March is Fraud Prevention Month and this week Delta police are offering tips related to COVID-19 specific scams and frauds.
“With vaccinations now rolling out, new scams related to vaccinations are increasing,” said Delta police. “It is important to remember (and please ensure that seniors in your life know this) that Health Authorities booking vaccination appointment will not ask you for your, Social Insurance Number, driver’s licence, banking information or your credit card.
Meanwhile, Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers are also reminding resident about the dangers of fraudulent crimes.
According to Crime Stoppers fraud remains one of the most troublesome and persistent crimes for Canadians, costing residents millions of dollars each year.
Canada’s Top 10 Frauds (by number of reports in 2020 – Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre):
1) Extortion - 17,390
2) Identity fraud - 16,970
3) Personal information - 6,649
4) Phishing - 3,672
5) Merchandise - 3,354
6) Victim vendor (payment scam) - 2,320
7) Job scams - 2,297
8) Service oriented - 2,009
9) Spear phishing (targeting business) - 1,049
10) Emergency (fraudulent calls) - 924
• Canadians lost $106.4 million to fraud in 2020, $62.6 million of which was related to online fraud.
• 11,789 Canadians have lost $7.2 million to COVID-19 related fraud since March last year.
• Canadians lost $18.5 million to a growing number of romance scams in 2020; fraudsters targeting victims by offering companionship or love online during the pandemic.
• In just the first two months of 2021, 7,646 Canadians have already lost $34.6 million to all manner of fraud.
“Those who commit these kinds of crimes are rarely amateurs and know how to prey on people’s fears,” says Linda Annis, Executive Director of Metro Vancouver Crime Stoppers. “March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada and it’s a good time to remind everyone that no one can identify who you are when you call Crime Stoppers anonymously with information that could lead to these criminals being found and arrested. We’re available 24/7, we can take your information in 115 languages and you could be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.”
