WESTLOCK – While scammers will try every trick in the book to steal your hard-earned money, RCMP want to remind people that “if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.”
Throughout March the Alberta RCMP are sharing a variety of tips and resources in support of the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association’s (ACCPA) Fraud Prevention Month campaign and have selected a weekly theme to educate people on the many ways that fraudulent activity negatively impacts their communities — the first week covers romance scams, phishing e-mails, jobs scams, buy-and-sell frauds, lottery and prize scams, tech repair and impersonation scams.
At the Westlock RCMP Detachment, Cpl. Brad Schram said over the last week they’ve dealt with a handful cases “involving online dating sites” where scammers send “inappropriate pictures to people” and then try to blackmail them for money to ensure they don’t go public. Via a provincial release, RCMP advise using strong passwords for your online accounts, avoid sharing personal information online and refrain from sharing your banking information.
“Online safety is always a concern, so always make sure you know who you’re talking to and not sending anything out that you don’t want distributed to the public,” said Schram.
“Scammers will try every trick in the book to convince a target that their request is legitimate. If you feel like something is off about an interaction, you’ve likely picked up on a red flag. Remember that if it’s too good to be true, it usually is,” added Cpl. Sean Milne of the Alberta RCMP Provincial Economic Crime Team.
Schram said “we could cover the entire newspaper” talking about the bevy of scams that annually make the rounds locally and how to prevent them but offered one simple tip: think first before sending any money or information, especially to someone you don’t know.
He also said if people have questions, or believe they’ve been a victim of a scam, then can always call their local detachment (Westlock’s number is 780-349-4492), or visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website which contains a host of resources — the centre can also be reached at 1-888-495-8501. RCMP also note that if you believe your personal or financial information has been compromised, immediately contact your bank and credit card company.
“A lot of it is common sense, or at least questioning something before you send off your information,” Schram concluded.
