Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police: Mass Marketing Fraud Campaign
Awareness
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Ontario police chiefs launch coordinated province-wide campaign to combat mass marketing fraud schemes targeting vulnerable populations through phone, email, and text messages.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) has launched a comprehensive mass marketing fraud awareness and prevention campaign in partnership with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre and local police services across the province. Mass marketing fraud refers to schemes that use mass communication methods—telephone calls, emails, text messages, direct mail, and social media—to defraud large numbers of victims simultaneously. These frauds include lottery scams claiming victims have won prizes they never entered, CRA impersonation scams threatening arrest for unpaid taxes, tech support scams claiming computers are infected with viruses, romance scams building fake relationships to steal money, and grandparent scams pretending to be relatives in emergency situations. The campaign focuses on education and prevention, particularly for seniors and other vulnerable populations who are disproportionately targeted by these schemes. The OACP initiative includes community presentations and workshops, distribution of educational materials, coordination between police services for intelligence sharing, increased social media awareness campaigns, and collaboration with financial institutions to identify and stop fraudulent transactions. Police remind the public that legitimate organizations including government agencies, law enforcement, and reputable businesses will never pressure you for immediate payment, request payment via gift cards, cryptocurrency, or wire transfers, threaten arrest or legal action over the phone, ask for your Social Insurance Number, banking passwords, or PINs, or use high-pressure tactics or create artificial urgency. The campaign emphasizes the '3 R's' of fraud prevention: Recognize the signs of fraud, Reject suspicious offers or demands, and Report all fraud attempts to police and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. Even if you didn't lose money, reporting helps law enforcement identify trends and prevent others from becoming victims.