Fraud Prevention Month: Police provide tips to avoid being scammed
Posted Mar 8, 2017 07:05:41 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
March is Fraud Prevention Month, and also, the beginning of tax season.
Waterloo Regional Police’s fraud branch says the majority of fraud reports they’re receiving lately, are from residents claiming they’ve been contacted by the Canada Revenue Agency, and asked to pay a fine.
“Never give out personal information about yourself, your bank, your credit history, your birth date, your social insurance number, so private information should never be released,” says Staff Sergeant Alison Bevington.
The Canada Revenue Agency and other businesses will not ask for detailed personal information over the phone or e-mail.
Other fraud issues include romance scams, ticket scams, and computer service scams.
Ontario Provincial Police say 95 per cent of fraud victims don’t report the crime, and this is a big problem.
“A lot of people struggle with embarrassment or shame, and I can’t help you if I don’t know about it,” says Staff Sergeant Bevington. “That’s what we’re here for, we want to support members of our community.”
