Beware holiday scams to avoid getting swindled
WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre has released its “12 Frauds of the Holidays” list, highlighting common deceits and trickery during the holidays.
Popular frauds and scams include:
– too-good-to-be-true prices offered online;
– offers to buy goods sight-unseen;
– unsolicited messages impersonating shipping companies and urgently requesting personal or financial details;
– offers for new cellphones and discounted plans;
– investment promotions;
– romance frauds;
– offers to recover financial losses;
– already-used gift cards or demanding payment with gift cards;
– fake charities soliciting donations;
– prize and vacation offers;
– toll route and speeding infraction text messages; and
– identity theft schemes.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, according to official data, reported Canadians lost $643 million to fraud last year – a 300 per cent increase since 2020.
A sampling of recent scams in Wellington County since the summer include phishing, romance, home repair, financial investment, banking and grandparent scams, with losses totalling more than $600,000.
Perth-Wellington MPP Matthew Rae recently announced the province will provide Wellington County with $187,329 for fraud prevention and response measures.
Wellington County OPP officials have hosted fraud presentations directed at seniors, businesses and about cryptocurrency this year.
Police say anyone who knows about a fraud should contact police and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or online, even if a financial loss did not occur.
