Earlier this summer, Laurie Jones from Rails End Gallery and Arts Centre was replying to some work emails when she was suddenly inundated with messages from several local artists asking about new application fees for next week’s Art and Craft Festival in Haliburton.
The notes surprised Jones, as the application deadline for the annual event – running July 24-26 in Head Lake Park – passed in February. After looking into it more, she quickly realized the email was an online scam meant to separate unknowing locals from their hard-earned money.
“It’s been happening to a lot of festivals this year – someone will create fake accounts, get access to mailing lists and reach out to people trying to sell vendor spots, telling people there’s still lots of time to apply,” Jones said.
“The scammers are really sneaky. The one email address they created was ‘Haliburton Arts and Crafts’ where we’re just ‘Haliburton Art and Craft’. So, people see something like that come through and assume it’s legitimate but it’s not,” she added.
While she’s not aware of anyone falling for the racket involving Rails End, Jones said she set up entirely new email accounts and mailing lists to make sure everything was secure. She also sent a note to members notifying them of the con and reported it to the Haliburton Highlands OPP.
Younger generations being targeted
Cst. Hillary Newman said these virtual scams are “fairly common,” noting complaints tend to come in waves.
“All it takes is for a local business or community group to have their email address hacked and the offending party gets access to contact information for a bunch of people they can then try to deceive,” Newman said. “Sometimes those people reach out to us when they get a suspicious message, sometimes they fall victim to the fraud.”
Newman said it’s a year-round problem, noting the Highlands detachment receives hundreds of reports of fraud every year. While the victims are located within the County, the perpetrators rarely are.
“Most times, we don’t necessarily know where they are. They could be anywhere in Canada or the world,” Newman said. “These scammers can be so manipulative and make the messages appear so legitimate. It can be hard for people to tell what’s real and what isn’t.”
While the stereotype is that these sorts of crimes target seniors, Newman said she’s received calls from people of all ages over the past year – especially the younger generation.
“These messages are all about making people nervous, anxious and stressed out. There are often threats attached,” she noted. “We see a lot of these things saying they’re going to release private, intimate images unless they get paid, or they’ll be issuing an arrest for an unpaid tax bill. Almost all the time, the people making those threats don’t have anything and are making it up to convince someone to pay.”
Read everything carefully
One of the most common scams doing the rounds, Newman said, involves pre-paid gift cards. Typically, victims will receive a message from someone posing as a friend or family member in serious financial trouble. The gift cards, they say, will help them get out of a bind.
“People need to know that any time they get a request like this, it is almost always fraudulent. No company or government agency is ever going to ask for repayment in the form of a gift card,” she said.
“And if it’s a family member asking, just double check through another means or source that the request is really coming from that person.”
Newman warned it can be difficult tracking down money sent virtually, while anything involving gift cards is pretty much a lost cause.
“Once the person has what they want, they move things around and once it’s gone it can be almost impossible to find again,” Newman said.
She noted most fraud cases reported to the Highlands detachment get forwarded to the OPP’s serious fraud office and the Canadian Anti-Theft Centre.
A lot of fraud cases go unreported though, Newman said, with victims often feeling embarrassed.
“They chalk it up as a life lesson, that they shouldn’t have been so naïve. But this is something that can and does happen to anyone,” she said. “In terms of advice, I’d recommend people think twice before responding to anything received over text or email. Read everything carefully.
“There’s nothing wrong with not responding – that’s actually what we recommend. If an issue or situation is legitimate, you’ll hear from them again,” Newman added.
