March is Fraud Prevention Month and Alberta RCMP are sharing a multitude of tips and resources to help educate residents against scammers.
The campaign will be focusing on scams and fraud, which can include identity theft and fraud, romance scams, phishing emails, job scams, buy and sell fraud, lottery or prize scams, phone scams, tech repair scams, and impersonation scams.
To help protect yourself against these scams, RCMP recommend using strong passwords for any online accounts, avoid sharing personal information online, do not share any of your banking information, shred any personal and financial documents, check your mail regularly, and keep up to date on your accounts.
Some scams that are currently ongoing are the ’emergency scam’ where a scammer calls as a family member who was in an accident and needs money for a lawyer.
Another current scam involves the sell of used cellphones which have been blacklisted from service providers.
If you think you are or have been a victim of fraud or a scam, report it to local authorities and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. If you feel like your bank or credit information may have been compromised, contact your banking institution as soon as possible.