Many of us have done it at least once. Carry on a phone conversation when we were unsure to whom we spoke.
Sadly, scammers are all too aware of this and, with increasing regularity, have been using this to talk unsuspecting seniors out of their hard-earned cash, getting them to believe they are talking to a grandchild in need of emergency financial help.
It’s called the grandparent scam, one of the frauds and scams we will draw attention to this month.
March is Fraud Prevention Month, and we join law enforcement agencies across the country, led by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and the Competition Bureau, to create greater awareness of frauds and scams making the rounds.
In 2022, across Canada:
- There were 70,878 frauds reported, representing 37,047 victims.
- The total funds lost were $ $529,304,255.02
Here in Manitoba:
- There were 1,850 scams reported, representing 1,011 victims.
- The total funds lost were $ $10,399,618.43
Education is the key to fraud prevention.
This month:
- Tune in to CJNU Radio On Wednesday, March 6, to hear a panel discussion on frauds and scams. We are partnering with representatives from Prevent Elder Abuse Manitoba, the Manitoba Financial Services Agency and 211 Manitoba to talk about fraud relating to older Manitobans.
- Visit our Financial Crimes Unit and other community partners on Thursday, March 21 and Thursday, March 28, at the St. Vital Centre from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. We will answer your questions about fraud and share some timely information.
- Read our Fraud Prevention Series of articles in the Free Press Community Review newspapers, delivered free to mailboxes across Winnipeg. Investigators have prepared articles on cryptocurrency scams, grandparent scams, bank investigator scams and sextortion fraud.
- Watch for an article on the grandparent scam on the pages of Senior Scope as well.
Of course, we will share plenty of tips and information through our social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Watch for the hashtags #FPM2024 and #WPSFraudSquad.
To get you started, may we suggest:
- Visiting the Canadian Fraud Centre’s website for an overview of the latest frauds and scams
- Check out the Competition Bureau’s Little Black Book of Scams video series on YouTube.
- Taking a look at our Frauds & Scams webpage.
As for that grandparent scam story we started with? Our advice is straightforward. Hang up. If you get a call like this, contact your loved one by using the phone number you already have in your contact list.
We all have a role to play in fraud prevention.