Fraud Prevention Month is an annual public awareness campaign held in March that works to prevent
Canadians from becoming victims of fraud by helping them recognize reject and report it.
Have you ever been cheated out of money or something that you valued? Or perhaps, you have known a family member or friend who has been scammed in some way? Here’s one person’s story… “A friend of mine’s sister had been dating a fellow for a couple of months and, because of that connection, my friend trusted his sister’s ‘boyfriend’ and guess what? This ‘boyfriend’ scammed my friend and his sister out of $2,000. How did the scammer do this you may ask? Well, my friend was unemployed at the time and getting desperate and the ‘boyfriend’ had an in on his weak spot and offered him a job and the rest fell into place from there.”
One of the great things about March is — its Fraud Prevention Month #FPM2017 and we’d like to bring awareness to this campaign along with providing some resources and tips!
As per the Competition Bureau:
2017 marks the 13th anniversary of Fraud Prevention Month
This year marks the 13th anniversary of the annual education and awareness campaign that began in 2004 by encouraging Canadians to recognize, reject and report fraud.
Spearheaded by the Competition Bureau, Fraud Prevention Month is a unique effort that brings together over 80 law enforcement agencies and public and private sector organizations to combat fraud.
During the month of March, the Bureau and its partners in the Fraud Prevention Forum carry out numerous activities and host a variety of events to inform Canadians about the impact of fraud and how to protect themselves.
Check out the tips below, and visit the Bureau’s fraud prevention portal for more information and many other resources to help you fight fraud.
As per the Competition Bureau:
Tips to Protect Yourself from Fraud
- Don’t be fooled by the promise of a valuable prize in return for a low-cost purchase.
- Be extra cautious about calls, emails or mailings offering international bonds or lottery tickets, a portion of a foreign dignitary’s bank account, free vacations, credit repair or schemes with unlimited income potential.
- Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, delete the email or close your Internet connection.
- Don’t purchase a product or service without carefully checking out the product, service and company.
- Don’t be afraid to request further documentation from the caller so you can verify the validity of the company.
- Don’t disclose personal information about your finances, bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance and driver’s license numbers to any business that can’t prove it is legitimate.
- Shred unwanted personal information such as bank statements, credit card bills, unwanted receipts, cheques, pre-approved credit applications and old tax returns.
- Check your credit report every year and report problems immediately.
- If a scam artist contacts you, or if you’ve been defrauded: Report it! Your reports are vital to the anti-fraud efforts of law enforcement agencies
The Government of Canada’s Anti-Fraud Centre:
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) is the central agency in Canada that collects information and criminal intelligence on such matters as mass marketing fraud (e.g., telemarketing), advance fee fraud (e.g., West African letters), Internet fraud and identification theft complaints.