Whitehorse Daily Star

RCMP warn of phone scams, credit fraud

Whitehorse RCMP are warning people to be careful after a recent rise in telephone scams and credit card fraud.

By Whitehorse Star on April 27, 2016

Whitehorse RCMP are warning people to be careful after a recent rise in telephone scams and credit card fraud.

There have been two Yukon victims in the past 15 days, and police have fielded numerous calls from other people who were contacted but who avoided being taken in by the scammers.

One scam involves calling unsuspecting victims and telling them they’ve won the lottery.

But there is catch – they have to pay a fee to have the money “released.”

“You never have to pay to collect winnings from a legitimate lottery,” Whitehorse RCMP Const. Julia Fox said in a statement Tuesday.

“There are no fees such as duties, taxes, insurance, lawyer (fees) or clearance certificates.”

Legitimate lottery organizations will never ask to send money by Western Union or Money Gram, nor ask to place cash or cheques inside magazines or greeting cards, Fox added.

The police also received several reports of credit card fraud.

Multiple credit cards are opened in the name of the victims.

The high debts ends up affecting the victim’s credit card ratings.

“Personal information needed to get a credit card can be obtained in many ways, including through theft of mail, intercepting garbage, theft of wallets, or having your credit card information copied while making purchases from insecure websites,” Fox said.

E-commerce sites will use safety mechanisms to protect personal information from being intercepted: look for the “https” at the beginning of a site’s web address.

“If you believe you may be a victim of fraud, notify your bank or credit card company. Contact Equifax (866) 828-5961 and Trans Union (800) 663-9980 and request a fraud alert be placed on your credit record,” said Fox.

More information can be found at:

• rcmp.gc.ca/scams-fraudes/id-theft-vol-eng.htm

• antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca

• fightidentitytheft.com

Comments (2)

Up 14 Down 0

Common Sense on Apr 28, 2016 at 11:39 am

Hopefully common sense will prevail over greed when it comes to winning a lottery you never entered. If it seems too easy and too good to be true--it probably is.

Up 5 Down 8

jc on Apr 27, 2016 at 5:13 pm

So why report it to the RCMP? Nothing they can do about it. If you get scammed, just suck it up and learn not to get caught again.

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