SPRINGHILL, N.S. – If you go to ‘Canada’s Most Dangerous Places 2019’ on Maclean’s magazine’s website and click on ‘Fraud’, you will find Amherst ranked No. 2 in Canada, right behind Weyburn, Sask.
“That’s not really an accurate statistic,” Const. Tom Wood of the Amherst Police Department said.
He says Amherst reports fraud differently than most towns and cities in Canada.
“What’s happening is, we encourage people to come in and report frauds, so they’re reporting it and we create files on it,” Wood said. “They might not be victims, but we keep a report on it so we can track it. Other agencies don’t do that. That’s the reason we’re No. 2.”
Wood talked about fraud risks for senior at the Mental Health in our Communities Forum recently held at NSCC in Springhill.
Although Amherst doesn’t experience more frauds and scams than other communities, Wood says Amherst and Cumberland County do experience its fair share.
“A lot of the time it’s targeting seniors, but it also targets teens and people of all ages,” Wood said.
Scratch Ticket Scam
One common scam is the scratch ticket scam, whereby a scratch ticket is received in the mail and every ticket is a winner. The ticket says you won $10,000 but the fine print adds that you need to buy a vacuum to collect your winnings.
“They will sell you a $200 vacuum for $1,000,” Wood said. "Is it illegal? No. They’re not being illegal, but it is a scam.”
Canadian Revenue Agency Fraud
The scratch ticket scam isn’t illegal, but the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) fraud is.
“One common fraud we still see a lot of is the Canadian Revenue Agency fraud,” said Wood. “I’m sure everyone’s got a million calls for that one, but people still fall victim to it.”
The way it works is the fraudster calls and says they’re from the Canadian Revenue Agency. They say there have been issues with their tax filings, adding that if they don’t send money they will be arrested.
“A lot of the time a senior will be terrified thinking the police are going to kick in their door because of back taxes,” Wood said. “I’ve had seniors call me and they’re crying. They’re terrified.”
The Amherst police department recently investigated a CRA fraud where the victim lost $20,000 in iTunes cards.
The fraudster will tell the senior to purchase iTunes gift cards, scratch the numbers off and send the numbers in to pay their taxes.
“They’ll be very threatening, and say, ‘do as I say, or we’ll lock you in jail, don’t tell anyone what you’re doing, the local police are corrupt, so I don’t want you to talk to them.”
Woods says people who have purchased thousands of dollars of iTunes gift cards have been approached by the police, but they refuse to talk to them.
“The person won’t trust me even though I’m a police officer. They put more trust into the person they’re talking to on the phone,” said Wood. “That’s the power of their script.”
Wood says the fraudsters follow a script that’s designed to manipulate a person to follow the fraudster's demands.
Many of the victims are 80 or 90-years-old and don’t know what an iTunes gift card is, and Woods knows situations where the fraudster threatens people with rape and murder.
“Guess what, I know he’s in India, but if you just heard that, you’re thinking, ‘Is this guy actually in India or is he in Springhill,’” said Wood. “The best thing to do is just to hang up. Don’t’ engage with the person.”
