March marks Alberta RCMP’s Fraud Prevention Month and the officers are sharing tips and resources to help teach Albertans about fraud.
The Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association’s (ACCPA) Fraud Prevention Month campaign includes a weekly theme on the many ways that fraudulent activity negatively impacts their communities.
This week, ACCPA and other supporting agencies including the RCMP, are focusing on online scams and fraud.
This includes, but is not limited to:
• Romance scams;
• Phishing emails;
• Jobs scams;
• Buy and sell fraud;
• Lottery and/or prize scams;
• Tech repair scams; and
• Impersonation scams.
S/Sgt. Wes Bensmiller for the Cold Lake RCMP says everyone can better protect themselves from online scams and fraud by using strong passwords for their online accounts and not sharing their banking information or personal information online.
“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.”
Anyone who is unsure of whether or not you are being targeted by a scam is being asked to visit the Government of Canada’s website to learn about common scam types.
Anyone who has been a victim of fraud needs to report it to the local law enforcement and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online.