'Trust your gut,' and other fraud prevention tips from Calgary police

Fraud Prevention Month kicks off Wednesday, and a Calgary man is warning people about a scam happening in the Beltline area.

Darren Burnett was recently approached by a purported "mother and son" along 17th Avenue, claiming they had locked their keys in the car and needed cab money to go home to get their spare keys.

Luckily, Burnett already knew what was going on. He'd heard about this certain type of scam from his roommate, who had also come across the fraudsters.

"Buddy had a fistful of rolled up five-dollar notes and said, 'listen, we've nearly got enough to get back to Airdrie,'" Burnett told the Calgary Eyeopener.

He called out the scammer, who apologized and backed down.

"I caught him in the act. He was pretty embarrassed," he said

'It's predatory behaviour'

After Burnett posted a warning about this scam on Reddit, it received more than 50 comments from other Calgarians sharing similar stories. 

Calgary Police say this kind of scam and variations of it has been going on for years. Sometimes the fraudsters would knock on people's doors, saying they locked their keys in their car and need cash to hire a locksmith to get them out, or that they need money for a tow truck.

"It's predatory behaviour," said Staff Sgt. Corey Dayley with the Calgary police. "They prey on people that appear to have a good nature and look like they're willing to help. It's unfortunate that they prey on that type of individual."

Dayley said it's important to try and determine what it is the would-be scammers are actually after.

"Generally, if it's money for something, that would probably be the first flag," he said. "Call the police if you believe that it's a scam."

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Incidents in Calgary

Police say there Calgarians reported 3,514 fraud-related offences in the first three quarters of 2016. 

"Fraudsters continue to modify existing scams and use aggressive techniques to convince victims to comply, whether in person, over the phone or online," police said in a release. "It's important that citizens are able to recognize the red flags of a scam, regardless of what method the scammer is using."

Here's how to protect yourself, according to police.

• Trust your gut. "If something seems suspicious or too good to be true, it probably is," police said in a release. 
• Verify information through legitimate sources. Be cautious of contact information provided to you, and double check that a story is legitimate by contacting the person or company through its real website or phone number
• Never click on links in unsolicited emails or text messages. They might look legitimate, but often lead to malware or a malicious website.
• Take your time. It's a red flag if someone is pressuring you to respond to an offer.
• Be proactive. "Make sure all electronic devices have up-to-date operating systems and antivirus software, shred any documents that contain personal and financial information before discarding, check for security features on your banknotes and never give out more personal information than is necessary," police recommend. 
• Report losses or threats to police.​​​

With files from the Calgary Eyeopener