Telephone and online scams targeting vulnerable residents continue to be a major concern for the RCMP.
“Frauds are very, very difficult for us to deal with,” said Warman-Martensville RCMP Staff Sergeant Jason Teniuk in a presentation to the Martensville City Council meeting on Tuesday, April 9. “These types of cases take a lot of resources.”
Teniuk said the RCMP is working on a plan to address the ongoing issue of fraudulent activity. He added the detachment has put considerable effort into educating the public about scams and frauds over the past several years. The most recent round of town-hall meetings in area communities focused on that topic in particular.
“I think people are starting to get it,” said Teniuk. “You shouldn’t have to have to pay somebody money if you win something. That seems to be a common theme; and we also see a lot of people paying bills with iTunes cards or Google Play cards. That just shouldn’t happen. SaskPower is never going to ask you to pay your bill with an iTunes card.”
The RCMP received nine reports of fraudulent activity during the first three months of 2024, a number similar to the eight cases reported during the first three months of 2023.
But, Teniuk said, the fact that these cases continue to surface shows that scammers are relentless, and that they are somehow able to find potential victims.
The RCMP report to the April 9 Martensville City Council meeting also revealed there had been five reports of break-ins to Martensville residences between January 1 and March 31, 2024. In the first three months of 2023, by comparison, there had not been any. Teniuk said there is a possibility those break-ins may have been connected.
“One person can break into two or three houses in one night,” he said.
While property offences are a concern, Teniuk said the reality is that crime statistics in Martensville are very low. He noted as well that ‘persons offences’ were down 29 per cent for the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.
“There are a lot of communities that would be very jealous to have stats like this,” said Teniuk.
The RCMP report to council noted that reports of ‘suspicious persons and vehicles’ had increased by 45% – from 11 reported incidents in the first three months of 2023 to 16 in the first 90 days of 2024..
“That is actually a positive thing,” said Teniuk. “I’d like to see that number increase even more. It shows that the public is calling us and reporting activity that is out of the ordinary, such as a strange vehicle or an abandoned vehicle sitting in a back alley.”
While not all reports of suspicious activity turn out to be criminal in nature, Teniuk said it’s still important for people to contact police if they suspect something is wrong.
“This kind of reporting gives us a chance to get ahead of what’s going on. It shows the community is engaged in preventing crime, and that is one of the big ways of doing it.”