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Prince George, B.C. – This is anti-fraud month, and the scams just keep on coming.

Prince George RCMP Media Relations Officer, Corporal Craig Douglass says by far, the most common scam over the past year  is the one that claims to be the Canada Revenue Agency and demands money. “During the height of that scam, we received dozens and dozens of calls every day. The CRA will not demand payment though gift cards, nor will they accept bank drafts.”

Corporal Douglass says the scammers are aggressive and intimidating. “We know there have been a couple of victims of this scam in Prince George, and we know there are more victims who just haven’t reported it.”

With tax time just around the corner,  the CRA scam is likely to  return.  If you want to confirm that a CRA representative has contacted you, call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 for individual concerns or 1-800-959-5525 for business-related calls.

According to the Better Business Bureau of B.C. the CRA scam took Canadians for nearly $3 million dollars last year alone.

But it isn’t the only scam that’s going around.

Corporal Douglass says another popular one is the one that claims to be a computer repair company   where the person on the phone says they need access to your computer because your computer is causing a problem on the internet.   The person on the other end of the line can gain access to private information that is stored in your computer including bank accounts and credit card numbers.

The latest scam that has proven to be very lucrative for the perpetrators, involves online dating. Many of the identities on such sites are false, and victims who are looking for love, can be easy prey. The scammers managed to get more than $15 million dollars in cash from Canadians last year through this method.

From fake lottery winnings, to calls from relatives who are in crisis and need cash,   there is no shortage of schemes.   The Better Business Bureau says in total, the reported dollars given up to scammers last year in Canada was $61 million dollars, but it is suspected that actual figure is much higher as many victims are too embarrassed to report that they had fallen victim to one of the schemes.

The Better Business Bureau has also established a Scam Tracker, it’s an online site which allows users to search for information on specific scams across the continent.   It has been less than a year since that tool was launched and it has already logged more than 16 thousand scams, of which 80 were noted as having taken place in B.C.

Cpl. Douglass says everyone should check the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre site to keep themselves up to date on the latest plots designed to make you part with your money. He adds  it’s also important that if you have heard about a scam, that you share that information with family and friends, especially those in your circle who may not be as tech savvy .

For more tips on how to protect yourself from scammers, click here.