For every crisis, world event or disaster, there is a scam artist ready to take advantage of it, and the COVID-19 pandemic has been no different, according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
“We haven’t seen anything that really shocked or surprised us as yet,” said Jeff Thomson, RCMP intelligence analyst with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. “We know they are quick to adapt to world events.”
Thomson said fraudsters were fast out of the gate after the pandemic was declared last year, taking advantage of fear and uncertainty as regions of the country started to shut down, people were laid off from work and money started getting tight.
Thomson said scammers are opportunists who will use any means to defraud people.
Early last spring, there was a deluge of complaints from consumers hit with advance-fee loan scams – which target people having trouble accessing cash or credit — followed quickly by a suite of scams revolving around the Canada Emergency Response Benefit and other relief measures.
All of the scams, whether using email, texts or robo-calls, used the pandemic in an attempt to compromise personal and financial information or extort money from people who were already on edge.
And it worked. Between March 6 last year and the end of February 2021, nearly 12,000 Canadians reported 13,553 incidents of COVID-19-related fraud costing them $7.2 million.
Thomson said the scams continued throughout the pandemic and many have evolved as circumstances changed.
Currently, there are a slew of vaccine-related scams making the rounds.
Some come as texts or email suggesting the victim can get onto a shortlist for early vaccinations if they make a small donation, while other emails offer a “click here” button to get vaccine information. Clicking releases malware — software designed to damage or gain unauthorized access — onto a smart device or computer.
Thomson said there are also delivery scams that claim to offer home vaccination kits or various types of personal protective equipment that is paid for but never arrives.
“It’s been an interesting year in terms of seeing how people have adapted to life online, and how they have started to be able to recognize frauds and scams,” he said. In response, fraudsters have taken their game to a new level by creating more convincing emails and texts and setting up websites that appear to be legitimate.
Thomson said countless emails and texts have been sent out that look like they are from the Government of Canada asking for personal information. He pointed out that federal departments and agencies do not solicit personal information that way.
And while Thomson said there’s nothing new under the sun when it comes to fraud, there has been a change in the fraudsters’ level of aggression and the way they play on victims’ emotions.
“They take advantage of a sense of urgency, anxiety and fear that exists,” he said. “It used to be straight trickery and deception. Now it’s extortion — if you don’t act right away, bad things will happen.”
There have been several reports in the capital region of such aggressive scams, where the fraudster calls a victim and claims they will be jailed or deported if they don’t immediately pay a fine or clear up a non-existent tax bill.
Thomson said another change over the last year has been the significant increase in identification fraud, which he links to many of the relief packages offered to individuals by the federal government.
Last year, there were 16,000 reports of ID fraud across Canada, up from 9,000 in 2019.
Over the course of the pandemic, the Canada Revenue Agency says it stepped up its efforts to combat fraud. The agency said the number of scams has increased exponentially and evolved to take advantage of every new relief program.
The CRA said despite education and actions to combat fraud, every year scammers are able to acquire people’s personal information – like social insurance numbers, birth dates, names — which they then use to try and scam both individuals and the government.
The agency said it has put new safeguards in place over the last year, including having applicants call the CRA’s validation and protection service before receiving payments, and delaying the processing of some CERB and CESB applications until applicants have provided supporting documents to prove their identity.
By late fall, more than $100,000 had been lost to the CRA scam and its variations in this region.
Thomson says Canadians who feel they’re being victimized should reach out to a trusted person or an official source for advice.
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says if you suspect someone is using your social insurance number, you should contact Service Canada and have available documents to prove the misuse of your number and an original identity document such as a birth certificate.
Suspected frauds can be reported to local police or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
aduffy@timescolonist.com
