This March, the Alberta RCMP will be sharing safety tips and tools in support of the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association's (ACCPA) fraud prevention month. Each year, ACCPA uses the campaign to educate Albertans on the ways in which fraudulent activity directly impacts their communities. The RCMP encourages the public to follow the hashtag #FPM2022 on social media for fraud prevention information and resources all month long.
This year, ACCPA, along with supporting agencies including the RCMP, will cover the following topics so Albertans can learn how to best prevent themselves from falling victim to a scam:
- Cryptocurrency scams
- Identity theft
- Online scams
- Business fraud and scams
- Mass marketing and phone scams
"Educating yourself on how to identify fraudulent activity is crucial. Today, with more and more online financial platforms and digital payment systems, there is increasing opportunity for scammers to get the better of you," says Cpl. Sean Milne, Alberta RCMP Provincial Economic Crime Team. "We want to equip Albertans with the tools to be able to spot a scam and protect themselves, so that they may avoid any potential risk to their personal finances or information."
If you are unsure of whether or not you are being targeted by a scam, visit the Government of Canada's website to learn about common scam-types. If you have been the victim of a fraud, report it to your local law enforcement and to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre online at www.antifraudcenter.ca, or by calling: 1-888-495-8501. Be sure to contact your bank and credit card company if you believe your personal or financial information has been compromised.
For more fraud prevention information, follow us on Facebook @RCMPinAlberta and Twitter @RCMPAlberta.