Fraud is growing in it's multifaceted forms across Canada and has it's unique trends in each city, including Victoria, BC where I'll be speaking on the subject later this week.
A couple of months ago, aggressive calls by fraudsters pretending to be the Canada Revenue Agency were threatening Victoria residents that they owed back taxes and must pay up now. Victoria Police issued a public alert on the scam - read it here
The Globe and Mail reported that an online romance turned sour as a Victoria victim lost $88,000 on such scam - read more here.
In 2013, Canadians had lost more
than $13-million through romance scams – a 20-fold increase since 2008,
according to statistics from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
British
Columbia accounted for more than $1-million of the loss, 62 times
higher than in 2008. The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that only
around five per cent of scam victims report the incident to the police.
Lastly, investment fraud hasn't been a stranger to Victoria either.
The B.C. Securities Commission convicted Victoria-area financial adviser David Michael Michaels of perpetrating a massive fraud that cost hundreds of investors a total of $65 million.
CBC news reported that with a weekly CFAX radio show to trumpet his claims, Michaels drew elderly investors like lambs to the slaughter.
Join me this week in Victoria B.C. as I join Larry Berman's, Investors Guide To Thriving tour. I'll be speaking on avoiding identity theft and investment fraud. The event is free to attend - but seats are filling up fast. Join us on Thursday, November 5th from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm at The Westin Bear Mountain. Register at http://bermaneducation.com/sessions/victoria-bc-event/.
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