By Jessie Weisner

Scam phone call numbers holding steady

Oct 26, 2018 | 5:02 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Scam phone calls circulate through communities every year, and 2018 is no different.
There have been several posts on local Facebook pages from people sharing their experience with phone scams
Members post they are seeing an increase in a variety of different scam calls, all involving some kind of fear mongering, asking them for money and personal information.
Certain scams have been becoming more popular, like a caller pretending to be a loved ones friend and asking you to bail them out of jail.
Or a caller even pretending to be Alberta Health Services and asking for personal information.
However, one scam that the Medicine Hat Police Service says has been around for more than five years is the Canadian Revenue Agency scam, where a caller pretends to be a worker with the CRA.
“The biggest thing for people to know is that the CRA doesn’t make cold calls,” says Sgt. Mike Fisher. “Meaning they will not call your house, they will not demand money, they will not threaten you.”
Fisher adds that while it may seems there are more scams in circulation, they haven’t noticed an increase.
“Because this has been going on for so long again, the public are becoming numb to it and they just know what to do now,” he said.
“Hang up, don’t entertain them at all, just hang up the phone.”
If you receive a scam call and feel the need to report it, contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or police.