People attending a Rural Crime Watch meeting in Olds were given some tips on how to avoid getting fleeced by fraudsters from a Better Business Bureau (BBB) representative.
David McKee, the community outreach coordinator for the BBB of Southern Alberta and East Kootenay, addressed the Zone 2 Rural Crime Watch meeting April 8 at the Cow Palace.
Theoretically, McKee was asked to speak about scams involving seniors, but he broadened his talk, saying scams affect all age groups and all walks of life.
Basically he said, there are several elements common to virtually every scam:
* They approach you uninvited, personally, via email or by phone.
* There's a very tight timeline.
* It has to happen now, otherwise there'll be dire consequences or the "deal" won't be available.
* They take advantage of your emotions. So they make you anxious, excited or very worried about something.
"All of these things are kind of designed to keep you off balance," McKee said.
He said scam victims shouldn't feel bad about what's happened to them.
"Being a victim is not your fault. They're professionals; they're very good at what they do," McKee said.
He recommended contacting the RCMP or the BBB if you're scammed.
McKee listed several common scams, including the "Canada Revenue Agency" (CRA) one where someone contacts you saying they're from the CRA. They say you owe money and if you don't pay up quickly you'll be arrested and go to jail.
Another one is the sweetheart scam in which someone contacts you online and starts a romantic relationship with you, then says they'd love to meet you in person but can't afford to get there so they ask you to send them money.
A third very common scam occurs when someone phones you and says there's a problem with your computer. They offer to fix it if you follow their instructions.
A variation of this one is when a pop-up appears on your computer screen saying if you contact the number listed, they'll make the pop-up go away.
Yet another example is when a disaster occurs, like the 2013 floods. Suddenly, someone comes to your door and offers to pump out your basement. However, they have no credentials and they say they only have a limited time in which to do the project or the opportunity will be gone.
Another scam involves a person contacting a senior and claiming to be a distant niece or nephew. The person says he or she is in deep trouble and needs money.
Sometimes the scammers make that claim seem even more plausible by having a third party come on the line - a "doctor" if the claim is an injury where money is supposedly needed for health care.
"Do your research. If you still think it's real, if you're online and you see something like that, you can cut and paste it and Google it," McKee said.
"Even the really good scams, if you really start thinking about them and you're aware of them, you'll start to see holes in them. You'll start to notice that it is what it is."
He urged the crowd to take the time to think the matter through. If they won't give you that time, don't go for it.
"If it's a bank thing, you can phone your bank up and say, ëare you guys doing this kind of a thing, these kind of promotions right now?'" McKee said.
"It just takes a little time to check it out and then you have a better chance of making sure it's not a scam."
McKee cited the example of kids who come door to door asking for donations to send them to band camp or something of that sort.
He said he asks them to come back another day. If they say they can't do that, he suspects it's a scam of some sort.
