March is Fraud Prevention Month and RCMP officials are looking to help the public protect themselves against scammers by sharing tips.
The education campaign highlights several scams, including romance scams, phishing emails, phone scams, identity theft or impersonation scams. Over the next four weeks, the RCMP will focus on themes and share different ways residents can protect themselves from scams. Some suggestions include using a strong and unique password for your online accounts and knowing the red flags for phishing scams. Corporal Sean Milne from the Alberta RCMP Provincial Financial Crime Team says it is important to also know how to protect your accounts from cybercrime and take precautions such as not sharing online banking information, shredding personal and financial documents, and keeping up to date on your accounts.
“As technology continues to evolve, scammers are finding new and innovative ways to convince a target that they are legitimate. Canadians can better protect themselves from these online tactics by learning how to secure their accounts, devices and digital connections,” Milne says.
According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, across Canada in 2023 victims lost more than $554 million to fraud a jump from the $23 million reported in 2022.
Victims of fraud, or those who think being targeted to be a victim of fraud, are advised to contact the local authorities and call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.