MARCH IS FRAUD PREVENTION MONTH

March is Fraud Prevention Month.

Check out the online resources available to you out there. There are some very clever schemes to get you to part with your hard-earned cash.

Start with this list from the Competition Bureau of Canada…

List of Frauds

Online Employment & Job Scams

BEWARE – Online Job Scams

Scammers continue to take advantage of the COVID‑19 pandemic to perpetuate fraud & scams making Canadians experiencing job loss vulnerable to fraudulent job offers. Here’s how to spot the common red flags of an employment scam.

Red flags of an employment scam

There are variations of a scam job offer, but there are typically common red flags, including:

• The job offer is unsolicited, arriving as a text or email with promises of easy money.
• The “employer” sends you a cheque, often with a bogus “contract” and asks you to cash the cheque and send a portion of the money to another person or company – a version of the ‘overpayment scam’.
• You apply to an online job ad for a position as a “payments processor” or “financial agent” and your job requires you to deposit payments from the company’s clients into your bank account and then redirect those funds to a different account according to the “employer’s” instructions. These funds could be the proceeds of crime and the scammer has hired you to launder the funds as a money mule.

How to protect yourself from job scams

• Always verify that a legitimate company is offering the job.
• Validate the job posting is legitimate by ensuring that the job offer is posted to the company’s official website and not only online job boards or by calling the company using a phone number you know is correct and not just provided in the job offer.
• Never accept funds on behalf of someone you don’t know.

Here are two of the best resources for Canadians looking to protect themselves from these scams…

Canadian Anti Fraud Center

Canadian Bankers Association

Crime Stoppers & Allstate Insurance (Sarnia) Present – the Sarnia Police Security Camera Registry

COVID-19 and Crime Stoppers…

We would like to let everyone know that Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers continues to receive and direct your tips throughout this COVID-19 global pandemic.  Our Board of Directors will continue to approve reward payouts for tipsters whose information leads to an arrest are still eligible for cash rewards!!

We can still be reached through social media – Facebook @lambtoncrimestoppers and Twitter @lambtoncrime and of course your tips can still be phoned in at 1-800-222 TIPS(8477) or online at P3 Tips

FUNDRAISING:  Our fundraising this year has really taken a hit.   A lot of our fundraising comes from events like…

• our spring “Rock n Bowl”,
• our signature “Virtual Jail n Bail”,
• our summertime “Cruise for Crime”,
• our Halloween “Rock n Bowl”,

have all been cancelled but will definitely return in 2021.

Our popular Annual Charity Golf Tournament has been going strong for 33 years running… until this year.  Unfortunately, we couldn’t commit to it this year… but it will be back for sure in September of 2021.

Watch for us at virtual parades in Sarnia Lambton and through our social media accounts.

We wish you good health throughout this pandemic and hopefully we can all get back to normal operations very soon.

Allstate Donates to Crime Stoppers

Crime Stoppers thanks Chris Tomkins and his great team at Allstate in Sarnia for the generous donation of $1000.00 to Sarnia Lambton Crime Stoppers. It’s our community partnerships that allow our program to survive and flourish in the community. Thank you Chris Tomkins once again for all you do for Crime Stoppers. If you would like to help our essential program please reach out and donate anytime !

5 – Pin Bowling is Back…

Our Spring 5 Pin Rock and Bowl fundraiser is back at Marcin Bowl

Friday, April 12, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.

Cost $35.00 per person includes 3 games, shoe rental and pizza courtesy of Rondo’s… and prizes!!

Must enter a four person team (12 teams only)

Call for a registration package. 519-344-8861 ext 5204…

OR…

Simply email us at contactus@sarnialambtoncrimestoppers.org with the following information – Number of Teams, Team Name(s) & Bowlers’ names.

Payment at the Bowling Alley

Get your team together now and let us know that you’ll be there so we’ll be sure to have enough Rondo’s Pizza