for sure said Kaskiw. We need a Good shot of but Burnett said the hot weather in tall bad news for Farmers. Disease Levels Are lower than in past years because of the warm dry conditions so that a one of the positives of this weather. Hopefully that Lack of disease will translate into better Quality the heat has resulted in scattered thunderstorms across the Prairies meaning conditions can vary drastically from farm to farm. Jim Hipkin a Farmer in the area of Lumsden in South Central Saskatchewan called conditions on his farm pretty we had an Inch and a half of rain approximately two weeks ago which if it had to come wed be in a mess said Hipkin. As it is right in this area we be had one of the better Summers we be had for a couple of but across most of the rest of the Prairies the main sentiment among Farmers is disappointment. We had such a great Start to the year that Farmers had their Hopes up for something better said Somerlet Ben Nett conservation technologist for the municipal District of Wainwright about 200 Kilometres Southeast of Edmonton. ? Canadian press Small business issues / theft and fraud information society paves path to crime nobody is immune ramp expert maintains by Murray Mcneill w Hen it comes to being Brazen these Crooks take the cake. Two years ago a Mississauga based company was running a scam in which it tried to trick businesses and organizations into buying office supplies at highly inflated prices. And who were some of its favorite tar gets ramp detachments in Manitoba. Twenty one of them to be exact. While none of the detachments fell for the ruse Winnipeg ramp const. Phil Carver said its a glaring example of Why no business should think it would never be targeted by thieves or fraud artists. Nobody is immune he noted. Not even ramp Carver and phone busters the Cana Dian anti fraud Call Centre that was launched in 1993 to handle consumer complaints about identity theft and Tele marketing and advanced fee frauds said they Don to have any statistics on How Many Canadian businesses were victims of frauds or id thefts in 2005. But certainly its a problem phone busters creator and coordinator Ontario provincial police staff sgt. Barry Elliott said in an interview. Information is my expert the currency ence is that fraud in Gener of the 21st Al is on the Century. There Rise Carver added and its is just so much not specific to information out Consumers or there now in Carver who computer files is a mass mar Etc and its so Ket fraud and much easier to id theft specialist with the Access that Winnipeg information ramps com Mercial crime because of new Section has a technologies theory on Why incidents of ? Winnipeg ramp fraud and id const. Phil Carver theft have been on the Rise in recent years. Information is the currency of the 21st Century Carver explained. There is just so much information out there now in computer files Etc and its so much easier to Access that information because of new and its Only going to get worse he added because we re moving towards an electronic Carver said there was a rash of false invoicing or office Supply fraud cases in Canada two years ago. Then they seemed to die off for a while he added. But in the last few weeks they re starting to crop up although there can be variations this is the Way one of the most common types of false invoicing scam usually works the con artist Calls up a company asks to speak to a clerk and offers to sell the com Pany office supplies at a very attractive Price. As an added incentive he also offers to provide some free products which they can sell to raise Money for their Favourite local Charity. But when the shipment arrives there Are no free products and the Bill is much More than was originally quoted. If the company refuses to pay the con artist threatens to turn the Case Over to a collection Agency and leave a Black Mark on their credit record ? something most companies try to avoid. Carver said the con artist is hoping the business will pay the inflated Price just to make the whole thing go away. Instead what they should do is immediately report it to the police he added. The Canada Manitoba business ser vices Centre in Winnipeg also gets Calls from clients who have been approached by someone offering to sell them information on How to Access various government loan and Grants programs. I Tell clients you Don to have to pay for government information Daria Gawronsky a Trade and business ser vices officer with the Centre said in an interview. That providing information about government business programs is what we re Here i also Tell people its buyer beware Gawronsky added because by the time you get that information it could be out dated. Government programs Are always being one of the hottest crimes against Busi Nesses these Days is the theft and counterfeiting of business cheques. Five most common scams Here in no particular order Are what Opp staff sgt. Barry Elliott creator and coordinator of the phone busters anti fraud Call Centre lists As the five most common types of fraud and theft offences commit Ted against Canadian businesses 1. False invoicing where a fraud artist tries to trick a business into paying an inflated Price for things like office supplies or business directories 2. Identification theft where a Crim Inal obtains someone else a personal information ? things like name address social insurance number or credit card number ? and uses it to fraudulently obtain Money goods or services 3. Telecommunications theft where Long distance Calls Are fraudulently charged to someone else a Telephone number 4. Employee thefts where workers steal goods or information such As customer lists from their employer either for their own use or to sell to others 5. Counterfeiting cheques where criminals steal business cheques from the mail changes the payees names and the Dollar amounts and Cash them before the businesses realize they re missing. How that usually works is thieves steal cheques businesses have sent through the mail use chemicals to bleach out the original payees name and the Dollar amount and substitute a different name and amount. Then they Cash the altered Cheque and pocket the Money. Carver cited one Case from a couple of years ago where a Winnipeg car Dealership mailed a Cheque to pay for a $214 Telephone Bill. Thieves subsequently stole a mail bag from a mail truck found the Cheque inside altered the names and Dollar amounts on it and successfully cashed it three Days later in Reno Nevada for $50,000. Another Type of counterfeit Cheque scam involves a criminal ordering a product or service Over the phone then mailing a Cheque for substantially More than the agreed upon Price. He Waits a couple of Days then Calls the business says he made a mistake and asks the business to Cash the Cheque anyway and wire him the difference. The unwitting business person agrees Only to discover later the original Cheque is worthless and that he a out the Money he wired. Carver said any time you receive a Cheque for More than the agreed upon amount particularly if its from some one in a foreign country it should set off alarm Bells. Right away Stop the transaction because you re going to get ripped off if you Don to identity theft is another crime Cana Dian businesses should be on the look out for these Day Elliott said. Thieves and fraud artists Are targeting business customer lists because they can be a Gold mine for personal information. Once they get their hands on that information they can use it to fraudulently obtain All kinds of goods and services. If you have your customer list stolen there Are liability issues Elliott noted. But most businesses would have no idea what to do if they came into the office one morning and discovered their Cus Tomer list had been stolen. So they need to have a plan in place that would Deal with that Type of situation Elliott said the Best advice he can offer a business owner is to review your operation identify areas where you could be vulnerable and take Steps to reduce the risks. ;