On March 7 the Better Business Bureau (BBB) released the 2021 BBB Scam Tracker Canadian Risk Report. 

The report overviews the top 10 scams in Canada, providing invaluable information to consumers on what to watch out for. 

Wes Lafortune, the Media and Communications Specialist for the Better Business Bureau, lists the top 10 scams of last year: 

  1. Cryptocurrency - There are a bunch of different tools and platforms that people can invest in trying to get a piece of the incredibly valuable Bitcoin and the like. Unfortunately, many of these tools are fraudulent right from the beginning. They are actually set up to take money from people. In some cases, people are losing 1000s of dollars, and in more rare cases, losing hundreds of 1000s of dollars. 

  2. Advanced Fee Loan - There are fraudsters, often in organized crime, that will reach out or have a website asking if you are looking to borrow some money. What they do is start this process of engaging with consumers. They ask for the fees upfront, gain your trust, and steal money from you. 

  3. Online Purchases - There are 1000s of different products and sectors online. People have to be very careful, one of the best things you could watch for when purchasing online is to make sure you’re using a secure website. It’s also important to ensure the person you’re buying anything from is legitimate.  

  4. Home Improvement – Often times this comes in the form of people promising to do work for you like, such as renovating your kitchen or deck. They show up for a little while, but then disappear after they've gotten half or all of the money. 

  5. Phishing - People reach out by email and ask you to click on a link for whatever reason. It could be a fake email from your office payroll or sudden cancellation of your Netflix account. You click on it, and suddenly you're having information stolen from you 

  6. Counterfeit Products - This one relates back to online purchases, which are counterfeit products. The products being offered turn out to be counterfeit. 

  7. Employment - Someone sees you're looking for employment and reaches out to offer a job. Turns out, it's a fraud, it's a scam. They're not actually offering you a job. What they want is to get your banking information under the disguise of tax forms and other onboarding documents that come with starting a new job. 

  8. Fake Invoice / Supplier Bill - You'll get an invoice out of the blue at your business, saying you owe $500 for cleaning products but it's a fake invoice. Sometimes businesses will pay these fake invoices without making sure they're valid just to get them off the table. 

  9. Credit Card - Make sure when you're using your credit card that you don't provide information to anybody other than the authorized vendor. Always keep security information personal and secure, and monitor the account. 

  10. Sweepstakes / lottery / Prizes - You're contacted, often online, saying you've won the sweepstakes. The thing is, they need you to pay a fee in order to access any of the winnings. Often, they'll say you need to pay a fee upfront; that's fraud. 

The BBB recommends learning the top 10 tips for avoiding scams including; never sending money to someone you haven't met face-to-face, don't click on links or open attachments in unsolicited emails or text messages, and don’t believe everything you see or read. 

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