OLDS — During a recemt visit to a Mountain View Seniors' Housing apartment complex, Olds RCMP commanding officer Staff Sgt. Warren Wright gave Olds seniors some tips to combat fraud.
He warned the approximately 10 people in the room that fraudsters are not always only out for your money, they also love to obtain personal information such as social insurance numbers or even birthdays that they can use for other fraudulent purposes.
Lotteries, sweepstakes and contest schemes
“You cannot win money or a prize in the lottery unless you've entered it yourself or someone has entered it on your behalf,” Wright said. “Ask yourself, ‘did I enter this contest?’”
He also said that legitimate lotteries don't require you to pay a fee or tax to collect the winnings.
“Never send money to anyone you don't know or trust. Don't provide personal banking details to anyone that you don't know or trust,” Wright said.
“Examine all the terms and conditions of the offer very carefully, claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs.
“I'm almost at the point that unless I recognize the number, I won't answer it. I'll let it go straight to voicemail.”
Box with QR code on doorstep
Wright said there’s a scam in which a box you didn’t order featuring a QR code will be placed on doorstep.
He warned that if you scan that QR code, instead of giving you a hyperlink to a legitimate website, it's a hyperlink to a virus.
“It accesses your phone or your computer, and then it just takes over and then it starts cleaning out all your information,” he said.
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) scams/unsolicited calls
Wright was told some residents have received calls they don’t recognize but have appeared to be from their doctor’s office.
Wright recommended sending such calls to voicemail, then calling the doctor’s office to see if he/she actually called you.
In the case of the CRA scam, someone phones or emails the victim saying that they owe a great deal of money to the CRA and if they don't pay up, they’ll be arrested.
Wright said the CRA will never contact you by phone or email.
Wright cited a case that occurred while he was posted to Fox Creek several years ago.
A scammer cloned the Fox Creek RCMP detachment phone number and contacted potential victims.
In one case, he said, a woman in that community working a minimum wage job got taken for $8,000 worth of gift cards.
“They can clone any number,” Wright said. “I had my own phone number phone me one time.”
Pyramid schemes, also called multi-tiered marketing
In this scheme, people are recruited to sell a product of some kind. However, only the people at the very top who started the thing make any real money.
Ponzi schemes
These schemes are the same sort of setup as pyramid schemes, except they’re trying to entice you to invest in something.
The Nigerian scam
In this scam, someone contacts you, usually by email, asking you to send money for your share of a vast inheritance. But if you send them any money, you will never see it again – or any supposed share of an inheritance.
Double price scam
In this one, when you attempt to sell something online, through social media for example, someone will contact you and arrange to buy it.
However, they send you a cheque for way more than the asking price – often double that figure, then ask you to cash the cheque and send them back the difference. The cheque turns out to be fake and the victim is on the hook for all that money.
The package scam
In this case, someone emails you saying they’re from the post office and a package has arrived for you but they need you to send money to enable it to clear customs or some such thing.
“I've gotten those emails on my phone too, and I just delete them because I don't have a package waiting for me,” Wright said. “I just prefer, like I said, face-to-face, old school human contact.”
Health and medical scams
In this case, certain nefarious online businesses purport to sell pills, health products or weight loss products, but they turn out not to do as advertised.
“There's an ability to unsubscribe. Hit that unsubscribe button or text ‘stop,’” Wright said.
The grandparent scam
In this well-known one, someone will phone the victim purporting to be their grandchild. They’ll say they’re in really bad trouble – usually jail – and say they need money to cover bail or some such thing.
Wright warned the crowd to be very, very careful in cases like this.
He suggested asking the “grandchild” their name or the name of someone else in the family to determine if they are who they say they are.
Romance scams, online dating
In this case, someone online strikes up a romantic relationship with the victim.
As the relationship blossoms, they ask for money for some reason. If they get some from the lovestruck victim, they almost always ask for more and more, using one excuse or another.
And they never show up because the person doesn’t exist. The photos they send are fake.
Wright stressed there are legitimate dating sites, but those planning on using them have to be very, very careful to ensure the person they’re striking up a relationship with is who they say they are.
Charity/natural disasters scams
In this case, scammers ask for money, saying they’re a charity collecting money for natural disasters such as floods or forest fires.
Often they will say they’re with well-known charities such as the Red Cross and sometimes they go door-to-door rather than via email or text.
Wright said if they’re soliciting door-to-door, ask to see their accreditation. He said in order to sell door-to-door, businesses must be licensed by the Town.
The virus-fixing scam
Sometimes scammers will offer anti-virus software online or you’ll see a pop-up on your screen telling you to phone a certain number because your computer has a virus.
You’re is told if you give the people you’ve called control of your computer they’ll get rid of it.
“All of a sudden now they're starting to clean out your bank account, because your bank accounts link to your online accounts and your computer, so never give anybody control your computer,” Wright said.
“Don't click on the antivirus stuff. You probably don't have a virus. It's probably just a scam. And when in doubt, shut it down, unplug it, take it to a professional.”
RFID (Radio Frequency Identification)
This is a special lining in wallets or purses that prevents thieves from being able to scan them for banking or credit card information. There are RFID sleeves that can be bought to place your credit or banking cards in too.
Wright urged his audience to destroy personal information you no longer need, including old credit or bank cards.
Wright was asked what he thought of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin.
Wright said he’s wary of it.
“If it’s not Canadian or American currency – or euros – I’m not going to invest in something that’s invisible. It’s not tangible,” he said, adding a friend’s son lost thousands of dollars due to cryptocurrency.
Wright said if residents are uncertain as to whether they’re encountering fraud they can call him during working hours at the detachment admin number: 556-3324.
“As long as I work in Olds, I am available to any of you to take a look at what you’ve got and give you advice. I would rather do that than see you lose something and feel horrible about it,” he said.
