Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers 69 SCAMS Definition Scams are questionably legal acts. A scam occurs when a con artist takes money from someone but technically does not break the law when he/she does so. Example: You may have purchased a brooch that was advertised as a gold tone brooch and you may have paid a fairly steep price for it thinking it was actually gold. Once you get the gold tone brooch home, you realize it is not gold at all. You may have been misled by the term (gold tone); however, technically, the con artist is only guilty of overcharging you for the brooch. TYPES OF SCAMS The Carpet Cleaning Scam Carpet cleaners’ phone potential customers telling them about a sale where the customer can get so many rooms cleaned for a specific amount of money. When the customer accepts the deal, the cleaners go to the customer’s home and use various excuses (e.g. the rooms are larger than they thought) to charge you more money than what the sale was originally going to cost. Because the cleaners are already there and you want your carpets cleaned, you agree to pay the extra money. The Door-To-Door Over-Priced Item Scam A salesperson arrives at the customer’s door selling vacuums. The customer invites the salesperson in to give a demonstration. The salesperson says the vacuum is a good deal at $700. The customer happily pays the salesperson for the vacuum but later finds out the vacuum is only worth $100. The Mail Scam A customer receives a letter in the mail indicating he/she is one of three people who has won $1000. The lottery company asks the customer to send in $5 to see if he/she is the winner. Two weeks later, the customer receives a pen and a thank you from the lottery company for playing. The customer won a prize but it wasn’t the $1000. Fraud Cent$ Toolkit for Seniors Helping Seniors Avoid Fraud
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