Police push back during Fraud Prevention Month
Tricking people out of their money is as old as time. However, the advent of the internet has made it even easier for fraudsters to steal your money, according to South Bruce OPP Constable Kevin Martin.
“At the end of the day, fraud isn’t new. What is new is, they’re winning,” said Martin.
Two years ago, fraudsters swindled Canadians out of $383 million dollars. Last year, that number jumped 40% to $530 million.
“When you factor in the unreported, that number is astronomical,” explained Martin.
In the Municipality of South Bruce alone, which includes communities like Walkerton, Ont. and Kincardine, Ont., $89,000 has been lost to scammers this year.
Martin said if an offer or phone call or email sounds too good to be true, it likely is.
He added that you can't win a contest that you didn't enter in the first place.
Gift cards are a red flag. If someone contacts you and directs you to buy gift cards, you need to hang up the phone.
“I can’t beat them myself. I need everybody joining together. I need everyone on that line, as a deputy, if you will. That’s because the only way to beat these con artists is to stop paying them. Like a legitimate business that thrives on money, so do they. When they stop making money, hopefully they’ll get a real job,” he said.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, the top five frauds based on dollar loss last year were:
- Investment/cryptocurrency scams, $308.6 million lost
- Romance scams, $59 million lost
- Spear phishing scams, $58.1 million lost
- Service scams, $20.6 million lost
- Extortion scams, $19 million lost
March is Fraud Prevention Month across Canada.
“Please, please, please, for March, and all year around, make sure you are aware, make sure you are not paying these con artists, because they’re winning, and we can’t have that as a society. They are taking way too much of our hard-earned money,” said Martin.
You can learn more through the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Members of West Region OPP will be holding a news conference in London, Ont. on Wednesday March 22 to discuss the increasing prevalence of the “grandparent scam,” where fraudsters pose as grandchildren in trouble to try to make quick money off of caring and confused grandparents.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.