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 […]

The Scam Of The Day – The Romance Scam There is a growing number of people who are turning to the internet to find love, unfortunately scammers know this and use every type of dating or social networking site to seek out potential victims. The scammer will gain the trust of the victim through displays […]

Scams Targeting Students Merchandise Scams – Buying Online & Counterfeit Goods Students need to be cautious when buying merchandise online and are encouraged to fully review feedback and to deal with companies or individuals that they know by reputation or from past experience. If the buyer is not familiar with a particular seller, they should […]

Media Release Friday March 6th, 2015   Today’s Scam Of The Day – False Charities If an unfamiliar charity organization contacts you – by mail, phone, or Internet – be careful. Bogus charities often use names that are very close to the names of legitimate and respected charities. The end of the year is the […]

In support of the month of March being fraud prevention month, we will be highlighting the “scam of the day”. It is part of our contiuing efforts to make the public more aware of ongoing scams that are being used by con artists. We want to prevent you from ever becoming a victim. Remember…FRAUD…Recognize It…Report […]

Make sure you check out our Community Service page to access copies of the OACP Crime Prevention Handbook and a Consumer Protection Handbook. Some valuable information for protecting yourself against crime.