SASKATOON – A recent scam targeting a charity for children with cancer is just one of thousands searching for victims.
The Saskatoon Police Service Economic Crime Section has a tough time keeping up with new scams that pop up daily, including driveway fraud.
Heather Nesbitt’s husband passed away in December, so when two men came to her door claiming to be from “Marshal Paving” with a good deal to fix her driveway she didn’t think twice.
“They came with a half ton, it all looked legit, they gave me a business card, the address was on 8th Street and it turns out that’s a UPS store,” she said.
They used cold mix asphalt and it’s already starting to crumble. She paid them $7,300 and gave a $1,000 tip.
Staff Sergeant Keith Briant says it’s one they’ve see all too often.
“That’s another common thing we see in the Economic Crime Division people promising to do work – end up not doing the work,” he said.
But it’s just one of many different scams police are dealing with on a daily basis. Fraudsters are also targeting vacation seekers by getting a hold of flight passenger lists.
“They’ll phone the grandparents back here and they’ll say your granddaughter’s been arrested and in order for them to get out of jail you have to pay $2,000,” said Briant.
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The latest scam to hit the streets involves scammers going door-to-door trying to sell what they call invaluable artwork when really it’s worthless.
Scammers put the pressure on potential buyers by saying they’re starving students.
To avoid being scammed the police have this advice:
- Slow down – don’t be forced into a quick decision.
- Ask – ask lots of questions, door-to-door sellers must have a license so ask for that.
- Check – do your own research online and check sites like the Better Business Bureau or phonebusters.com.
“People that are up to no good are not going to want to provide you with a whole bunch of personal identification and phone numbers, when you’re dealing with people who are trying to scam you, they’ll leave,” said Briant.
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