In August 2021, I wrote a piece for the Listowel Banner about the rise in scams and frauds across Ontario during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a nutshell, that piece states that scammers are becoming more forward, more elaborate in their schemes, and more convincing in their ways.
Between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2021, nearly 29,000 Canadians lost more than $105 million.
It appears that fraudsters have upped their games again, as evidenced by recent headlines.
Between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2022, there have been 68,259 reported frauds in Canada, with more than $362.7 million lost.
Authorities have recovered a mere $2.4 million this year.
Last year, I nearly became one of those victims myself.
For the sake of educating others, I will share my story again.
I was sitting at my desk one day in September 2021 when my cell phone rang. The caller ID on the phone showed the number as “Visa” from an Elmira phone number.
Usually, I don’t answer the phone when I do not know the number or the caller. I tend to play it on the safe side because, sadly, we live in a society where most of the phone calls we get now are from telemarketers or scammers.
With that said, if it really is the bank or Canada Revenue Agency calling, chances are they will leave a message or call back.
For whatever reason, I decided I would answer the phone.
After saying “hello” a couple of times, a recorded message began to play.
That should have been my first clue.
The message, which sounded official, told me that a couple of unusual charges had been made to my credit card that morning. And the amounts were large – $400 and $1,300 – and that they were for the purchase of gift cards.
“Since these are charges you typically do not make, we wanted to make sure these are not fraudulent charges,” said the recorded voice.
“To confirm that you made these purchases, press 1. To hear this recording again, press 0.”
This should have been my second clue.
Having family members who’ve been the victim of bank fraud before, I hit 0 to hear the message again. I wanted to get all of the details so I could compare them to my online banking.
About halfway through the message, a live voice came on the phone.
“Hello? Hello?”
“Hello,” I replied.
Rather unprofessionally, the voice on the other end explained that my credit card had two unusual charges on it – $500 and $1,400. The “Visa” lady asked me to confirm if I made those purchases or not.
This should have been clue No. 3 for me. However, it was my first clue something smelled fishy about this call.
“No, I did not make those charges,” I said.
The voice on the other end – now remember, they called me – said they needed to ask me a few more questions to confirm my identity.
This was my second clue (it should have been my fourth) that something was fishy.
At the same time, I had pulled my online banking up on my web browser and noticed no new charges on my credit card.
“If you could just give us the last 12 digits of the credit card number, we will reverse those charges for you,” said the “Visa” lady.
It was at this point that alarm bells started going off in my head.
“I’m sorry, but I am looking at my banking information right now and do not see what you see,” I said. “I think you’re trying to scam me.”
Then I hung up the phone.
In that moment, I remembered a conversation I had with a Perth County OPP officer about fraud cases – “when in doubt, call your bank to verify.”
I called my bank.
As expected, those charges were not on my Visa card and the person at the bank said I did the right thing by checking with them.
For years, I’ve wondered who falls for these fraudsters when they call. Now I understand it.
Panic sets in when you hear that voice telling you that your credit card has been compromised. You panic because it’s a large amount of money. I was wide awake in the middle of my workday when I received this call. I can’t imagine how someone who was woken up in the middle of the night would act in a similar situation.
If I can offer a few words of advice about unsolicited phone calls: if you don’t know the number or name, don’t answer it. If it is legitimate, they will leave a message or call back.
And if you do answer and get an uneasy feeling, hang up the phone and call your bank. If it really was them calling, they’ll understand why you hung up.
If you think you’ve been a victim of fraud, call your local police service (for OPP, 1-888-310-1122).
For more information and statistics about fraud in Canada, visit www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
***
Mike Wilson is the editor Midwestern Newspapers. While he has written about this run-in with “Visa” before, he believes some stories must be shared multiple times in order to educate the public. Feedback and comments are welcome at mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
