March is National Fraud Prevention Month

March is National Fraud Prevention Month, and the Sarnia Police Service will be sharing information throughout the month to educate our community members about common frauds in our area, prevention measures, and what to do in the event they fall victim to fraud. 

Fraud can have a significant impact on its victims, financially and emotionally. The Sarnia Police Service Criminal Investigation Division investigates reports of fraud in our area. In Sarnia, the most common types of fraud are: 

1. Grandparent scams- these scams involve a fraudster calling older adults and pretending to be their grandchild, often claiming they are in jail or the hospital and need money.  

2. Social Media scams – online sellers requiring purchases to provide money to hold items and then do not provide the items; fraudsters posting ads and taking deposits for rental houses where the home isn’t available to rent. In both cases, these fraudsters stop responding to victims once money has been provided for the deposit. 

3. Cryptocurrency scams- can come in many forms, including individuals being asked to provide money in investments into cryptocurrency with the guarantee the victim will make a large return on their investment, also in cryptocurrency; individuals saying their bank is locked and they needed to send money over in order to unlock the money for the victim; or individuals providing credit card information to fraudsters over the phone or clicking links and putting credit card information in.  

4. Work and repair scams- individuals offer services for money and the work is never completed.  

5. Fraud resulting from theft- occurs when bank or credit cards are stolen from vehicles and then used at the bank or for purchases.  

6. Phone/gift card scams- Victims receive calls saying their card has been compromised and are told the only way to get the money back would be to purchase gift cards. The individual is then directed to provide the fraudster with the gift card numbers. 

While these are the most frequently reported types of fraud in our area, there are many more that occur on a daily basis to individuals in our community.  

If you believe you may have been a victim of fraud or attempted fraud, it is important to report this to police. Fraud can also be reported to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online by visiting  https://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm or by phone by calling 1-800-495-8501.