Over the past few days, Meadow Lake RCMP has seen an increase in the number of fraud and scam calls to people in the Meadow Lake area. Most of these fraud complaints involve the fraudster calling and asking people to make payments over the phone. The fraudster asks people to purchase gift cards to make these payments. The fraudster may provide a badge number, implying they are a police officer. They may also ask for social insurance numbers and advise that they will freeze the assets of the person they're phoning if the payments aren't made. Once the cards have been purchased, the victim is asked to share the code on the back of the card, which gives the fraudster access to all the funds added to the card.
"Due to the increase in the number of reports our Detachment is receiving, we felt it important to remind the community that government agencies and legitimate businesses will not call and ask you to purchase a gift card in order to pay a bill, collect a debt or unlock your government ID," said Constable Gill Harris of Meadow Lake RCMP. "Anyone can become a victim – you are not alone. Fraudsters can be very convincing and relentless in their goal of taking your hard-earned money. Reporting you are a victim of fraud helps the Detachment have a better understanding of the types of crime occurring in our community."
If you receive a phone call you believe to be a scam or fraudulent, you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You can report by phone (Toll free: 1-888-495-8501) or online here: https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm
Protect yourself or your business from scams and fraud. https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/protect-protegez-eng.htm