How Islanders can avoid this year's 12 most common holiday scams
CBC
'Tis the season for scams, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre wants to help ensure Islanders don't become victims.
The centre has published its 12 scams of the holidays bulletin, informing people about everything from charity and romance scams to social media-based Secret Santa schemes that collect your personal information.
According to the centre's statistics, service fraud was the number 1 type of scam in P.E.I. in 2023.
"It could be anything from tech support scams, where you get a phone call or a pop-up on your computer telling you that you have a virus," the anti-fraud centre's Jeff Horncastle told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin.
"We still see door-to-door scams where fraudsters are trying to sell equipment that doesn't work, or it could be a phone call claiming to be from your cellphone service provider or your internet service provider offering you a deal and asking you for your personal information."
Here are the 12 scams of Christmas identified by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:
Horncastle said social media is increasingly being used to defraud unsuspecting residents through fraudulent advertisements, investment scams, fake merchandise or messages that appear to come from friends and family members.
The RCMP have also seen an increase in the so-called "grandparent scam" — phone calls targeting the senior population that purport to be from a grandchild who needs money to be bailed out of jail.
"The best thing to do is to hang the phone up, call your loved one or your grandchild by looking up the phone number in your contact list," said Horncastle.
Scams involving financial institutions and government agencies continue to be popular among fraudsters this time of year.
Horncastle's advice is to always think twice about where the text message or email is coming from and, when in doubt, contact the agency or business directly to verify they sent something.
"It sounds very simple, but it can happen so quickly," he said. "Whether you're getting an email claiming to be from the CRA or any government agency, a service provider, a financial institution, remember that these emails can look very legitimate, but remember that you're not supposed to click on links before you verify their legitimacy."
To report a scam, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's website, or call 1-888-495-8501.
G.E. Barbour may be best known for its King Cole tea, but the Sussex company’s peanut butter is apparently what everyone wants overseas.
Seven years into an early onset Alzheimer’s diagnosis, Sandra Demontigny's home is full of reminders.
A blizzard gusting across southern Manitoba is leaving a long list of highway and school closures.
While a blizzard threatened outside, Saskatoon city council endured an icy blast inside city hall from a Riversdale business leader over its homeless initiatives.
This is a story about fire, faith and marshmallows.
Alberta’s population bucked the trend that almost every other Canadian province and territory experienced last quarter, Statistics Canada population estimates suggest.
A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked Michigan from enforcing a 2020 order to shut down Enbridge's Line 5 oil pipeline running beneath a channel linking two of the Great Lakes, ruling that pipeline safety is a federal responsibility.
When retired RCMP constable Jason Hydamacka heard the news that the insurance money for his amputated leg was coming, he sat in his truck and cried.
As Neskantaga First Nation’s youngest band councillor, Lashaunda Waswa says she wants to inspire the next generation to protect the community’s land, water and wildlife.
Toronto has seen a drop in crime rates across the city, but its police chief says youth crime rates continue to be a cause for concern.
Cambridge council has voted to request a pedestrian safety review of Cedar Street from the region after two back-to-back collisions last week, one of which killed a three-year-old girl.
The Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation has received a $1-million donation to create an endowment fund that it will use to upgrade common areas at the Charlottetown hospital.
A new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis suggests Russia and China are pulling ahead of NATO nations, including Canada, in the race to develop and field drones capable of operating in harsh Arctic conditions.