Mass marketing and phone scams are one of the most common frauds nowadays. Ultimately, the fraudster wants to obtain your personal information or be provided money from you in any method. The difficulty in these types of frauds is that the targets believe they are dealing with a real company or someone trusted. The fraudsters sound very convincing and work hard to manipulate the people they call.

Whether is it by phone or by email, if you are not certain you are talking to someone legitimate, end the conversation and contact the business directly to confirm. Often fraudsters will use phone numbers that are “spoofed”, or copied, to look legitimate or emails that look real but are not. A company will usually use its own name in the email address as a contact as opposed to an email ending in Gmail, Hotmail or yahoo. These are easy things to confirm when you contact the businesses directly yourself.

One type of phone scam is an emergency scam where a scammer will contact a person posing as their relative. The individual will sound scared and quiet and call the person on the other line by their name or title such as “Grandma” or “Grandpa”, and when the person on the other line calls them by the name of their grandchild they will make up a story that they have been arrested for some sort of crime and are being held in jail somewhere and need money. They will often request for the money to be wired to a certain place, often out of the country and say that the money is going to a lawyer, as bail, or for fines and they cannot tell their parents. Remember to always check with your family members and know if they are gone somewhere, or not, before transferring money.

A common scam is where people pose as professionals from the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency, Microsoft or computer technical support, or government officials in hopes to gather personal information or have money sent to them. They may request e-transfers, online gift card codes, crypto currency, or credit card information. Remember, no legitimate company or government agency will request online gift cards codes or crypto currency as payment.

Always call the company/agency back at their phone number that you have researched and confirm if the situation is real.

In general, a good rule to remember when it comes to money is to always ask questions before transferring or investing. A professional will have no problem answering your questions and showing credentials and references to prove they are who they are.

For more information on common frauds or scams and for information on how to protect yourself visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

Media Contact:Sgt. Adam Gregory
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
403-529-8451