A community workshop series begins Wednesday evening, highlighting 15 to 20 scams currently being run through the mid-Island. (Dreamstime)

By Alex Rawnsley

don't get scammed

Free Nanaimo workshop series beginning with in-depth look at scammer strategies

Mar 18, 2024 | 5:24 AM

NANAIMO — A rise in online and phone scams targeting people across the region is prompting one local group to try a more direct approach to get information to those who need it.

Brechin United Church will begin their “Community Series” on Wednesday, March 20 with a presentation from Nanaimo RCMP on frauds and scams, which have swindled hundreds of thousands of dollars from unsuspecting individuals of all ages in the region over recent years.

Church member Linda Braid said when arranging subjects for the series, many of those organizing the events responded well to receiving more education on scams.

“There have been so many people who have been subject to scams in Nanaimo, there are a lot of seniors who have been targeted in a lot of ways…it seems like a very current and very urgent need for us to be informed about what kind of fraud and scams are out there.”

Admission is free at their Estevan Rd. location, with the presentation beginning at 7 p.m.

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Parking is available on the street or at the neighbouring École Océane school.

Braid said there is no pre-registration or tickets needed, and they expect a big crowd.

“Years ago we did a similar series but did not do scams back then because scams weren’t really an issue for people to worry about. It was very popular years ago, so we decided to do it again.”

Reserve Cst. Gary O’Brien will deliver the presentation Wednesday night and expects to cover anywhere from 15 to 20 scams commonly run.

He told NanaimoNewsNOW while they are all fairly similar, just with different themes, new advances in technology make them more difficult to detect.

“The newer ones are the AI ones where voices are being manipulated to make people think their niece or nephew is in trouble and this is in conjunction with what we call the grandson scam which was being carried out in Nanaimo last week.”

RCMP reported dozens of calls in a matter of hours to the detachment where some victims reported losing between $3,000 and $8,000.

Many, however, were able to be caught before cash changed hands.

O’Brien said while a majority of people who attend these types of talks are between the ages of 50 and 80 years old, they’re not the only victims.

“Stats will show the millennials will be hit more often, but they’re only nickel and diming them because they don’t have the cash. Criminals are going after the baby boomers…this is where the cash flow is and they know that.”

Average losses for millennial victims range between $50 and $100, according to O’Brien, whereas boomers and those older will suffer average losses in the thousands.

O’Brien also expects to cover social media dating scams and available security settings for some platforms to help avoid people becoming victims.

Other topics for the series at Brechin United Church, to be held through April, include will and estate preparation, funeral planning and the creation of legacy projects.

More information is available by calling the church at (250) 754-9212.

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