With the government giving $50 off of upcoming utility bills, scammers are trying to take advantage of the rebates. 

Wes Lafortune, the Communications Specialist for the Better Business Bureau, has some information about as to why this rebate has come about. 

“The Alberta Government announced earlier in the summer that they were going to have a rebate for electricity of $50 per month for July, August, and September. That gave scammers an opportunity to take advantage and what the scammers have done is send links to texts and emails suggesting that people should click on those links. That way, scammers gather personal information about you and, sometimes, banking information.” 

photoPhoto of what the scam might look like.

The Alberta Government recently announced they will be continuing the rebate until December. 

“What's happening currently, is a lot of people are just about to get their first $50 rebate, and where they will see that is not through email or through a text, but they'll see that directly on their bill.” 

According to Lafortune, it's always important to report these scams. 

“If you ever get scammed for a large amount of money, you should report it to the police and report it to police through the non-emergency line. It's important for people to report the scams so organizations, including electricity companies, know this is happening so they can also get the message out.” 

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