It’s ok to hang up, block, delete and engage your inner investigator
Cst. Paul Human, community policing officer with Selkirk RCMP was at the Gordon Howard Centre last week discussing many of the scams and frauds that he’s learned about through his employment and letting residents know how to tell they are being scammed before they are.
“Where it used to be a letter being mailed to your house, now it’s on your phone. So, my job is to turn all of you into scam investigators,” said Human to kick off his presentation.
Human said that he received a phone call just the other week from a resident who said that they got a text saying that they had won a contest where there was a cash prize in the millions and they also won a car. Someone impersonating FedEx wanted to know where to drop off the prize. Human says he called the person back and asked them if they had entered a contest like that. When the person said no, Human said to block that number and delete the text.
This particular scam used excitement to try to get a response. Scammers can use these tactics to get personal information or even ask for money or gift cards.
“The big problem with fraud in this country is that only 5% of our victims report it,” said Human
He says that the reason that the reporting rate is so low is because of shame and that if you ever encounter someone who tells you they have been the victim of fraud to be very supportive of them because these frauds can be incredibly convincing.
He also wants to reassure people that because more frauds are being committed by people in Canada, there have been instances where people have gotten their money back so reporting the fraud can be worth it.
Another tactic that fraudsters use is to pull on your heartstrings so that you react first and use your critical thinking skills second. Human told a story where his mother, who worked as a head administrator for the RCMP called him worried about her grandchild because of a fraudster.
“My mom was calling me at eight o’clock in the morning. My mom never calls me that early unless something’s going on,” said Human.
She had received a call from a scammer saying that her grandchild, Human’s child, was in jail in Winnipeg because they had been pulled over and drugs were found in their car and now they needed bail money.
Human reassured her that her grandchild was in fact not even in the province as they were away for work. He explained that even though she knew police procedure and knew that some of the information that she had received couldn’t be true, her concern for her grandchild came first.
Residents should know that this is commonly called a grandparent scam but it can happen with other close family relationships or even close friendships. The scammers pretend to be a loved one in trouble and then convince you that they are that person with a bad phone connection or a cold and ask for help. The signs that this was a scam are that, in Canada, the RCMP need a warrant to search a vehicle which they wouldn’t have if they just pulled someone over. Additionally, there is no such thing as bail in Canada, it’s a commonly known American term but our Canadian justice system works differently.
Another common scam that Human mentioned was a scam that works to collect credit card inforation. A fraudster will call saying there is something wrong with your credit card. They will then ask for your personal information like the name on the card, the card number and the three-digit CVV code to confirm your identity. Human says that you should absolutely never give this information out as confirmation. If they are calling you, you should be confirming who they are. You can do this by hanging up and calling the number on your credit card.
Scammers can also say they represent banks or other institutions. It’s always ok to hang up and find the information to call them from a trusted source like a statement you’ve received from that institution to confirm the fraud.
Because it’s coming up to tax season scammers will be gearing up to pretend they are the CRA or involved with taxation in some way. If you get calls like that in the coming weeks it’s ok to hang up as the CRA doesn’t reach out by phone.
“Google your names to see how much of your information is out there. Who do you trust your information with? [Don’t give it out freely.] And, please, if you see those [posts or quizzes] on social media, where they say, ‘Hey, what was your first car and where do you live? What was your hometown?’ Don’t put that stuff out there. Why? Because they are good password questions,” said Human.
He also says that sometimes fraud scams aren’t targeted.
There are programs now that automatically call random phone numbers and fraudsters just wait for someone to answer who won’t hang up on them. They play on resident’s good nature.
“If you have a phone, and you getting a call from a number that you don’t recognize, leave it. They can talk to my answering machine. If it’s important, they’ll leave a message. If it’s not, they don’t,” said Human.
He asks that people who are victims of fraud to report it not just for themselves but because it helps the police know about new frauds so that they can protect others. It’s also the best way to potentially get what you have lost back.
“Please report it as quickly as you can because the quicker an issue is reported, the quicker that we can get working on it and get it to the powers that be to possibly get wherever you lost back,” said Human.
Some other tips that he shared are:
To never allow anyone to have remote access to your computer even if they say they are a technician or professional who calls you
That frauds are not just happening to seniors. Anyone of any age is being targeted now
If they tell you not to tell anybody, then it’s probably fake and you should definitely tell someone you trust
You shouldn’t feel bad blocking and deleting potential fraudsters
If you see someone in your neighbourhood is acting strangely it’s ok to call in a suspicious person to the RCMP
“I don’t want any of you to lose anything, lose money, lose property, lose anything and I want you to tell others to help them at the same time,” said Human.
