All around the world, in December each year, there’s a good-hearted example of fraud as we raise the fiction of Santa Claus again for the benefit of our own children and the children of our community.

As we celebrate Santa Claus with a happy sense of his fraudulent activities, there are, throughout the year and throughout the world, many unhappy examples of despicable people who set out to defraud innocent residents of their possessions.

Just prior to me sitting down to write this column, there was an instance of someone being cheated out of $70,000 by a fraudster in a nearby township, reported on CKNX radio.

It seems the man was contacted by a man who was supposed to be a lawyer in England. The “lawyer” claimed he represented people cheated in a 2009 investment scam and he was going to get that money back He promised a return of $100,000. The local man sent $250 as a retainer, and gave remote access to his computer. 

During the next few months the local man sent more money through bank transfers that were converted into cryptocurrency accounts and disappeared. Eventually, the victim went to the police.

Earlier this year, Huron OPP Constable Craig Soldan spoke to the business community in Exeter and explained that fraudsters are cheating victims out of billions of dollars a year. Soldan said $263 million in losses were reported last year in Canada and it’s estimated that only five to 10 per cent of all frauds are reported, putting the total much higher.

Soldan mentioned two cases in Huron County earlier in the year when women were defrauded out of $800,000 in one case and $500,000 in another.

Sadly, there are thousands of fraud schemes and fraudsters can be convincing. They use “burner” phones, fake names and frequently change email addresses. They often mask their phone numbers to make them look like real local numbers.

One of the scams often used is the grandparent emergency scam. The victim receives a call claiming to be from police or from someone claiming to be a grandchild who has been arrested and needs money for bail. In an example Soldan had, the perpetrator asked the grandparent to send $8,000 by Fedex to an address. In this case, over a period of three days, the woman sent $40,000 – $20,000 borrowed from a bank and $12,000 borrowed from a sister.

One of the similarities among these cases is that most involve people of my vintage. Unfortunately, seniors like me are especially vulnerable.

Typical is the romance scam, Soldan says. Often lonely seniors, left behind by a partner who passes, seek companionship. Typically fraudsters may seek contacts with victims through fake romantic websites. Often a contact quickly professes his or her love, but they say they can’t come to visit because they are overseas and have no money. Too often the Canadian victim is only too happy to send money for them to travel to Canada..

My wife recently told me about a true story she saw on an investigative TV progam with a slightly different angle. In this case, her would-be lover sent her clothes to be delivered to him in an Asian country where they would meet. Except she was arrested on arrival when customs official investigated the clothing and found the buttons contained drugs.

Let’s not seem foolish in the long run. Let’s make the fraudsters make an honest living.  

For more information you can contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at antifraudcentre.ca where frauds can also be reported.◊