How Islanders can avoid this year's 12 most common holiday scams

'Tis the season for scams, and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre wants to help ensure Islanders don't become victims. 

The centre has published its 12 scams of the holidays bulletin, informing people about everything from charity and romance scams to social media-based Secret Santa schemes that collect your personal information. 

According to the centre's statistics, service fraud was the number 1 type of scam in P.E.I. in 2023. 

"It could be anything from tech support scams, where you get a phone call or a pop-up on your computer telling you that you have a virus," the anti-fraud centre's Jeff Horncastle told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin. 

"We still see door-to-door scams where fraudsters are trying to sell equipment that doesn't work, or it could be a phone call claiming to be from your cellphone service provider or your internet service provider offering you a deal and asking you for your personal information." 

Here are the 12 scams of Christmas identified by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre:

• Counterfeit merchandise.
• Selling goods and services online.
• Charity scams.
• Crypto investment scams.
• Romance scams.
• Cellphone and internet service provider scams.
• Online shopping.
• Phishing emails and texts.
• Secret Santa.
• Prize scams.
• Emergency.
• Gift cards.
• ID theft and fraud.

Horncastle said social media is increasingly being used to defraud unsuspecting residents through fraudulent advertisements, investment scams, fake merchandise or messages that appear to come from friends and family members. 

The RCMP have also seen an increase in the so-called "grandparent scam" — phone calls targeting the senior population that purport to be from a grandchild who needs money to be bailed out of jail. 

"The best thing to do is to hang the phone up, call your loved one or your grandchild by looking up the phone number in your contact list," said Horncastle. 

Scams involving financial institutions and government agencies continue to be popular among fraudsters this time of year. 

Horncastle's advice is to always think twice about where the text message or email is coming from and, when in doubt, contact the agency or business directly to verify they sent something.    

"It sounds very simple, but it can happen so quickly," he said. "Whether you're getting an email claiming to be from the CRA or any government agency, a service provider, a financial institution, remember that these emails can look very legitimate, but remember that you're not supposed to click on links before you verify their legitimacy." 

To report a scam, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's website, or call 1-888-495-8501.