Be careful, it’s Fraud Awareness Month
Posted March 5, 2011 8:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – As part of Fraud Awareness Month, the RCMP is warning people about the top mass marketing scams.
The most common one is the prize pitch or lottery scam asking you to send money to collect a prize. The grandparent or family emergency scam usually targets seniors. The Nigerian scam, overpayment fraud and the mystery shopper scam are also popular.
RCMP Sergeant Tim Kreiter says there is a simple solution to avoid getting duped. “Do a little bit of homework, that’s the simplest solution to anything. Before you send money to anybody, check out why you’re sending money.”
He adds, “if it’s too good to be true, it probably is,” because 80 per cent of mass marketing scams involve organized crime groups. Police also encourage people to check in the Better Business Bureau if a company seems suspicious.
Kreiter says fraud scams, annually, are a $10 billion business in Canada.
Top 5 scams
1. Advance Fee Fraud: The most common variation is the prize pitch, or lottery scam. You are told you have won a large sum of money or a big ticket item but to collect you must pay fees or taxes in advance.
2. The Grandparent or Family Emergency Scam: Fraudsters will call the potential victim and claim to be a grandchild or other close family member and will ask for money to help with a serious situation. Common themes have been the grandchild has been in an accident or arrested and the money is needed for hospital bills or bail. The victim is told not to tell other family members as the “grandchild” is embarrassed or doesn’t want to alarm anyone else in the family.
3. Overpayment Fraud: Starts when you advertise something for sale- often on a free online classified site. The criminal sends you a cheque, money order or bank draft. The sum is much larger than your asking price, and you are asked to wire transfer the difference.
4. The Nigerian/West-African Scam: You receive an “urgent” business proposal “in strictest confidence” from a Nigerian/West-African civil servant/businessman. The sender has come into possession of profit from real estate, oil products, or other commodities, and needs an offshore partner to assist in transferring the money out of his or her home country.
5. The Mystery Shopper Scam: Starts with an unsolicited letter containing a cheque. You are told to deposit that cheque, make a few small purchases, and wire transfer the balance to an account controlled by the fraud artist.
