9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Because of continued fraud scams taking place in the Greater Sudbury area, the city police force is warning residents and businesses to be extra vigilant, while also detailing some of the scams that are currently rife in the city.
Scams have been a real problem this winter and seem to be orchestrated by well-organized fraudsters who prey on vulnerable tax payers and enterprises. The Greater Sudbury Police says it has seen a spike in fraud throughout Ontario over the last year, with normal ploys targeting people who lack understanding about their rights.
Many scams pretend to be the Canadian Revenue Agency, with scammers typically requesting payments of supposedly owed taxes, which are false. The CRA says citizens can contact its Canadian Anti-Fraud Center at 1-888-495-8501 to see if a call was legitimate of fake, while also to report and suspicious activity.
The Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police launched a crimes prevention booklet last month, aiming to detail which fraud cases are most common throughout the province, and residents of Sudbury can see that booklet at www.oacp.on.ca/news-events/resource-documents/public-resource-docs.
Fraud is estimated to cost Canadians more than $10 billion per year, according to law enforcement, with 51,385 fraud cases reported through the Anti-Fraud Centre between January and November last year.
The Greater Sudbury Police is doing its part by initiating the Notification of Community Crime program, which will raise awareness about fraud and other types of financial crime. March is Fraud Prevention Month in the city, so the police will be continuing with their efforts to inform the public.
In support of this initiative, Greater Sudbury Police Service conducted the Notification of Community Crime program throughout the month of February, informing residents about financial crime and fraud. Members of the local police service will continue this initiative throughout the month of March, as this is Fraud Prevention Month.
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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After focusing on Pedestrian safety in January, the Traffic Management Unit of the Greater Sudbury Service says it turned to attention to winter driving and snowmobile safety during February.
“On an average day, speeding vehicles travelling in excess of the posted speed limits cause the greatest concern for our community,” the service says. “The concern of speeding vehicles is amplified during less-than-ideal road conditions during the winter season.”
With roads exhibiting dangerous winter conditions, drivers are advised to operate vehicles with the utmost caution, driving safely, and obeying familiar winter driving practices. Drivers should also be more vigilant for pedestrians, who can often be unseen at intersections because of high snow banks.
Risky driving in winter is more likely to result in a collision, which will then lead to an insurance claim and an increased auto insurance policy in the future.
The Sudbury Police and specialist snowmobile officers were situated at key locations where waterways had frozen or in areas that were seeing more incidents. The response came as many people in the city said snowmobiles were loud, and being used on private land, such as in parks and residential areas.
The police took part in two S-Day (students, safety, snowmobile, security and survival) events in schools, one at L’Horizon and another at Lively District Secondary School, which included an in-class safety session followed by a snowmobile ride for officers and students.
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Sudbury Police are urging the public to be vigilant of a phone scam sweeping Ontario, which involves fraudulent calls from people pretending to be the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
These calls are fake says the police, and usually involves the caller pretending to be working for the CRA, seeking to get identity knowledge and financial data from individuals. The scam is looking for people to give this information and the result is typically identity theft and stolen money and bank details. People are saying those who are unclear on CRA operations are the most vulnerable.
The scam typically sees a caller pretend to be a CRA operative who says the individual risks going to jail, having bank accounts closed, or having a house seized. To stop this the scammer says the individual can make an instant credit card transaction to avoid the bogus CRA fine.
If you get such a call, hang up immediately and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre by telephone at 1-888-495-8501 (from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time) or through their online reporting tool at http://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/reportincident-signalerincident/index-eng.htm
If you suspect you or a family member may be a victim of fraud or have been tricked into giving personal or financial information, contact police.
The Canada Revenue Agency:
•never requests prepaid credit cards;
•never asks for information about your passport, health card, or driver’s licence;
•never shares your taxpayer information with another person, unless you have provided the appropriate authorization; and
•never leaves personal information on your answering machine or asks you to leave a message containing your personal information on an answering machine.
For more information on the Canada Revenue Agency and this telephone scam, visit http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/security
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9 years ago
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sudbury ·
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Pedestrian collisions with vehicles are on the rise, and a new study is aiming to find out why. The icy winter months always produce more incidents with pedestrians, but accidents in Sudbury have been rife. The Greater Sudbury Police had an awareness campaign blitz in January to help the public understand safety for pedestrians for drivers and sidewalk occupants alike.
The law enforcement group is now expanding the initiative with a study that will aim to find out exactly why pedestrian incidents are on the rise:
“I think this is an excellent initiative,” Chief Shawn Devine told Baytoday. “I have tasked our Traffic Section with contacting Sudbury TS to advise that we are going to mirror their special study on the factors that contribute to pedestrian collisions and offer to share our finding.”
The study will include officers now including more specific details about pedestrian collisions in their reports, to ensure all facts are known. Sudbury Staff Sgt. Rick Waugh says the study aims to find out why collisions occur often when pedestrians have right of way, or conversely do not have right of way:
“We really wanted to try and better understand not just why collisions are occurring … but especially the ones involving pedestrians,” Waugh said.
Statistic shows that every pedestrian collision occurred at an intersection last year, compared to 24 per cent the year before, meaning intersections are now hotspots. The amount of accidents occurring when pedestrians do not have right of way has risen from 18 per cent in 2013 to 36 per cent in 2015. This suggests pedestrians are not obeying safe practices when crossing at intersections.
Since Jan. 1, police in Sudbury have added these categories to collision reports:
The presence of any distraction to a pedestrian including, but no limited to, the use of any electronic device or wearing clothing that interferes with sight or sound.
The nature of the clothing worn by a pedestrian, including color(s) or the use of reflective material
The use of a mobility aid, such as canes, walkers, crutch, wheelchair, skateboard, scooter etc.
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