Fraud Prevention TIps
Posted by Vi Hughes
on Jun 15, 2016
On Tuesday we listened to a very informative talk from Dave Rodwell, a retired RCMP officer, who is now a private corporate crime consultant. He spoke to us about how to recognize and prevent becoming a victim of the many types of fraud and scams that we are constantly being exposed to. Last year various frauds and scams resulted in the loss of over 12.2 billion dollars in Canada alone, and these were only the reported ones. There are many more that go unreported, as people are too embarrassed to admit they have been victimised. The basic premise of fraud and scams is 'If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.'
Some of the currently circulating scams involve cheap car insurance ( you pay but there is no insurance when you go to make a claim), unclaimed large estates where you too may be an heir ( for a fee, of course), phone calls from the CRA or even the IRS ( they got the script wrong) asking you to send gift card numbers or banking information, or purchasing items by mail ( you pay but the item never arrives). Other scams involve facebook 'friends' that eventually ask you to pay for airfare so they can come and visit you, (but they never show up), or the secret shopper scam, where you purchase items on your credit and they repay you when you send the item on to them ( of course they send you a list of so many items to find that you never get ahead of what they owe you).
Some tips to avoid being taken easily are to do your due diligence, check it out, 'go with your gut' or intuition, before you put money in. For computers, use strong passwords for your online accounts, use a separate e-mail account to make online purchases, activate your computer firewall, use encryption software if your computer contains sensitive information. Store sensitive files on a separate drive from your main computer and back them up regularly and use your antivirus software to block spyware.
His last piece of advice was that if you have been scammed, get over your embarrassment, and report it to the authorities, so they can hopefully prevent others from also becoming victims.
Dave Rodwell