Don't be Duped!

BY FRANCESCA PACCHIANO

It’s the season for shopping—and that means this is also a high season for fraud.

The Ladysmith & District Credit Union held a Fraud Aware ness presentation a few months ago and the Ladysmith Eagles Hall was packed. Just about everyone there had either expe rienced fraud or knows of someone who has. The LDCU is already planning another information session in the spring.

Gone are the days of just phone calls from far-off princes asking for money. Fraudsters have diversified their tactics and their scams. It’s important to know what to look for and how to stay safe.

Michael Robinson, Marketing Director for LDCU spoke on the types and dangers of fraud scams. “If you get a call from your grandchild saying, Hey, I'm in trouble. Send me some money…That's a big problem right now too. They use AI and voice simulators to simulate your grandkids.”

Scams don’t look like what we’d expect. There are romance scams, charity scams, phishing emails or texts, online shopping scams, CRA scams, ransomware, ID theft—the list goes on. The medium used is also advancing, from phone calls, to texts, to emails, to fake websites, social media campaigns, and deepfake videos, even if you don’t think you’re being targeted, you are.

And you should stay critical whenever you encounter any thing remotely suspicious or from unusual sources. One key element to look out for is anything asking for money. Especially in the form of gift cards, Bitcoin, and transferring money to foreign accounts. “No one, and I mean no one, will accept a gift card as payment. Gift cards are [for] when you give to people and they go in and then they use them. No one requests a gift card as payment.”

Robinson went on to describe a scam where a financial institution calls and asks you to go purchase gift cards from multiple stores as a way to “test your security”. Actual financial institutions would never ask that of you and under a little critical thinking the logic falls apart, but the strength of these scams is not their logic, it’s their emotional manipulation.

It’s scary if someone calls, or emails saying your account has been hacked, or the security was breached. There’s a jolt of panic that happens as a response and they prey on that. In that moment of fear, they add pressure: you’ve gotta act now.

The LDCU created a guide to understanding the types and techniques fraudsters use that is available on their website. It lays out key pieces that are at the core of every scam. The first is deception. Scammers will manipulate facts or create their own false ones in order to get your attention. The second piece is ignorance. They specifically target areas or processes where you don’t know information. The third is exploitation. They gain your trust so that you lower your guard. And finally, they create a sense of urgency so that you make rushed decisions without stopping to think.

“If you can keep your wits about you, you'll do yourself a big favour,” Michael says.

Thinking critically will take you far but there are other tips, outlined in the guide, to stay safe and prevent scams as much as possible.