AUNDECK OMNI KANING—“It was so legit!” Tammy Madahbee of Aundeck Omni Kaning (AOK) exclaimed when she called this newspaper requesting that The Expositor alert Islanders to the scams that rooked her in these past couple of weeks.
Ms. Madahbee was doing a little online shopping, something that has become a lot more common for people these days, especially since the isolation of the pandemic.
The items she was looking to buy for family members were being touted online through a Facebook marketplace and supposed to be located close by.
“It showed up as being in Little Current and they were trying to sell it out of Little Current,” shared Ms. Madahbee about one of the first scams. “They offered to deliver it to AOK for another $30.”
It used to be the old adage “if it looks to be too good to be true—it probably is” was a tried-and-true safeguard against scams. But these days, the scammers are much cleverer and some of those deals that seem reasonable on the face of it might not be, either.
Another scam that took her in was a telemarketing call for a Rogers cellphone. This one proved even more sophisticated. “I was actually thinking of updating my phone,” she said. The phone even arrived. “They called and said that they had sent the wrong one and he needed it back to send to his buddy.” Since UPS didn’t deliver to Little Current, the carrier was Canada Post.
“When I called, the guy at Rogers said that it was so easy for scammers to get into the 778 numbers,” she said. “I think if people see the area code 778 pop up they should just not answer it.”
Scam artists are becoming ever more sophisticated in their approaches, often involving gangs of professionals with researchers combing through Facebook profiles to harvest information that other members of the gang can use to impersonate family members and friends while perpetrating the confidence schemes collectively known as the “Grandparent scam.”
Technology, including artificial intelligence (AI) programs that can mimic familiar voices from just a few phrases, can make discerning the fraudsters from real people difficult—and it isn’t going to get any better any time soon.
When a grandchild calls to tell you that they are in trouble and to not tell their parents, or a plea from any other contact to not doublecheck, it is a clear sign it is a scam artist on the other line, not your loved one.
The scammers leverage a person’s emotions and elicit a sense of urgency in order to get the person answering the phone to act without stopping to think. Take the time to call your grandchild, child or friend to see if it is really them. You will discover that 99.99 percent of the time or more, it is a scammer you have been talking to.
Text messages “accidently” being directed to your cellphone from people you don’t know suddenly result in AI-generated image of a pretty/handsome stranger looking to make new friends. The best answer to such unsolicited come-ons is one once provided by Robert Beaudin of M’Chigeeng to such a pass: “I don’t need any new friends!” Or better yet, simply block the number.
Apps are out there that can “spoof” the numbers of RCMP officers, OPP or other police and government agencies such as the Canada Revenue Agency.
Email messages can also be crafted to appear “official” and are also becoming far more sophisticated than the poorly spelled Nigerian diplomat offers of the past.
Technology has provided scam artists with ever-increasing tools with which to part you from your money—vigilance is vital to avoid being taken in.
Ms. Madahbee admits to feeling somewhat embarrassed to share her story of being taken in, but like so many others who contact The Expositor, she said that she doesn’t want others falling for their pitches. The gangs involved in these rackets are very good at what they do, they are very successful and by manipulating people’s best virtues they continue to prove very successful—raking in billions of dollars every year. This season, don’t be taken for a ride—stay vigilant and double check the source.
