ATHABASCA/BARRHEAD/WESTLOCK - It didn’t take long for fraudsters to try to take advantage of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Last week both the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre (CAFC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) reported that several scams are making the rounds attempting to cash in on the crisis.
The CAFC has updated its list of known COVID-19 scams. The CAFC, which works with the RCMP, Competition Bureau and Ontario Provincial Police. CSA is an umbrella organization of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators whose objective is to improve, coordinate and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.
In a media release, CSA is warning the public that fraudsters who are looking for would-be investors claiming to have products or services that will prevent, detect or even a cure.
“Fraudsters take advantage of global events and breaking news to lure potential investors with the expectations of significant returns,” the release states, adding a common technique scammer use is called a pump-and-dump scheme involving publicly traded “shell” companies.
A “pump and dump” scam is the illegal act of artificially inflating the market price of an owned stock through false promotion and selling it once the price has risen. The schemes usually target penny stocks, or the shares of small public companies.
Although companies across the globe are working towards finding effective treatments, the CSA reiterated there are no vaccines or any natural health product that is authorized to treat, or protect against COVID-19.
The CSA emphasized that when investing in any company it is important to research the investment and keep in mind that fraudsters often exploit the latest crisis.
But the “pump-and-dump” is only one of several COVID-19 based scams circulating. The most prominent are con artists posing as cleaning or heating companies offering duct cleaning services or air filters to protect from COVID-19; local and provincial hydro/electrical power companies threatening to disconnect your power for non-payment; Public Health Agency of Canada giving false results saying you have been tested positive for COVID-19, tricking you into confirming your health card and credit card numbers for a prescription; government departments sending out coronavirus-themed phishing e-mails designed to trick you into opening malicious attachments or to get you to reveal sensitive personal and financial details; or private companies offering fast COVID-19 tests for sale.
Barrhead RCMP Detachment commander Sgt. Bob Dodds notes that so far, fortunately, his detachment has seen less criminal activity in the area, including scammers.
However, he cautions as the situation keeps going, there are going to be people who target residents, whether it a play on the old grandma scam, where a person from Italy contacts by phone or e-mail contacts someone saying they need money to get home to Canada or something else.
Dodds said if anyone receives a phone call or an e-mail requesting money in any way related to the COVID-19 situation they should be very skeptical and seek proper advice before sending any money.
The CSA requests that anyone who believes they have been contacted by and offered a fraudulent opportunity related to the coronavirus to report it to the Alberta Securities Commission at 1-877-355-0585.
They also warn people that they are contacted by anyone with warnings about their investments or finances should never give out any personal information and to contact their investment adviser or bank separately after independently verifying the phone number to ensure the caller is legitimate.
The CAFC says due to reduced staffing levels due to COVID-19 they are operating at a reduced capacity and are no longer taking telephone calls but people can still report scams via their online reporting tool at https://www.services.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/chooser-eng.html?ipeReferer=CAFCFRS.
