Fraud on rise in Kelowna, Rutland seeing more calls for assistance: Top cop

Fraud is on the rise throughout Kelowna, B.C., and not even the city’s top cop can escape the onslaught of calls from would-be scammers.

“Three classifications of fraud are rising to the top for Kelowna, and that’s tap fraud, communication scams and online scams,” Supt. Kara Triance said in a presentation to council on Monday, which showed fraud crimes increasing in the area by 57 per cent year over year.

It’s a concerning trend not only for victims of fraud, but also because of the weight it’s given in the Statistics Canada Crime Severity Index. Triance said they’re working to take the number down a notch.

2:13 Crime rate in Kelowna still high

“When I say tap fraud, I just want to remind citizens that if your wallet or purse or items of identity are stolen or lost, please ensure that your bank is notified immediately,” Triance said.

“But also that the police are called so we can work with service providers who are addressing tap fraud.”

In addition, Triance said that communication scams involving someone calling regarding a family member or friend in trouble and asking for money via electronics or by phone are very unlikely to be real.

“Reach out to family members or friends directly by normal means of what you communicate with them,” she said.

“I myself have received two phone calls today alone. These are very normal calls to get and we just encourage you to hang up and not answer those calls.”

Online scams are coming through online marketplaces where financial transactions are completed and victims end up not receiving goods or services that they’ve paid for.

“Our teams continue to prioritize these files that are driving up our crime severity index and in fact, I’m happy to report that last week, our front-line proactive team and Community Safety Unit partnered together on a project that was ongoing and it came to a successful conclusion,” Triance said.

“An individual was arrested for over $15,000 in fraudulent transactions with the intent to defraud the victim for the sale of goods.”

Triance said there was also some good news for Kelowna, overall, including a notable crime reduction since the summer of 2023.  Business break-ins across Kelowna are down 44 per cent so far this year compared to the first three quarters of 2022. Calls for service specifically in downtown Kelowna are down 22 per cent.

Theft under $5,000 is down 20 per cent, with bike thefts comprising of approximately 24 per cent of these files.  Shoplifting is an issue Triance said is being taken very seriously and the bulk of property crimes have been

While many areas of crime have been reduced in the greater Kelowna area, there’s also been a shift about where crimes are happening.

Triance said Rutland has seen a 27 per cent increase in crime reports between August of 2022 and August of this year and policing has changed to reflect that.

“After a detailed analysis of Kelowna crime data, we prioritized our finite police resources to enforcement efforts in the downtown core and transition some of those resources recently to Rutland given the uptick in calls for service,” she said.

“We began this work in a really focused way around mid reporting period for this last report to council as we started to see calls for service in the Rutland area had been analyzed and we’re shifting and trending upwards in that area.”

Triance said the calls for service analyzed included “check well-being,”  “suspicious person,”  “trespass,” “cause disturbance” and unspecified assistance.

“Those were the primary call types we were seeing in the Rutland area and a common theme from those calls for service related to increases in homelessness associated to social disorder or from drug use and mental health, ” she said.

These problems are familiar sounding to Rutland residents.

At W.S. Accounting Services in Kelowna’s Rutland area, the doors remain locked even during business hours.

“I don’t ever unlock my door anymore; it’s not safe. I’ve had people out here screaming and fighting and beating the crap out of each other,” said Wendy Swarbrick, who has operated her accounting business in Rutland for well over a decade.

In the last couple of years, she’s been broken into twice and has witnessed several offences and suspicious activities.

“In the last few years, they’ve put way too much stuff in Rutland … wet houses, you know, different types of facilities. They are drowning Rutland in people with issues,” she said.

Triance declined when asked by council whether the recent expansion of government services in Rutland might be a factor in that community’s 27 per cent increase in calls for service.

“I wish I could stand before you and say cause-and-effect in the data,” said Triance, “but I’m not at the point where I could give you an opinion on that matter.”