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| Fraud Facts |
On April 15, a male was approached by another male seeking assistance with travel money to Manitoba. The male offered to sell some jewellery in exchange for cash, and the Good Samaritan took the male up on this offer.
The buyer discovered, too late, that the $800 worth of gold jewellery purchased was fake.
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| Fraud Facts |
By Michael Toay
The Better Business Bureau maintains a List of Top 10 Scams, age-old schemes repackaged for the 21st Century. In our on-going series, here are the final 3 of the Top 10 twists our human nature has brought to the old vices of deceit, theft and greed. “Buyer Beware: There is nothing new under the sun.”
Much of what follows was gleaned from: www.mbc.bbb.org/top-ten-scams and http://mbc.bbb.org/article/top-ten-scams-2013-%E2%80%93-just-in-case-a-scam-is-around-the-corner-39600
1. Rogue door to door contractorsWhile some door to door sales folk have legitimate offers for you, beware the rogue door to door operators who come unsolicited and bearing promises of deals that are too good to be true.
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Still more new gimmicks, still more old schemes
| Fraud Facts |
“There is nothing new under the sun,” Ecclesiastes tells us. The Better Business Bureau agrees.
They maintain a List of Top 10 Scams, age-old schemes repackaged for the 21st Century. In our on-going series, described below are two more of the most recent twists our human nature has put on the old vices of deceit, theft and greed. Buyer beware.
Much of what follows was gleaned from: www.mbc.bbb.org/top-ten-scams and http://mbc.bbb.org/article/top-ten-scams-2013-%E2%80%93-just-in-case-a-scam-is-around-the-corner-39600
1. Twisted Text Prizes
Like many people, you receive text messages every day. But this one is special. It informs you that you’ve won a major retailer's gift card. All you have to do is go to a website and enter a PIN to claim the card. After entering the PIN and an email address, you’re taken to a form and asked to fill in your name, cell phone number, mailing address and also asked to answer unrelated personal questions, like "Are you interested in going back to school?" or "Are you diabetic?" and “Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?”
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More new gimmicks, more old schemes
| Fraud Facts |
By Michael Toay
As previously noted, Ecclesiastes informs us “There is nothing new under the sun.” The Better Business Bureau maintains a Top 10 List of Scams; age-old schemes repackaged for the 21st Century. Keeping tempo with Fraud Prevention Month, the Williams Lake RCMP are the bringing awareness to the most recent twists our human nature has put on two more of the old vices of deceit, theft and greed. Buyer Beware.
1. Curbers - Unlicensed Used Car Traffickers
Curbers, or unlicensed used-car traffickers, often acquire junk cars and then sell them from parking lots or curbsides. They advertise through local newspapers and online ads. Later, the used car you bought privately may turn out to have liens against it, the VIN (vehicle identification number) number switched, or the odometer rolled back. In some cases, the car turns out to be stolen.
How do you spot a curber?
If you see the same phone number listed for numerous cars or across numerous ads, chances are you’re dealing with a curber. If you call or e-mail the seller about a car and they respond “Which car?”, you are most likely dealing with a curber. If the price seems too good to be true, or the person is selling on behalf of a friend, or has a sad story, or tries to rush you into buying, you may be dealing with a curber. Curbers generally will not meet at their home or place of business and almost always insist on cash. How do you curb their enthusiasm to fraudulently sell you a car?
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Don't get reeled in by a phishing scam
| Fraud Facts |
Many of us spend hours a day online - at work, at home and on the go. Unfortunately, so do Internet scammers who may be phishing for your personal information.
As part of Fraud Prevention Month - a month-long national initiative that helps Canadians recognize, prevent and report fraudulent activities - the Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection BC are teaming up to help British Columbians avoid being the victim of a phishing scam.
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New gimmicks, old schemes; top three scams
| Fraud Facts |
By Michael Toay
Ecclesiastes informs us that “there is nothing new under the sun.” Human nature being what it is, deceit, theft and greed have been with us almost from the beginning and will, unfortunately, most certainly be with us until the end of time.
The top three scams on the Better Business Bureau's Top 10 Scams list are age-old schemes repackaged for the 21st Century. Buyer beware.
1. Advertising trolls
Consumers posting ads to sell a vehicle on free sites such as Craigslist are often the target of unlicensed telemarketing companies who troll through online ads to find someone they can make a quick buck off of. These companies often guarantee to sell vehicles quickly and promise a money-back guarantee, but the brokers will charge you as much as $500 to post your ad to other free online listings- something you could do yourself for free- rarely sell your vehicle, and rarely provide refunds.
Don’t allow promises of guaranteed sales to persuade you into buying a costly ad. Never give into a verbal promises (get everything in writing), and do not provide credit card information until you have a contract that lays out all the terms and conditions. And check the company out on www.bbb.org.
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March is Fraud Prevention month
| Fraud Facts |
Every year, thousands of Canadians fall victim to fraud.
Most folks don’t think that it will ever happen to them, but fraudsters continue to use increasing sophisticated methods to target our residents of all ages and from all walks of life. Fraud Prevention Month is an annual event that gives private and public organizations involved in the fight again fraud an opportunity to further raise public awareness.
Through awareness, we can avoid becoming victims.
(Photo: Dave Dickson, Williams Lake RCMP Community Safety representative and Community Policing Board President, Andy Sullivan work closely with the Williams Lake RCMP detachment to reduce fraud and scams locally.)
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