Wire transfer rip-offs increase as fraudsters try new tricks

A fairly new scam involving wire fraud cost Canadians more than $24 million this year.

The scam sees people spoofing or hacking into a boss's personal email address to ask employees for money.

About 115 people across the country were affected by wire transfer rip-offs this year, said Daniel Williams, a senior call-taker and supervisor at the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre in North Bay.

“We're all vulnerable. You know, we're all targets for them. It's just a matter of what buttons do they need to push to trick us into following their instructions.”

The top two frauds in Sudbury this year were the buying and selling of goods online, and dating scams.

Williams said that's consistent with the provincial results that show scams involving romance are the most common in Ontario.

“Folks fall head over heels with this fiction that the scammer has created,” he said.

“Depending on the sophistication of the gang, sometimes they can wait nine, ten months before they'll ask for the first dollar from you.”

The best way to protect yourself from scams is to do your research, Williams noted.

How Can I Recognize a Scam?

• It sounds too good to be true. You've won a big prize in a contest that you don't recall entering. You're offered a once-in-a-lifetime investment that offers a huge return. You're told that you can buy into a lottery ticket pool that cannot lose.
• You must pay or you can't play. "You’re a winner!" but you must agree to send money to the caller in order to pay for delivery, processing, taxes, duties or some other fee in order to receive your prize. Sometimes the caller will even send a courier to pick up your money.
• You must give them your private financial information. The caller asks for all your confidential banking and/or credit card information. Honest businesses do not require these details unless you are using that specific method of payment.
• Will that be cash... or cash? Often criminal telemarketers ask you to send cash or a money order, rather than a cheque or credit card. Cash is untraceable and can't be cancelled. And, crooks also have difficulty in establishing themselves as merchants with legitimate credit card companies.
• The caller is more excited than you are. The crooks want to get you excited about this "opportunity" so that you won't be able to think clearly.
• The manager is calling. The person calling claims to be a government official, tax officer, banking official, lawyer or some other person in authority. The person calls you by your first name and asks you a lot of personal or lifestyle questions (like how often do your grown children visit you).
• The stranger calling wants to become your best friend. Criminals love finding out if you're lonely and willing to talk. Once they know that, they'll try to convince you that they are your friend – after all, we don't normally suspect our friends of being crooks.
• It's a limited opportunity and you're going to miss out. If you are pressured to make a big purchase decision immediately, it's probably not a legitimate deal. Real businesses or charities will give you a chance to check them out or think about it.

Source: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre