Saanich, BC – We would like to remind everyone about the various scams that are out there as it’s sometimes not easy to spot them and there are new ones invented every day. If you suspect that you may be a target of fraud, or if you have already sent funds, don’t be embarrassed – you’re not alone.
A recent scammer contacted a victim, in Saanich, by phone claiming they were the police and his son was currently at court because of a car accident. The scammer directed the victim to purchase a number of gift cards and provide the serial numbers to him. Unfortunately the victim didn’t recognize the scam until it was too late.
We encourage you to protect yourself from fraud by learning how to recognize it. Helpful information on common scams and ways to protect yourself can be found atwww.antifraudcentre.ca. We further urge you to take the time to identify the people in your life who may be vulnerable to these scams.
Check out some tips below to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Tips to protect yourself and others from Fraud:
- Be extra cautious about calls, emails etc from the Canada Revenue Agency. The CRA will not threaten to arrest you or ask you to divulge personal information, financial information or ask you to pay them in gift cards, prepaid credit cards or Bitcoin.
- Don’t be fooled by the promise of a valuable prize in return for a low-cost purchase.
- Be aware of calls, emails or mailings offering international bonds or lottery tickets, a portion of a foreign dignitary’s bank account, free vacations, credit repair or schemes with unlimited income potential.
- Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, delete the email or close your Internet connection.
- Be aware of “job offers” that have you receiving funds into your bank account and then directing those funds to company representative.
- Don’t purchase a product or service without carefully checking out the product, service and company.
- Don’t be afraid to request further documentation from the caller so you can verify the validity of the company.
- Don’t disclose personal information about your finances, bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance and driver’s license numbers to any business that can’t prove it is legitimate.
- Shred unwanted personal information such as bank statements, credit card bills, unwanted receipts, cheques, pre-approved credit applications and old tax returns.
Sgt. Jereme Leslie
SPD File 18-14492 refers