THE WISE OWL PROGRAM by Ron Dowle

Many RCMP Detachments across BC have implemented Wise Owl programs. The aim of the program is to advise the public, especially seniors, of the many possible frauds and scams that are all too frequently attempted-and regrettably are sometimes successful. The essence of most of these scams is to try them out on as many people as possible; even a tiny success rate, if the stakes are high, leaves the scammer satisfied and the victim hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars poorer. Seniors are often the most attractive and vulnerable targets for attacks by these scam artists.

Volunteers make Wise Owl presentations from the Victims Assistance Department of the RCMP. Typical scams and frauds are demonstrated and although this subject is no joke presentations are made in an amusing and entertaining manner. Telephone scams, bank frauds, travel scams, foreign lotteries are some of the subjects covered. It would be impossible to cover every single scam and fraud; new variations are invented every week. The presentation endeavours to cover current scenarios being used in the area. There is plenty of opportunity for questions.

One telephone scam works as follows: a person claiming to be Telus (or in other areas some other telephone company) calls and says he is a technician conducting a test on telephone lines. He requests your help that to complete the test and ask you to press nine (9), zero (0), then the pound sign (#) and then hang up. DO NOT DO THIS. It enables the scam artist making the call to make calls from your phone and could result in you being billed with hundreds of dollars of charges. The 9 - 0 - # procedure is not something which legitimate telephone technicians use. To work this particular scam some sophisticated electronic equipment is needed. It has not come to notice in B.C. for some years—but beware, it is still around.

If you are in the White Rock area and your strata would like to have a Wise Owl presentation contact Archie Miller at (604) 541 5113 or (604) 542 5522. If you live outside White Rock Archie will put you in touch with your local Wise Owl organizers.