Artificial intelligence is encouraging new, more polished scams “every day,” the OPP says

If you recently received a text message from the City of Collingwood regarding unpaid parking tickets, you may have been the intended target of a scam.

Collingwood OPP Const. Trevor McKean says the city texting scam is one of many to watch out for in Collingwood, while granny scams are still among the most frequently seen by the force.

“We’re still dealing with many of the same scams. People are still falling victim to the grandparent scam,” McKean said. “Unfortunately, with advances in artificial intelligence, it helps people perpetuate these scams.”

McKean said one of the best ways people can protect themselves is to be aware of the tactics scammers may use.

In a grandparent scam, a scammer will call a senior pretending to be that person’s grandchild and tell them they need money to get them out of jail.

McKean said many scammers will scour public Facebook pages and many seniors are happy to post videos and photos of their families, which can be used by scammers to imitate voices and find relatives’ names.

“People are posting a lot more videos now, and (scammers) can make their voices heard. Through AI, they can modify their own voices,” he said.

McKean also said part of the Canadian bail system means that anyone acting as a surety to post someone’s bail must appear in person or virtually in court to do so and will not be required to hand over money over the phone.

“That’s not true. We’re not putting a deposit here. They’ll be informed of the terms. It’s just a commitment – ​​they don’t have to put up any money,” he said. “Also, people in jail here can make as many calls they need to reach a guarantee.”

Other types of scams include romance, extortion, investment, loan and commodity scams. A mortgage scam has become increasingly common in Collingwood, especially since last year.

“There are new email or text scams every day,” he said. “Just waiting for someone to answer them.”

In 2022, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Center (CAFC) received more than 91,000 reports totaling approximately $530 million in losses, the largest fraud losses on record. Ontario was the province with the most fraud reported that year, with 25,595, costing victims $213 million.

In general, McKean says to think critically about the unsolicited email and text messages you may receive.

“Look for grammatical errors because most scams come from Asia or Africa … where English is not their first language,” he said.

He also said that whenever she does community fraud and scam presentations, he is regularly alerted by attendees to new scams he’s never heard of before.

The City of Collingwood noted in an email that correspondence regarding parking offenses will only be delivered by post.