Canada's five major fraud traps

We often hear people say that something is "too perfect to be true". So how do you tell the truth from the truth and be foolproof? You can only observe carefully and always be vigilant. In response, the Better Business Bureau of BC, the Competition Bureau of Canada and the British Columbia Consumer Protection Association jointly issued a report to warn consumers to be wary of criminals cheating in five major areas of life.

1. Internet fraud. Internet has become a high-tech means for criminals to commit crimes. A fraudster pretends to be a company, and defrauds the user's identity, account number, credit card password and other personal information by registering the user.

2. Identity theft. Identity thieves will try their best to steal your personal information, such as rummaging through your trash can, registering your personal information in advance to cheat you into winning the lottery, stealing your letters and so on. In order to ensure the safety of personal identity, it is necessary to shred and discard files containing personal information. Check Equifax (www.equifax.ca or 1-800-465-7 166) and TransUnion Canada (www.tuc.ca or 1-866-525-026) every year.

Once you become a victim of identity theft, please contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Call Center (www.phonebusters.com telephone hotline or 1-888-495-850 1) or the British Columbia Consumer Protection Association (www.bpcpa.ca or 1-888-564) immediately.

3. Telemarketing fraud. Although the trick of deceiving users to win the grand prize by telephone is old-fashioned, scammers still enjoy it, and victims abound. On June 65438+ 10/day, 2005, British Columbia promulgated a new law. All telemarketing companies must register with the British Columbia Business Practices and Consumer Protection Bureau and apply for a business license.

If you plan to shop by telephone, please log on to www.bpcpa.ca and ask BC Consumer Protection Association ... If you are cheated, please call Busters (1-888-485-8501) to report the case.

4. Overpayment. In this kind of scam, scammers usually take the initiative to contact online sellers and buy online goods under the guise. They always send an excess check first, and then ask the seller to send back the overcharged money. When the seller completed the transaction, he found that the large cheque he had received was fake.

Therefore, the way to prevent fraud is to use online payment services, such as PayPal.

5. Home improvement scam. A liar may pretend to be a house decorator and knock on your door, claiming that he is renovating his neighbor. By the way, do you need to install it? They will try their best to persuade the owners to do some decoration on the house, and then finish it hastily and take the money and leave. Not long after, the owner found himself cheated and had to ask another decoration company to do it again.

The way to avoid home improvement fraud is to go to the Greater Vancouver Association of Building Builders or visit www.gvhba.org, and check the records of decoration companies before hiring contractors.

Finally, don't sign renovation contract on impulse, and give yourself 10 days to think it over before making a decision.