As Fraud Prevention Month concludes for 2024, the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) felt it would be valuable to share some statistics around fraud in our community.
In 2023, there were about 529 fraud general occurrences were investigated by Police. The top five types of fraud the MHPS saw were online frauds, transaction card frauds, mass marketing frauds, taxi fraud, and securities/financial fraud which accounted for about 429 of those 529 investigations.
Locally, Medicine Hat residents lost nearly $3.5 million dollars to fraud. This loss of money inevitably has an effect on the local economy.
The MHPS were able to make about 4% in recoveries through fraud investigations, recovering over $155,000. This year, many “Grandparent Scam” style frauds occurred in our community. Over just a few days, the individuals operating this scam victimized multiple people and gained over $40,000. MHPS was able to locate and charge one of the individuals responsible for this crime. This is a common scam that primarily targets the elderly.
Frauds related to online banking, transaction cards, or cheque frauds, frequently result in banks conducting their own investigation. In some cases, the victims are successful in having their funds returned by the banks.
Regarding online scams, very little money was able to be recovered as the funds were typically sent through gift cards, e-transfers, or online deposits which are difficult to track.
Citizens are reminded to please remain aware of frauds all year round. The Medicine Hat Police Service is hopeful that the increased education on current fraud trends, through Fraud Prevention Month, will reduce the number of people victimized by scams in the future. As always, if you believe you may have been a victim of a fraud or attempted fraud, contact a trusted person for support and call the police for assistance.
For more information on common frauds or scams and for information on how to protect yourself visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
Media Contact:
A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
403-458-0209