Senior sounds alarm after evading scam

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This article was published 21/02/2025 (288 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

WINNIPEG — Debbie Roy couldn’t believe her luck when the caller who claimed to be from Lotto Max said she had won $150,000 and a Range Rover luxury SUV.

It’s a good thing Roy didn’t believe her luck; she hung up before falling for a scam.

“My spider senses connected right away,” the 72-year-old said on Thursday about the call that came out of the blue on Wednesday morning. “I’ve bought lottery tickets before but I haven’t for some time.”

“I said ‘how did I win that?’ and he said it was a draw that Lotto Max does and our name came up. He said we were fortunate. he was very polite and repeated what we won with great enthusiasm.”

Then the caller asked for her mother’s maiden name. He said a messenger would show up at her door and if she handed over a bank draft of between $2,000 to $3,000, she could go to a dealership and pick out any vehicle she wanted for free.

Roy decided she had heard enough.

“His attitude just changed dramatically. It was astonishing,” she said. “He got very angry. I said I was hanging up and he kept saying ‘don’t hang up,’ but I did. He had me on the hook, but he didn’t reel me in.”

More Manitobans are receiving fraud calls such as the one Roy got.

In the first nine months of 2024, almost 600 Manitobans were defrauded of more than $36 million, up from 2023, when 651 Manitobans were bilked out of almost $9 million.

Sophia Leung, a fraud specialist with TD Bank, said the financial company did a study of its data, in preparation for March’s Fraud Prevention Month, and found 31 per cent of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents had been victimized by financial fraudsters.

“These are people who were victims,” Leung said. “We looked at the number of scams as well as statistics on the attack rate.

“Thirty-one per cent is unfortunate, but 95 per cent say the problem is getting worse.”

Leung also said 55 per cent of people feel they are vulnerable to becoming the victim of a scam while only 14 per cent feel highly confident in their ability to detect a scam.

She said there are ways people can protect themselves. One way is to take advantage of methods the bank can help them set up.

Leung encouraged people to talk to their family members and become educated.

“Four in 10 residents shy away from talking about fraud experiences at home,” she said.

“Until it happens to you it feels like a personal letdown. You might feel embarrassed. But it’s so easy for people to commit crime through telephones and computers. It’s why people really need to beef up their defences by being educated to use alerts on their accounts.”

A spokesperson for the RCMP said the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre estimates only between five to 10 per cent of frauds are reported. Reasons for that include embarrassment and the belief police won’t investigate. In many cases, people don’t know they have been fraud victims.

“In order for law enforcement to combat fraud and cybercrime, it is essential that those who experience or fall victim (including businesses), report the incident to local police and the (anti-fraud centre),” she said.

“Local police are positioned to investigate and the (centre) supports law enforcement by sharing information collected through the reports.”

As for Roy, she said she hopes that telling her story will protect other people.

“I just hope nobody falls for this,” she said. “I want people to know about this.”

» Winnipeg Free Press