Business scams are the most common of the face-to-face frauds reported to the Medicine Hat Police Service. These occur when people canvas neighborhoods looking to complete a service but require payment beforehand, or when scammers do door to door fundraising for an illegitimate purpose.

Before hiring someone to complete work at your home, it is important ask questions regarding past work, ask for references, or a website. Professional contractors will have no issues providing you with this information along with photos of their work. It is always a good idea to obtain quotes from more than one business prior to hiring them to complete a renovation or a project. If a quote is significantly cheaper than others, investigate with the contractor or company as to why this is. This may be an indication of a potential scam.

Be extremely cautious when hiring someone from an online resource in any capacity including as a contractor. Often, these “businesses” will operate on a buyer beware policy and will offer no reimbursement if the deal falls through. Never pay upfront over the internet for services to be completed. Once you have paid, it may become a civil issue for you to fight to have your work completed, or money returned. Online communities can be an excellent place to locate a potential service provider, but always meet with the contractor in person and go through the proper steps to verify their credentials before hiring them to complete any work.

Real estate fraud is another type of fraud that victimizes people. One scenario involves a person or a fraudulent company soliciting unsuspecting victims to invest in a business development or land purchase with a group of people. The property is often located outside of the country and is portrayed to produce significant profits in a very short time. Victims purchase a share of the real estate property, later to find out that the property does not exist, and they are unable to contact the scammer. Another type of real estate fraud involves the scammer listing a house on social media for sale or rent. Their target victims are people living far enough away that they are unable to conduct a walk through of the property prior to signing a lease or purchase agreement and paying a deposit. When the victims arrive at the address of their newly acquired property, they learn that the homeowners never listed the property, and the victims have no home to move into, and their deposit is lost.

If someone comes to your door, claiming to represent a company or charity, always ask to see his or her identification badge or supporting documentation before donating funds. If they cannot produce ID, there is a good chance that it is a scam. Even if they have an ID badge, but something still does not feel right, do not allow yourself to be pressured into donating money and contact the Medicine Hat Police Service at 403-529-8481 to report the suspicious behavior.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
Ph: 403-458-0209