Extortion Scams Extortion scams occurring online are increasing. In 2013 the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) received 4,307 reports with 223 of these classified as victims with a total reported dollar loss of $92,174.44. So far in 2014 the CAFC has received 1936 complaints related to an Extortion pitch. 123 are classified as victims with a […]

Lottery Emails There has been an ever-growing number of scam lottery emails advising consumers they have hit the jackpot. We ask that you consider the following when you receive a solicitation of this kind. They do not notify winners by email. You cannot win without first buying a lottery ticket They do not randomly select […]

Scams Targeting Businesses Wire Frauds One type of wire fraud currently targeting businesses is the Business Executive Scam (BES) which is a type of phishing. The potential victim receives an email that appears to come from their employer’s human resources or technical support department. Fraudsters create email addresses that mimic that of the real departments. […]

Cheque Overpayment Fraud Fraudulent cheques are used in a variety of scams such as advance fee letter fraud, overpayment and prize pitch to name a few. Overpayment scams is the type of fraud where the person receiving the cheque is actually owed money for goods sold. The seller receives a counterfeit cashier’s cheque personal cheque […]

Today’s Scam of the Day – The Inheritance Scam A very wealthy stranger has died and you are asked to assist with banking and to share the wealth. The Pitch You receive a wordy letter, or email message, from a stranger, seeking your assistance in moving large amounts of money, often millions of dollars, to […]

So, it’s late on St Patrick’s Day, your phone rings and it sounds like it may be your nephew or neice. They sound upset and claim that you need to wire money to a lawyer in Montreal as they have been arrested for too much partying and need to be bailed out. What would you […]

Scams Targeting Seniors The trusting nature of our senior population and their lack of experience with high tech frauds makes them prime candidates to be taken by heartless criminals. Prize Scam Seniors are solicited over the phone or email and advised they are the winner of a large lottery or sweepstakes. Prior to receiving any […]

Scam Of The Day – The Job Scam Any false, deceptive or misleading solicitation offering employment and requesting an advance fee to secure the job or obtain the materials to perform the job or any job offer involving money transfer or wiring funds related to cashing monetary instruments. The “mystery shopper” scam is still victimizing […]

Phishing – Without the Line The word phishing comes from the analogy that Internet scammers are using email lures to ‘fish’ for passwords and financial data from the sea of Internet users. Phishing, also called “brand spoofing” is the creation of email messages and Web pages that are replicas of existing, legitimate sites and businesses. […]

Identity Theft Identity theft refers to the preparatory stage of acquiring and collecting someone else’s personal information for criminal purposes. As of January 8, 2010, Senate Bill S-4 became law, making it illegal to possess another person’s identity information for criminal purposes. Identity theft techniques can range from unsophisticated, such as dumpster diving and mail […]