CALGARY -- Hoping to keep unsuspecting Albertans from becoming unwitting victims, Calgary police kicked off Fraud Prevention Month at the Central Public Library on Sunday.
Officers were on hand to teach people how to recognize, report and stop fraudulent activity.
Last year, police received an estimated 5,500 reports of fraud, ranging from credit card fraud to identity theft, impersonation, forgery, defrauding a person and other offences.
Each week during March, police will focus on a different topic.
Week 1 will focus on cyber crime and online scams, including:
- Phishing scams
- Online marketplace scams
- Employment scams
- Advance-fee loan scams
- Online ticket sale scams
- Romance scams
- Online identity theft
- Wi-Fi hacking
Week 2 will focus on identity theft and fraud, including:
- Phone and email scams where the goal is to steal someone's identity or financial information and mail theft
Week 3 will be business frauds and scams, including:
- Fake invoices/email scams
- Mortgage fraud
- Money laundering in real estate
- Fake charities
- Cheque and credit card fraud
- Door-to-door scams
- Contractor fraud
- Internal or employee theft
Week 4 will focus on mass marketing and phone scams, including:
- Spoofed phone numbers
- Mass mail-outs or subscriptions
- Fraudulent telemarketers
"The general format of the scam stays the same but scammers will change the format of it ever so slightly, so reporting is always important so the authorities and our partners here today can understand what those slight variations are so we can make the public aware of it," said CPS Supt. Ryan Jepson.
Anyone who has been a victim of fraud can report it to CPS through the non-emergency line at 403-266-1234 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
