The number of fraud charges in London, Ont. has nearly doubled from 1,000 charges in 2012 to 1,975 charges in 2016, according to the London Police Financial Crimes Unit.
Det.-Const. Ricardo Juliao from the Financial Crimes Unit says that while scams come and go, some of the bigger fraudulent practices tend to stick around.
“The CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) fraud is a big one. Unfortunately, that one never seems to stop. We put it out there all the time to be aware of it, but people still get hit by it,” said Juliao.
“Another big one that we were getting hit with was the Microsoft scam. Typically it starts off online and you’ll get a pop-up saying your computer is infected and you need to call this number.”
Juliao says reno frauds, identity frauds, and other scams are still running rampant in the city and advises victims of scams to contact Equifax or Trans Union right away to let both companies know what has happened and to put an alert on your file. If an attempt is made to obtain a credit card or loan with your personal information, you’ll be alerted.
Read more at Our London
