Saskatoon Police are reminding people to protect themselves from scams by being knowledgeable about them. Among some of the recent ones are: Extortion emails, a “homes-for-rent” scam, scamming people with items for sale over the internet, as well as employment scams.

Among recommendations to protect yourself are: Don’t use your social insurance number as a piece of ID. Pay attention to your billing cycle and ask about missing account statements or suspicious transactions. Shred unwanted documents. Carry only the ID you need. And ask a trusted neighbour to pick up your mail when you are away. Don’t post online if you are going away on holidays, etc.

Protect yourself and be knowledgeable with current scams such as:

1. Extortion Emails – Fraudsters posing as Canadian Government Officials stating you are part of an internal audit and you owe large sums of money however, are requesting payment (through crypto-currency-Bitcoin) by certain dates/deadlines.
2. Homes for Rent Scam – Fraudsters post photos of homes for rent on Kijiji or Facebook, tricking potential renters in providing an up-front damage deposit, when the house is in actually not for rent but vacant or for sale.
3. Items for Sale over the Internet – Fraudsters use a variety of websites to sell items over the Internet. Buyers that have interest in the items for sale are requested to send an up-front deposit. These fraudsters then cut ties with the buyer after receiving the deposit and are never heard from again.
4. Employment Scams – Fraudsters posting employment on creditable job websites, then proceeding to hire the victims and sending them large amounts of start-up funds (checks) for office supplies. The fraudsters request that the cheques be cashed, and send back a portion of those funds(usually through crypto-currency-Bitcoin) to them. In the meantime, the cheque is NSF and the victim is out a large sum of money.
5. Being vigilant – When receiving, either by telephone, mail, email, or text message that claims to from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requesting personal information about your social insurance number, credit card number, banking information, or passport number. The CRA, Government Agencies, RCMP, and Police Services in Canada will never demand immediate payment by Interac e-transfer, bitcoin, prepaid credit cards or gift cards from retailers such as Amazon, iTunes, or others.

Saskatoon Citizens are reminded to:

-Protect your social insurance number. Don’t use it as a piece of ID.

-Pay attention your billing cycle and ask about missing account statements or suspicious transactions.

-Shred unwanted documents.

-Carry only the ID you need.

-Ask a trusted neighbour to pick up your mail when you are away/ Don’t post online you are going away on holidays, etc.

Scams can be reported to the Saskatoon Police Service at www.saskatoonpoliceservice.ca or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre can be contacted at 1-888-495-8501, or www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraud.gc.ca