Constable Landon Giraudier of the Moose Jaw Police Service Community Programs and Safety Unit made a special stop at the Moose Jaw Public Library Thursday.
Giraudier was there to deliver a presentation titled Fraud Scams Encountered by Seniors, wherein he highlighted a number of scams and frauds that affect seniors in Moose Jaw and beyond.
Giraudier began the presentation by explaining the difference between a scam and a fraud. “Scams are basically legal acts, they’re not illegal, they’re legal. A scam occurs when a con artist takes money from someone but technically doesn’t break the law,” said Giraudier.
Giraudier provided examples of several scams that are technically not legal. “You purchase a brooch that was advertised as a gold tone brooch for a steep price thinking it was actually gold. Once home you realize it is not real gold, the con artist is only guilty of overcharging you for the brooch,” said Giraudier.
Another example Giraudier offered was if you were contacted by carpet cleaners who are offering a special sale price on their services, “the customer accepts but the cleaners get to the home and have an excuse to increase the price, like the rooms are larger than they thought. You pay them the extra money because they are already there and you want your carpets cleaned.” This, according to Giraudier is a scam, but is technically not illegal.
“Frauds on the other hand are illegal acts,” said Giraudier, “Fraud occurs when a con artist uses deception to make a profit or take your money. They say they are someone they are not, or say they will do something they don’t do.”
After clarifying the differences be legal scams and illegal frauds, Giraudier went on to delineate several common scams, some of that have occurred in Moose Jaw and some that have not.
For the rest of this story check out the Saturday edition of the Times-Herald.
