THUNDER BAY - Thunder Bay Police are telling seniors that it’s okay to be rude, especially if someone is phoning, knocking on your door, or sending you messages looking for money or personal information.
“Don’t be afraid, you don’t have to be polite,” said Const. Julie Tilbury with the Thunder Bay Police Service. “You have the right to hang up the phone, shut the door, or turn off the computer.”
The Thunder Bay Police Service and Thunder Bay Hydro are partnering on a new awareness campaign, Slam Scams, to fight back against frauds and scams.
Tilbury said Thunder Bay Police continually get calls from people in the community who have fallen victim to or suspect they may have been the target of a scam.
“The number one thing we do know about fraud is if you are educated and you know what’s going on, you can usually find the tools to be able to stop it and not become a victim,” she said.
In Thunder Bay, a common telephone scam has involved individuals claiming to be representing Thunder Bay Hydro and seeking personal information.
Andy Armitage, manager of customer service and billing at Thunder Bay Hydro, said the utility wanted to partner with Thunder Bay Police to protect and educate their clients.
“It’s pretty common for utilities to get targeted for these scams because we often make phone calls to customers,” he said. “But we have all the information that we need. We only need to verify people’s identity. We don’t ask for anything more than just specific information that verifies identities.”
Armitage said if you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from Thunder Bay Hydro and you are not sure if it is legitimate, the best option is to hang up and call the customer call centre at 343-1111 to verify the call.
“As far as I know, [scams] have been going on since people have had hydro accounts,” Armitage added. “They tend to happen in waves. They call a large group of people in our area and we usually put out a public advisory so people are aware of it.”
The Slam Scams campaign will primarily target seniors. Tilbury said a high number of seniors do fall victim to scams.
“We thought by bringing this campaign to senior’s centres we can engage people and let them know what’s going on and empower them to take some action so they are not a victim and also know that they should report it so we can help them out,” Tilbury said.
Unfortunately, a large number of seniors who have been the victims of scams usually do not report it because they are afraid they have made a mistake, but Paul Seidel, a volunteer with the 55-Plus Centre, said it’s time to put that fear aside.
“That’s the problem with seniors,” he said. “We don’t like to let people know we’ve made a mistake. It’s not a mistake. It’s a learning experience. Call and report what you think may be a scam. It’s really important.”
Seidel added that everyone makes mistakes and seniors should not feel afraid to admit it, especially if you have already been the victim of a scam.
“We work together,” he said. “We are a team. Let’s stop the scams.”
Tilbury said the best thing to do if you suspect a phone call, a visitor, or an email address might not be legitimate, is to take a step back and examine the situation closely.
“Before you do anything, ask questions, do research, and take some time,” she said. “Usually if there is urgency attached to a request, or something that just doesn’t feel right, it usually isn’t.”
And if it doesn’t feel right, you have the right to be rude, because it’s better to be safe than sorry.
“One thing we are trying to impress on you is to hang up, close the door, and shut the computer off,” said Seidel. “If you think you are being scammed, if you do that two or three times in a row, they will never come back.”
