Seniors common victims of fraudsters
By Lethbridge Herald on July 22, 2023.
Steffanie Costigan
Lethbridge Herald
With the ever-expanding use of social media platforms, fraudulent activity has increased significantly, and seniors have often fallen victim to the ever-growing new tactics scammers are coming out with.
The Office of the Minister of Service Alberta shares tools to protect and information to help seniors identify scams and not fall victim to scams.
“Alberta’s government understands that protecting seniors from scams is vitally important. They have worked their whole lives, and we want to ensure that they have the tools necessary to protect them from online scams and various consumer-related frauds.
Seniors are advised never to give their personal information to anyone they do not know, either on the phone, by text, or online.
For more helpful tips and other resources, they can find more information at https://www.alberta.ca/consumer-business-tips.aspx”
A common fraud involves identity theft; it is advised by Alberta.ca to never give out personal information such as a social insurance number, credit card number, or other identifying information which scammers can utilize to streamline the process of correcting a credit report, notifying banks, retailers and credit card issuers.
Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre statistics show as of June 30, the reports of frauds within Canada total 32,458; in 2022, the total reports of frauds were 92,078. This year so far, victims of fraud in Canada have reached 21,299; in 2022, the total number of victims of fraud was 57,578. In 2023, as of June, the total amount lost by victims of fraud is $283.5 million, and in 2022 the total of lost money by victims was $531 million, with only $2,883,792 funds able to be recovered by CAFC assistance.
Residents who believe they may have fallen victim to a scam can report it by contacting the Fraud reporting system of the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 and the Lethbridge Police Service non-emergency line at 403-328-4444.
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