The Wood Buffalo RCMP is warning the public about scammers going after your cash.
March is fraud prevention month.
Most lottery scams seem too good to be true.
“They are too good to be true, and if it sounds like it is, it is. If you haven’t put your name in to win something then you’re not going to win a prize,” said Constable Ashley Quallie of the Wood Buffalo RCMP.
Any fees associated to winnings will never be paid through a money service business such as Western Union, MoneyGram or by loading funds to a prepaid credit card such as Green Dot.
You should also never give out any personal information such as your SIN, address, or any banking information.
“Don’t give that out [information], to anybody over the phone especially if you haven’t phoned them. Just because you never know who you’re giving that information to and what’s going to happen to it,” said Quallie.
Some scams include callers pretending to be a family member in trouble and needing cash to post bail.
As well as the sweepstakes scam, claiming that you’ve won a prize but you need to pay the taxes through a money service business before you can claim your winnings.
Scammers are also setting up false relationships through dating sites in an effort to gain the victim’s trust and eventually demand money for travel costs to visit them or pay for emergency medical procedures.
