Sunshine Coast residents falling victim to scammers

The Sunshine Coast RCMP are continuing to receive almost daily reports from Sunshine Coast residents who report being victims of frauds.  The old adage.."If it's too good to be true...it probably isn't" is something to remember when you come in contact with these talented fraudsters, either on the phone or through your computer.

In one report, a Sechelt resident was told over the phone she would receive a $100,000 cash reward but needed to provide some gift cards before the reward could be released. Luckily the resident asked family members for advice and they were able to ascertain that it was a scam.

In another very common scam, a Gibsons resident received an email that there was a virus in their computer that was illegally accessing their bank account. The "specialist" told the resident to obtain $1,100 in gift cards and provide them the codes.

The RCMP have received multiple reports of people sending e-transfer deposits or payments through FaceBook Marketplace only to find their money gone, and then never receive the item they believed they had purchased.

Several other residents allowed external agencies to access their computers remotely under the guise of a variety of ploys which ultimately ended with them being defrauded.

Tips to protect yourself:

• Create strong passwords for each of your accounts.
• Setup multi-factor authentication to make it more difficult for someone else to access your accounts.
• Never share your multi-factor authentication code with anyone.
• Update the privacy settings attached to your social network accounts.
• Never, under any circumstances, accept money and send money to a third party. You may be participating in money laundering which is a criminal offence.
• Avoid reacting automatically. Take five minutes to ask additional questions and listen to your instincts. If something doesn’t seem right, ask someone else you trust about it.  If you are being pressured to react immediately, be suspicious.
• Do not open an attachment or click a link in an unsolicited email or text message.
• Do not trust the information on your call display because it can easily be manipulated.
• Do not provide your personal or financial information on demand.

To learn more about this and other common scams, and how to protect yourself from falling victim, please visit sites such as The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre  Please share this information with your friends and family.