Lakeshore Advance, 2013-03-27, Page 21Wednesday, March 27, 2013 • Lakeshore Advance 21
March is Fraud Prevention Month
Recognize and report
scams to help stop the
fraudsters
Ursula Menke
Commissioner, FCAC
"This investment will give you high
returns with little or no
risk—guaranteed!"
"Act now, tomorrow will be too
late!"
"Don't tell anyone else—then every-
one will know about this loophole!"
If you have heard any of these sales
pitches, you should beware. 'These are a
few common signs of scams or other
forms of fraud.
In 2012, the Canadian Anti -Fraud
Centre received nearly 39,000 com-
plaints about mass marketing fraud,
which cost Canadians over $53 million.
In addition, 17,000 cases of identity
police warn of
on-line dating scam
OPP
Iluron County OPP officers are
investigating a scam that was reported
to police yesterday. Police learned a
Central Iluron resident has been vic-
timized for $32,000 as a result of a scam
commonly known as the "Romance or
Dating Scam': In this particular case,
the female victim reported she met a
male friend online through a dating
website. She communicated with this
male online for five months and she
started to develop feelings for him.
During this online relationship the
scanner sent her fake photos. After
gaining her trust he then sent her fur-
ther emails requesting she send him
money because he was having custom
difficulties while traveling overseas in
Russia and China. Through multiple
transactions the victim wired money to
the fraudster. The total value of money
sent to the fraudster was $32,000.
The "Romance and Dating" scam is
Wb oming increasingly more common.
le or recently unattached people
fit,., among the growing number of vul-
nerable population to be victimized
through fraudulent means. This scans
usually occurs through email, social
media and singles dating websites.
flow common is it? The Canadian
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Anti -Fraud Centre (CAFC) reports in
2012 there were 1460 complaints of
"Romance Fraud" with 1047 victims
identified resulting in losses exceeding
$14.8 million.
here are some tips to avoid being a
victim of the "Romance/Dating Scam".
Check website addresses carefully.
Scammers often set up fake websites
with very sitnilar addresses to legiti-
mate dating websites. Make sure you
only use legitimate and reputable dat-
ing websites.
Never send money or give credit card
or online account details to anyone you
do not know and trust.
A request to send money to a foreign
country to a person you have never per-
sonally met should be a red flag.
Be careful giving out personal infor-
mation in an email or when you are
chatting online, Use the computer to
your advantage. Educate yourself, ask
questions, and be skeptical. Ask your-
self, does this sound legitimate. Is it
nortnal for someone to declare their
love in only a few letters or emails?
Be informed and stay on top of
scams, inform your friends, fancily and
loved ones of this scam. If you suspect
that you tnay be a target of a fraud, or if
you have already sent funds, don't be
embarrassed, you are not alone.
You can contact the Canadian Anti -
Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre.
ca or by calling 1-880-495-8501. Alter-
natively you can contact the 1 luron OPP
Detachment at 1-888-310-1122 or (519)
524-1074.
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fraud or identity theft cost victims more
than $16 million.
In many cases, victims are too embar-
rassed to report fraud or even tell their
fatally and friends they've been
scammed. This only makes it easier for
fraudsters to scam new victims.
It's time to do something about it.
March is Fraud Prevention Month, and
on March 12, "2 Good 2 B 'True" day,
the Financial Consumer Agency of
Canada (ECAC) will he just one of sev-
eral organizations to encourage Cana-
dians to talk about their experiences
with scams and fraud, and to share tips
on recognizing, reporting and stopping
it through social media, using
#2Good2lltrue.
Recognizing and reporting fraud and
scams helps everyone, and learning
how to spot 0 possible fraud is one of
the most effective ways to keep us all
safe.
TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF
'lb avoid becoming a victim of fraud:
• Don't share personal information
freely.
• Destroy documents with personal
information.
• Keep your wallet or purse safe.
• Don't carry II) you don't need (such
as your Social Insurance Number ).
• Lock your household mailbox if
possible.
• Check your credit report once a
year (you can order it for free).
• Make sure websites are secure
before transmitting personal
information.
• Delete emails that ask for personal
information.
• Keep computer firewalls and spy -
ware filters up to date.
• Keep your computer passwords
safe.
• Be skeptical—if an offer
sounds too good to be true, it
probably is!
• Save paper bank records
for at least a year.
If you find you have been
scammed, report it—keeping
it a secret only makes it easier
for scamrners to defraud more
victims.
• File a report with your
local police
• Advise all financial insti-
tutions and other companies
where you have accounts,
such as your phone or cable
provider, about the fraud.
• Contact Canada's two
credit reporting agencies,
and ask them to put a fraud
alert on your file.
• Contact the Canadian
Anti -Fraud Centre's national
call centre at 1-888-495-8501
or by email at info@anti-
fraudcentre.ca.
• Write down the steps you
take as you report the fraud.
The best way to protect
yourself against fraud is
knowing how to prevent it.
FCAC has developed a wide
range of materials, including
videos, tip clips, case studies,
tip sheets and quizzes to help
consumers learn to spot the
red flags of identity fraud,
debit card fraud, credit card
fraud, email and phone fraud
and real estate fraud.
The Online Fraud page
includes tips on how to pre-
vent identity theft and fraud
when using public wireless
Internet access and social
networking sites. There are
also tips on spotting housing
frauds and scams, employ-
ment fraud, investment
fraud, payment scams and
other kinds of financial
fraud.
Visit itpaystoknow.gc.ca—
because it pays to know.
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