65 Saskatchewan Federation of Police Officers organizations that interest you. If the charity is genuine and you want to make a donation, get the charity's contact details from the phone book or a trusted website. If you don't want to donate any money, or you are happy with how much you may have donated to charities already, simply ignore the email or letter, hang up the phone, or say no to the person at your door. You don't have to give any money at all. Prevention tips • If you have any doubts at all about the person asking for money, don't give them any cash, credit card or bank account details. • Never give out your personal, credit card or online account details over the phone unless you made the call and the phone number came from a trusted source. • If in doubt, approach an aid organization directly to make a donation or offer support. • Search the Canada Revenue Agency database to check that the charity that has approached you is genuine. • Ask yourself how and to whom you would like to make a contribution. PRIZE SCAMS Seniors are solicited over the phone or email and advised that they are the winner of a large lottery or sweepstakes. Prior to receiving any winnings, they must first pay an upfront fee. No winnings are ever received. You can't win money or a prize in a lottery unless you have entered it yourself, or someone else has entered it on your behalf. You cannot be chosen as a random winner if you don't have an entry. Many lottery scams try to trick you into providing your banking and personal details to claim your prize. You shouldn't have to pay any fee or tax to claim a legitimate prize. Don't be fooled by claims that the offer is legal or has government approval—many scammers will tell you this. Instead of receiving a grand prize or fortune, you will lose every cent that you send to a scammer. And if you have provided other personal details, your identity could be misused too. A fake prize scam will tell you that you have won a prize or a contest. You may receive a phone call, an email, a text message or see a pop-up screen on your computer. There are often costs involved with claiming your prize, and even if you do receive a prize, it may not be what was promised to you. The scammers make their money by making you pay fees or taxes, call their premium rate phone numbers or send premium text messages to claim your prize. These premium rate calls can be very expensive, and the scammers will try to keep you on the line for a long time or ask you to call a different premium rate number. Prevention tips • Legitimate lotteries don't require you to pay a fee or tax to collect a winning. • Never send money, or give credit card or account details to anyone you don't know and trust. • Examine all of the terms and conditions of any offer very carefully—claims of free or very cheap offers often have hidden costs. Calls to premium rate phone numbers or premium text messages can be very expensive. • You can't win money or a prize in a contest unless you have entered it yourself, or someone else has entered it on your behalf. continued
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