ARTICLES

With spring in the air and warmer temperatures forthcoming, people are spending more time outside, and the familiar sounds of noisy mufflers and modified vehicles are unfortunately also increasing as well.

At this time of year, it is common for the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) to receive an increased number of complaints relating to noisy vehicles. To proactively address this concern, the MHPS Traffic Unit officers have provided training to front-line officers to ensure they can effectively identify and investigate noisy vehicle violations. In addition, this year the Municipal Bylaw Enforcement Section has been provided training on noisy vehicle enforcement which will provide additional resources for enforcement of the legislation.

Over the coming months, the MHPS will be conducting enhanced targeted enforcement, with a focus on modified vehicles, and loud vehicles. The safety of all road users is important to the MHPS and through this enforcement initiative the goal is to reduce the number of problem vehicles and curb aggressive driving behavior that is causing disruptive noise throughout the community.

Vehicle owners who modify their exhaust systems, have inadequate baffles, or intentionally cause the vehicles to be unnecessarily loud may be subject to a $162 fine.

To report a concern about a noisy vehicle, community members can submit a Traffic Tip online via the MHPS website or the MHPS mobile app. The MHPS mobile app is free to download and available for both Apple and android devices. Tipsters should be prepared to provide detailed information to the tip line including vehicle descriptions and license plates when possible.

Media Contact:

Sgt. Stacey Fishley
Traffic Unit
Medicine Hat Police Service
Ph: 403-529-8471

The Medicine Hat Police Service is receiving reports that the “Grandparent Scam” is once again circulating in the Southern Alberta area.

In the typical scenario, a grandparent receives a phone call from a con artist pretending to be their grandchildren. The caller will sometime say that they are in trouble, usually a car accident, returning from a foreign country, or even in jail and need money immediately.

Unfortunately, victims do not verify the story until after the money has been sent as the caller specifically asks “Can you please help me? I'm in jail (or in the hospital / legal trouble or in some type of financial need). But don't tell Mom/Dad. They will kill me if they find out, please sent the money ASAP. I'm scared". Wanting to help their grandchild, the victim sends the money as requested.

Variations on the scam are an old neighbor, a friend of the family etc. but predominantly the emergency scam is directed towards seniors and grandparents.

If you or someone you know has received such a request for money, contact your family or the MHPS who can advise you further. If you have fallen victim to this scam, and have not already reported it, please contact the MHPS at 403-529-8481.

Media Contact:

Cst. Kurtis Ladouceur
Criminal Investigation Section
Medicine Hat Police Service
Ph: 403-502-1188

Between February and April of 2024, the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) received 16 separate reports of theft from Canada Post community mailboxes located throughout the city.

During the evening of April 10, 2024, the MHPS received a report a theft in progress from a community mailbox and as a result, MHPS patrol officers attended to the area and located a female suspect leaving the scene. The woman was taken into custody and found to be in possession of break in tools as well as hundreds of items of mail.

The MHPS Criminal Investigation Section took over the investigation and searched a local residence as well as executed two search warrants on storage lockers within the city. Thousands of reported and unreported items of mail, both in letter and parcel form were recovered.

Following this investigation, Cassandra Chenoweth, 41-years-old, of Medicine Hat, AB has been charged with several mail / theft related offences. Chenoweth was held in custody for a Judicial Interm Release hearing and was released from custody. Chenoweth is scheduled to appear in Provincial Court on May 8, 2024.

The investigation is ongoing as MHPS investigators are now working closely with Canada Post Inspectors and its is expected further charges will be laid. Additionally with the assistance of Canada Post the recovered mail and packages will be returned to their intended recipients when they are no longer required for investigational purposes.

Media Contact:

S/Sgt. Jason Graham
Criminal Investigation Section
Medicine Hat Police Service
Ph: 403-529-8421

In celebration of the 125^th Anniversary of the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) a collection of “Cop Cards” are being released.

Thirty (30) MHPS Police and Peace Officers are participating in the program with each card containing a short biography of the officer and highlights a photograph selected by each individual member.

Throughout the history of the MHPS, cop cards have been created as a community engagement initiative with a goal to increase the approachability of officers and encourage interaction with members of the public. The last version of MHPS cop cards was distributed in 2010.

This time around, for the kids (and the young at heart), both printed and virtual versions of the cop cards are available to be collected. If a young person, under the age of 18 collects all thirty (30) cop cards, they will be eligible to win a reward from the Office of the Chief of Police.

Media Contact:

Al Murphy
Chief of Police
Medicine Hat Police Service
Ph: 403-529-8416

On the morning of April 4, 2024, the Medicine Hat Police Service responded to a break, enter and theft to the Connaught Golf Club located on 13 Avenue SE. As a result of the incident a large safe along with its contents were stolen from within.

The MHPS Criminal Investigation Section took over the matter and as part of the investigation executed a residential search warrant in Redcliff. As a result, Cole Marshall, a 37-year-old male from Redcliff has been charged with the following;

• Break and Enter to commit theft,
• Breach of Release Order x 3

Additionally, police were able to locate the safe along with all its contents in a rural area north of the city limits.

Marshall was held in custody for a Judicial Interm Release hearing where he was remanded into custody pending his next court appearance on April 9, 2024, in Medicine Hat Provincial Court.

The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.

As Fraud Prevention Month concludes for 2024, the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) felt it would be valuable to share some statistics around fraud in our community.

In 2023, there were about 529 fraud general occurrences were investigated by Police. The top five types of fraud the MHPS saw were online frauds, transaction card frauds, mass marketing frauds, taxi fraud, and securities/financial fraud which accounted for about 429 of those 529 investigations.

Locally, Medicine Hat residents lost nearly $3.5 million dollars to fraud. This loss of money inevitably has an effect on the local economy.

The MHPS were able to make about 4% in recoveries through fraud investigations, recovering over $155,000. This year, many “Grandparent Scam” style frauds occurred in our community. Over just a few days, the individuals operating this scam victimized multiple people and gained over $40,000. MHPS was able to locate and charge one of the individuals responsible for this crime. This is a common scam that primarily targets the elderly.

Frauds related to online banking, transaction cards, or cheque frauds, frequently result in banks conducting their own investigation. In some cases, the victims are successful in having their funds returned by the banks.

Regarding online scams, very little money was able to be recovered as the funds were typically sent through gift cards, e-transfers, or online deposits which are difficult to track.

Citizens are reminded to please remain aware of frauds all year round. The Medicine Hat Police Service is hopeful that the increased education on current fraud trends, through Fraud Prevention Month, will reduce the number of people victimized by scams in the future. As always, if you believe you may have been a victim of a fraud or attempted fraud, contact a trusted person for support and call the police for assistance.

For more information on common frauds or scams and for information on how to protect yourself visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
403-458-0209

Mass marketing and phone scams are currently one of the most common frauds. Ultimately, the fraudster wants to obtain your personal information or be provided money from you in any method. The difficulty in these types of frauds is that the targets believe they are dealing with a real company or someone they trust. The fraudsters sound very convincing and work hard to manipulate the people they call.

Whether is it by phone or by email, if you are not certain you are talking to someone legitimate, end the conversation and contact the business directly to confirm. Often fraudsters will use phone numbers that are “spoofed”, or copied, to look legitimate, or emails that look real but are not. A company will usually use its own name in the email address as a contact as opposed to an email ending in Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo. These are easy things to confirm when you contact the businesses directly yourself.

One type of phone scam is an emergency scam or grandparent scam. The scammer contacts a person posing as their relative and they sound scared and quiet. They will call the victim by a generic name or title such as “Grandma” or “Grandpa”. When the victim calls them by the name of their grandchild, they will make up a story that they have been arrested for a crime (such as an impaired driving collision), they are being held in jail somewhere, and need money. They will often request that the money be wire transferred to a certain place, often out of the country and will say that the money is going to a lawyer, as bail, or for fines and they cannot tell their parents. Remember to always check with your family members to determine if an emergency call is legitimate before transferring money.

Another common scam involves people posing as professionals from the Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Border Services Agency, Microsoft or computer technical support, or government officials in hopes to gather personal information or have money sent to them. They may request e-transfers, gift card codes, crypto currency, or credit card information. Remember, no legitimate company or government agency will request gift cards codes or crypto currency as payment.

Always call the company/agency back at their phone number that you have researched and confirm if the situation is real.

In general, a good financially responsible rule is to always ask questions before transferring or investing. A professional will have no problem answering your questions, showing credentials, and providing references to prove they are legitimate.

For more information on common frauds or scams and for information on how to protect yourself visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
403-458-0209

March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada and each week throughout the month the Medicine Hat Police Service Community Support Unit is sharing information on common frauds and scams. This week’s focus is on investment style scams.

Investment scams can happen in person, over the phone, online, or through mail. The intent is to get someone to invest their money into an established industry, newly emerging sector, or any other type of opportunity. Once the money is obtained, it is not invested and kept by the person that it was provided to.

Ponzi schemes are based on investments that don’t exist. Early investors are paid some of the money provided by later investors until there are no new investors and the scheme ends. Typically, these are created by people offering high returns on money with low risks. The pyramid scheme often requests investors to find other investors and get them to invest as well. This keeps the scheme going for a longer period of time. Remember that when things seem too good to be true, they likely are.

Be wary of mass marketing scams where people attempt to convince you to invest in crypto currency. Again, these currencies are uncontrolled by governments and banks, and once money is deposited into another person’s digital wallet, the ability to return the funds or have a successful criminal investigation is very low.

Some tips to protect your money from these types of frauds are:

• Ask questions. If you weren’t satisfied with the answers, keep asking.
• Always be suspicious of high-pressure sales tactics.
• Investment decisions take time and consideration, don’t let someone rush you.
• Appearances and charisma are assistants to fraudsters. Pay attention to the situation and not as much as the person selling it.
• Always seek advice from professionals. Whether it be a lawyer, an accountant, or investment professionals.
• Never accept a verbal agreement; always get it in writing and keep it handy.
• Visit the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) Investor Alerts to stay up to date on the latest investor alerts and notices.
• To legally sell securities in Alberta, an individual must be registered with ASC (with very limited exceptions)
   

To protect against these common frauds, it is important to remain vigilant and NEVER provide personal or financial information over the phone.

To keep yourself in the loop about Fraud Prevention Month activities occurring provincially, follow the hashtag #FPM2024 on social media or visit the Alberta Community Crime Prevention Association website.

For more information about frauds and scams visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
Ph: 403-458-0209

Business scams are the most common of the face-to-face frauds reported to the Medicine Hat Police Service. These occur when people canvas neighborhoods looking to complete a service but require payment beforehand, or when scammers do door to door fundraising for an illegitimate purpose.

Before hiring someone to complete work at your home, it is important ask questions regarding past work, ask for references, or a website. Professional contractors will have no issues providing you with this information along with photos of their work. It is always a good idea to obtain quotes from more than one business prior to hiring them to complete a renovation or a project. If a quote is significantly cheaper than others, investigate with the contractor or company as to why this is. This may be an indication of a potential scam.

Be extremely cautious when hiring someone from an online resource in any capacity including as a contractor. Often, these “businesses” will operate on a buyer beware policy and will offer no reimbursement if the deal falls through. Never pay upfront over the internet for services to be completed. Once you have paid, it may become a civil issue for you to fight to have your work completed, or money returned. Online communities can be an excellent place to locate a potential service provider, but always meet with the contractor in person and go through the proper steps to verify their credentials before hiring them to complete any work.

Real estate fraud is another type of fraud that victimizes people. One scenario involves a person or a fraudulent company soliciting unsuspecting victims to invest in a business development or land purchase with a group of people. The property is often located outside of the country and is portrayed to produce significant profits in a very short time. Victims purchase a share of the real estate property, later to find out that the property does not exist, and they are unable to contact the scammer. Another type of real estate fraud involves the scammer listing a house on social media for sale or rent. Their target victims are people living far enough away that they are unable to conduct a walk through of the property prior to signing a lease or purchase agreement and paying a deposit. When the victims arrive at the address of their newly acquired property, they learn that the homeowners never listed the property, and the victims have no home to move into, and their deposit is lost.

If someone comes to your door, claiming to represent a company or charity, always ask to see his or her identification badge or supporting documentation before donating funds. If they cannot produce ID, there is a good chance that it is a scam. Even if they have an ID badge, but something still does not feel right, do not allow yourself to be pressured into donating money and contact the Medicine Hat Police Service at 403-529-8481 to report the suspicious behavior.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
Ph: 403-458-0209

March 2024 marks the 20th anniversary of Fraud Prevention Month in Canada, a month-long crime prevention initiative aimed at educating and informing consumers and the community on how to recognize, report, and stop fraud.

Frauds continue to victimize thousands of Canadians annually resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars being stolen from them. Medicine Hatters are not immune to these scams.

There are a wide range of scams currently being used by fraudsters. The best way to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud is to educate yourself on current trends and remain skeptical of any situation that appears too good to be true. Criminals are constantly changing their tactics, and they are becoming more complex in their delivery of the scams.

Throughout the month, the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS) Community Support Unit will be sharing information on how to recognize and stop from becoming victims of common frauds and scams.

This week the focus is on online frauds which are very prevalent as we continue to expand the ways we communicate on the internet. The reduced face-to-face communication can make is challenging to determine if we are being targeted by a scam. Common online frauds include:

• Romance scams that prey on people longing for friendship and relationships. Communication often begins through a friend request or a “like” on a publicly shared photo. These scams may continue for months or years with the victim truly believing that the suspect loves them and has their best interests at stake. They will often convince the victim to send money to help them pay bills, or to pay for flights so that the suspect can visit the victim. The suspect often has excuses for not using the money as intended and will request more money. They may even video-call the victim to make the fraud seem more legit. In some cases, the victim’s friends or relatives realize the relationship is a fraud and must convince the victim who is deeply invested in the relationship.
• Online marketplace scams take advantage of unknowing internet shoppers. Scammers will post a photo of an item (that may or may not exist) for sale. They will request partial or full payment for the item prior to arranging a meeting with the buyer. They buyer will show up at the meeting place and the suspects are nowhere to be seen, and the advertisements are quickly removed.
• Lottery/Prize scams are another type of fraud often found online. Scammers will send mass emails advising the recipient that they have won a cash prize or an item of significant value. They will request credit card or banking information to deposit the funds, or they may request a cash deposit, wire transfer, or e-transfer to hold the prize for the victim. Once they receive banking or credit card information, they will attempt to withdraw funds from the accounts. The prize is never sent to the victim, and the money sent to the suspects is frequently not traceable.
• Computer support or technology repair company scammers will contact victims claiming that there is an issue with the victim’s computer files or computer accounts. They may convince the victim to allow them to remotely access their computer or device. Once they gain access the suspects will attempt to retrieve banking information and passwords which are then used to withdraw money from the victim’s accounts.
• Employment or investment opportunities scams often sound very appealing but will require they victim pay a fee first before reaping the rewards. This fee may be requested as an e-transfer or very typically a code from a gift card or similar online currency.

In general, no legitimate company will request someone to send money, gift card codes, or deposit into crypto currencies.

The sad truth is that many of the scammers are across borders and once the money is e-transferred, money ordered, provided through gift card codes, or deposited into a crypto currency account, it is often gone for good and extremely difficult to investigate and hold anyone accountable. Beware of communication from any company that you have not previously been a customer, especially if it is not a local business that you are familiar with. It is recommended that you conduct research on a company prior to hiring them. The Better Business Bureau is a great resource, as well as word-of-mouth recommendations from trusted friends or family.

Media Contact:

A/Sgt. Brent Bohrn
Medicine Hat Police Service
Community Support Unit
Ph: 403-458-0209