It's no secret that fraud happens everyday throughout Canada and is a real problem for Saskatchewan residents. The Canadian Anti Fraud Centre receives countless phone calls everyday from those who have fallen victim to scammers.

Intake Unit Manager, Jessica Gunson says, "Our phone lines are often full with the amount of incoming calls from people trying to report fraudulent acts."

In Saskatchewan, there are three types of fraud that are most common throughout the province. Those being extortion (more commonly known as the CRA scam), phishing scams and service scams. With all fraud, you will be asked to provide personal information such as date of birth, address, social security number, banking information and so on. Gunson stated, "Anytime you receive a call or email requesting such information it should be an instant red flag because no business or company would ever request such things."

Provided is a more detailed description into the there types of fraud effecting Saskatchewan residents:  

  1. Extortion or CRA Scam: This is when a person receives a threatening phone call claiming that they will be arrested due to a problem with back-taxes. You will be instructed to go out and purchase i-tunes cards or to send funds through a bitcoin, which is a virtual currency. 
  2. Phishing Scams: This is typically an email that looks to be coming from your financial institution or a company you're familiar with, such as Apple claiming you have a refund. There will be a link you need to follow and then provide banking information for the money to be deposited.   
  3. Service Scams: This is when someone calls claiming things like a problem with your computer. They then tell you for a small fee and access to your computer they can fix the "problem" that is occurring. 

Gunson said the best way to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of fraud, is to educate yourself on what types of scams are targeting Canadians. The Anti Fraud Centre releases bulletins twice a month to update us on what types of scams our currently happening around the country.

If you think that you have fallen victim to any fraudulent activity you will need to contact your local police service, report it to the Anti Fraud Centre and if money was exchanged your financial institution.