Don't Become a Fraud Victim (CANADA)

Don’t become a fraud victim

QMI Agency

Most fraud victims don't report what happened to them, says a representative of the Canadian Anti-fraud centre.

"We probably only learn of a very small percentage of it, maybe between one and 10%," said Brock Godfrey, of the centre, also known as Phone Busters.

"Our numbers are going up so we're assuming that all fraud is on the increase."

Godfrey spoke Nov. 4 at a Seniors' Information Awareness Day the Elder Abuse Awareness Network of Sarnia-Lambton held at Petrolia's Oil Heritage District Community Centre.

The event attracted almost 70 people and was organized to boost awareness of scams and the resources available to help people avoid becoming victims, said Christy Primmer, one of the organizers.

"We need to let people know what it can look like and that it can happen to anybody."

Seniors are often targeted because they grew up in a trusting era and they're likely to be home during the day, Godfrey said.

Seniors accounted for about 85% of the centre's calls 15 years ago, but the percentage has been dropping, he added.

"Not because they're not targeting seniors but because they're using other forms of contact that seniors may not use as much, such as Internet, Facebook and things like that."

The centre — a partnership of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Ontario Provincial Police and the Competition Bureau of Canada — specializes in telemarketing and mail fraud, ID theft and fraud scams originating in west Africa.

Identity theft and mass marketing fraud are among the most common but new ones keep appearing, Godfrey said.

"They're getting scarier and scarier all the time."

New technology called "spoofing" allows scammers to make a legitimate phone number and company name appear on a victim's caller ID, he said.

Seniors are often victims of emergency scams in which a crook impersonating a relative, usually a grandchild, calls and says they're in trouble.

"They need money for bail or a fine, and they don't want the senior to contact the rest of the family. If the senior does send money for bail, they'll often be contacted again and asked for more money to pay a so-called fine, he said.

RCMP Const. Jennifer George told the audience emergency scams are on the increase, adding if someone finds themselves in that situation, "you want to contact your family members, or someone you trust."

Godfrey said the advice he gives seniors is that if something sounds too good to be true, "it probably is," and if a telemarketer calls, "just hang up."

More information is available online at www.phonebusters.com.

SOURCE:      Petrolia Topic

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