Albertans not immune to scams
The provincial government is taking steps to protect Alberta consumers. But we’re still easy prey for sophisticated scam artists, warns the Better Business Bureau. Celebrating 25 years of service from its Lethbridge office, the organization took time last week to recognize local firms who’ve been members for all that time.
But officials also took the opportunity to remind businesses and consumers how easily they might be duped by someone running a scam on the phone or the Internet.
Kyle Sims, a Calgary-based vice-president of operations, cites the aftermath of the High River flood as a potential goldmine for unscrupulous operators who pitched cleanup and repair offers to anxious homeowners.
New legislation introduced this spring by the Alberta government, requiring home builders and renovators to be licensed, could help reduce that risk. Sims says new home warranties, introduced earlier, have also proven effective.
More recently, government officials ordered a shakeup at the Alberta Motor Vehicle Industry Council after finding the provincially empowered organization had made very few awards in favour of Alberta drivers.
“The BBB helps people through educational programs,” Sims says. “There are not a lot of protections in place.”
And when the fraudsters are operating out of Asia or the Caribbean, he adds, there’s little likelihood they’ll be stopped by Canadian laws.
Closer to home, Sims says homeowners should tread cautiously this summer if they’re considering a lower-price offer from students running a home-painting operation, instead of dealing with a reputable company that’s been in business for many years.
To learn about an operator’s track record, he suggests checking the Better Business website:
bbb.org
Mary O’Sullivan-Andersen, president of the BBB in southern Alberta and the East Kootenay, points out local consumers’ comments are posted on the site, whether they’re about members or nonmembers.
Complaints investigated by the BBB, she explains, involve deceptive advertising as well as poor followup on service or product deficiencies.
The agency also posts its “Top 10” list of scams, she says.
The current list includes demanding callers who claim to represent Microsoft — or the Canadian Revenue Agency — as well as “sweetheart” requests.
And some, she warns, call and ask “Can you hear me?” If the consumer says “yes,” that verbal response can be recorded and attached to an order for costly merchandise the victim has no interest in buying.
“And a lot of companies can be scammed as well,” sometimes by a fraud artists sending low-value invoices to countless companies after they learn who handles the accounts. That small amount, multiplied by thousands of payments made without verification, can amass into a tidy fortune.
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