Free Vacation and Prize Scams

Warrant Threat Scams

Fake Charity Scams

Scammers will call, or leave a voicemail, letting their victims know that they have won a free vacation, cruise, or prize. Sadly, this is not the truth, and they only want your sensitive information. If the deal seems too-good-to-be-true, then it most likely is.

Things to watch out for:

If they tell you that the deal is free, but then ask you to pay a small collection fee… it’s a scam. You should not pay for something that you’ve won, and never send money to random callers.

As well, if you have not entered a competition, recognize that you should not be winning a free vacation and/or prize.

Scammers will call victims and threaten to arrest them based on a variety of reasons. Examples of these reasons include CRA tax debt, unpaid fines or bills, reports of criminal actions, failure to appear for jury duty, and so on. The goal of this scam is to create extreme distress, resulting in the victim feeling guilty and giving the scammer what they want.

Things to know:

If you receive a random phone call from someone claiming to be a police officer or a government official, and they are demanding sensitive information through threats… it’s a scam. Legitimate entities will never call you over the phone, let alone demand immediate action.

If you are really that worried, hang up the phone and call the actual entity. Chances are, they will tell you that it was a scam.

Scammers will pose as fraudulent charities in attempts to get money out of people. Examples of these scams can include cancer charities, natural disasters, pandemics, and other types of human interest events.

What to do:

If you receive a fake charity call and are thinking of donating, collect the details of the charity, as well as the caller’s information before you do anything! From there, hang up and call the official organization to see if it is legitimate or not.

Nonetheless, if you receive a random phone call asking for personal and/or financial information, it is most likely a scam.

Never trust people asking for sensitive information over the phone!