Burnaby and RCMP spread awareness of scams targeting residents

Every day, a new scam appears and invades Canadians’ personal lives, sometimes with catastrophic and tragic consequences. As the Beacon has covered in the past, many Burnaby residents—especially vulnerable residents such as seniors, newcomers, and children—are often targets of online and phone scams that may have serious consequences on their personal lives and savings. 

The City of Burnaby, in cooperation with the Burnaby RCMP Community Response Team, is hosting information and awareness sessions for Burnaby residents. The sessions are part of the city’s Safe Community Series and will residents of the latest scams, how to protect themselves, and how to avoid becoming a victim. 

The first session, which takes place on Thursday, Mar. 6, will be about bitcoin ATM scams. The session will take place in person at Burnaby City Hall and virtually via Zoom. 

According to the RCMP website, scams involving cryptocurrencies have been on the rise and can take many forms. 

“Scammers often identify themselves as a government official or police officer to increase the level of jeopardy if immediate action is not taken,” the RCMP said. 

The scams can also take the form of an investment scheme with high returns.

“Someone the victim met via social media requests the victim invest in their business using cryptocurrency,” the RCMP site said. “After receiving a nice return via a legitimate website, victims were prompted to invest a larger sum via a similar but fake website.”

Newcomers are especially vulnerable to scams, and some target them specifically. The city is also hosting another awareness and information session about scams targeting newcomers on Mar. 20 at 6pm in person at Burnaby City Hall and virtually via Zoom.  

Many scams targeting newcomers involve impersonating a government official who threatens the newcomer with prosecution for imaginary crimes. The scammers may also promise special government benefits or payments. 

“You may be approached by someone who promises to reduce your taxes or give you the opportunity to receive benefit and credit payments you’re not eligible for. This could be a tax scheme,” the Government of Canada website states. “Promoters may claim that newcomers can access benefit and credit payments for periods of time before they arrived in Canada. This is incorrect. Benefits and credit payments from the Government of Canada can only be claimed for periods of time after arriving in Canada and according to certain eligibility requirements.”

In early 2024, the Beacon reported on cybercrimes and scams targeting seniors in Burnaby. Last year, the city hosted several sessions to provide information about these scams and how to avoid becoming a victim. Most sessions were held online via Zoom, but recently, the city has been offering them in person as well. The in-person sessions take place at Burnaby City Hall in the Council Chambers. Residents can register online for the information sessions.

This piece was made possible by the Local Journalism Initiative.

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