Nipawin RCMP are reminding the community to hang up the phone

Posnikoff wants to remind the public that this information is completely false and the RCMP does not get involved in people’s tax situations.

March marks the beginning of fraud awareness month as a lot of money is lost to these types of scams.

“We’ll be continuing to really emphasize that throughout this month and hopefully we see a decline this year.”

Typical tactics used by scammers, according to Posnikoff, include asking for money, claiming to know your relatives or friends or threatening legal action.

The most effective course of action someone can take if they suspect they are talking to a scammer is to tell them you are reporting them to the RCMP. Then, hang up.

“The people that do this have just gotten into the mindset that if they hit enough people, sooner or later somebody is going to give them some money. Unfortunately, that’s usually the case.”

Typically any information obtained during the call is untrue such as real names, businesses the caller works for and, due to technology, even phone numbers.

“We’re finding that the call display will even display numbers that are fraudulent. They have methods of producing a number on your phone that perhaps is a familiar number to you, but it’s not actually the number they’re calling from.”

If you are ever in doubt as to if the phone number belongs to a loved one or local business, hang up and call the correct number to inform them they are being targeted by scammers.

“Just to make them aware that those people are fraudulently trying to use their business or their name as a calling point.”

If you or someone you know receives a fraudulent call, report it to your local RCMP detachment or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

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Rachel.May@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RachelMayFM

by Rachel May

Nipawin RCMP are reminding the community to hang up the phone

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