March is Fraud Prevention Month

From emails claiming your bank account has been compromised to phone calls advising you’ve won a free cruise, fraudsters will use any opportunity to get their hands on your money and/or your personal information. Halifax Regional Police and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police — your Partners in Policing — want people to be able to recognize fraud quickly so they you able to report it and ultimately, stop it from happening.

Top Five Scams:

Lottery/contest scams: You receive a phone call, an email, a text message or see a pop-up window on your computer advising that you’ve won a lottery or a contest. The catch is that there are often costs involved with claiming your prize, and even if you do receive a prize, it may not be what was promised to you.

Job and employment scams: These scams promise a lot of income for little or no effort. They may involve you using your bank account to receive and pass on payments for a foreign company, or your “employer” might send you a counterfeit cheque along with instructions for you to cash it and transfer a portion of the sum over a money transfer service. Sometimes the job offer involves you paying an up-front fee for start-up materials or software.

Email/Internet scams: You receive an email from a sender you don’t know or that isn’t specifically addressed to you. These emails, known as spam, may be an attempt by scammers to get your personal information and passwords. Scammers use spam to install their software on your computer by tricking you into clicking on a link or a pop up window, or by getting you to visit a fake website to update or confirm your information. Often these emails appear to be from legitimate organizations like a bank. Don’t reply, click on any links or open any attachments contained in a spam email, even if it is to unsubscribe.

Emergency scams: You receive a call from someone posing as a family member or friend who is in trouble and needs money immediately. They claim to have been in a car accident, are having trouble returning from a foreign country or need bail money. The caller requests that you don’t tell anyone else what has happened. They ask you to wire money through a money transfer company. Don’t send any money until you can verify the situation.

Charity scams: These scams involve scammers collecting money by pretending to be a real charity or posing as a canvasser for a legitimate charity. Often, the scammer will exploit a natural disaster or tragedy that has recently been in the news. Scammers may try to pressure you to give a donation and refuse to provide details about the charity, such as their address or contact information. When in doubt, check with the charity, the Canada Revenue Agency or your local Better Business Bureau before donating.

Police Beat is written by Halifax Regional Police and Halifax District RCMP to provide information on policing in Halifax Regional Municipality. The articles are intended to educate citizens on the different public safety issues to help prevent crime or to provide detailed information on the various specialized units within policing so people can have a greater perspective regarding what the police do in our community.