The holiday season is a prime time for scammers of various types, but according to Manitoba RCMP, reports of fraudulent activity have been going up across the board in Manitoba over the past few years.
Sgt. Paul Manaigre told 680 CJOB’s The Start that in 2017, police saw 719 reports of scams — a number that almost tripled by 2021, up to 2,142.
Those numbers, Maniagre said, are likely not even giving a full accounting of the amount of fraud going on out there — but at least some incidents are being reported, giving police a chance to put a stop to scams.
“A lot of people are embarrassed, so I imagine the numbers we have — I’m sure it’s not painting a true picture of the amount of fraud that’s going on out there,” he said.
“The important thing is, people here are reporting it, so we’re able to keep track of the trends — is it crypto? Is it a romance scam? All of those types.
“The idea is hopefully to try to educate people on what to look for and how to prepare to do some type of transaction which you might think is legitimate, but is not.”
