Fraud Jumps 152% in ONE YEAR!
Technology is becoming more sophisticated and elaborate, and so are the online scams. More seniors are starting to learn how to navigate the digital world for the first time. As a result, online fraud is the number one crime committed against seniors in Canada.
Some of the more common senior scams involve telemarketing, internet scams, and investment schemes.
“Financial harms that are perpetrated against seniors…are romance scams to aggressive door-to-door sales . . .and online scams to telemarketing and various social media scams”
https://www.canada.ca/en/national-seniors-council/programs/publications-reports/2019-what-we-heard-financial-crimes-harms.html#h2.5-3.1
While this article specifies online scams, it’s important to note that “old-fashioned” mediums of scams are still in play. Mail scams still exist, as do phone and fax scams, and extortion seems to be its main goal. In-person scams exist in the form of service fraud with scammers approaching individuals directly, especially in the areas of financial services, insurance, and tech support for the home.
Sadly, the fraud numbers are spiking. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, as of December 2021, 50,666 Canadians were victims of the fraud (42,184 in 2020); with a total of $269 million lost to fraud ($106.6 million lost in 2020). That’s an increase of 152% in ONE YEAR. The numbers are even higher in the United States. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, seniors in the U.S. lost $1.8 BILLION to online fraud in 2020.
The increase in the sophistication of scams, together with many older adults learning online skills during the pandemic, means the landscape is ripe for people to fall victim.
The most modern scams capitalize on current topics that people are interested in such as bitcoin and the pandemic. In fact, the day before this article was published, our company founder received a scam email inviting her to register for a federal COVID passport that is required for future travel!
Increase in fraud raises questions about what we can do to protect the vulnerable, and how we teach them to protect themselves. Additional questions arise about what our banks and credit card companies are doing as a secondary safeguard when they see suspicious transactions. Plus, what is the government doing to prosecute these criminals when they are caught?
What Can You Do Right Now?
Join our informative webinar, How to Avoid Online Scams, on February 17, 2022, co-hosted with Vancity Savings Credit Union. Learn the most common scams today, how to spot the signs of a scam, how to reduce the risk, and what to do if you’re a victim of a scam.
Register here today and secure your spot – space is limited.
Sources Cited:
https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/index-eng.htm
https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/scams-fraudes/service-eng.htm