A number of online extortion cases have popped up in Fort St. John, and the Prince George RCMP said this is becoming a more common type of fraud.
Constable Jennifer Cooper said we aren’t seeing anything out of the ordinary when it comes to the number of cases based on online extortion, but that we’ve still seen about seven cases in the past few months.
“We get complaints of online extortion of this nature year-round. That being said, it is like the typical phone scams we see sometimes. It gets a little more popular, and then dies away again,” said Cooper.
“Lots of victims feel embarrassed to report it, which we encourage people to report it anyway. Because there’s no way for us to get statistics or any metrics on it or help people if they don’t report it. But it can be very frustrating for people and embarrassing to come forward with these types of details. But it may just be it’s underreported, not that it’s not happening.”
She adds that if you are a victim of online fraud, there are a number of things you can do:
- start blocking that person on social media.
- close down your social media account.
- contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre with the information of the account that’s trying to exploit you.
- report online extortion to RCMP
Cooper said the best way to avoid fraud is to not share personal information online and to not accept friend requests from people you don’t know.
Something going on in the Prince George area you think people should know about?
Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].
