Dont be a victim of these common scams

The Prince Rupert RCMP wants to help the public avoid being victimized by frauds and scams by highlighting some of the more common schemes used by scammers.

In recent years the sophistication of scams has evolved and grown with social media playing a prominent role. Here are a few of the more common scams and how to recognize them:

Advance Fee Schemes:

• A buyer of an item you are selling provides you with a cheque, money order or travellers cheque for more than the value of the item then says they made a mistake and asks for you to transfer funds back to them

Calls for help from family members:

• Typically this scam targets senior citizens, however, anyone can be a victim
• The scammer pretends to be a family member who is in distress: they have been arrested, robbed or been in an accident
• To avoid being victimized ask for a name rather than offering up a name, call other family members to confirm identities

Bitcoin and gift card scams:

• A victim will often receive an unsolicited phone call, email, text or message through social media. The scammer will use urgent or even threatening language to illicit action from the victim
• The victim will be presented with an opportunity to invest and have high returns on their investment

Phishing:

• Scammers use emails, text messages or social media to send what appear to be links to legitimate websites, clicking on these links can provide the scammer with personal information
• Phone calls coming from subscription services (such as Netflix or Amazon), or governmental departments asking for personal information to fix an issue with a delivery, account issues etc.

What to do if you’re a victim:

• First collect your thoughts, then gather all information you can: documents, receipts, copies of emails and/or text messages
• Contact the involved financial institutions: place flags on your accounts, change all your passwords, and if money was exchanged between banks contact both banks
• Contact the police to get a file number, and update any suspicious activity on your credit report
• Report the incident to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: toll free 1-800-495-8501 or through the Fraud Reporting System

Simply put, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is, Media Relations Officer Cst. Brody Hemrich said, scammers typically use urgency and tight timelines to incite action, don’t fall for this, take all the time you need and ask people you trust in your life if something appears to be legitimate.

If you have been a victim of a scam or fraud call the Prince Rupert RCMP at 250-624-2136 and contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre 1-800-495-8501.