“Police receive frequent door-to-door sales complaints involving aggressive individuals and high-pressure tactics,” says Det. Linda Herczeg with the EPS Economic Crimes Section. “These also include reports of suspicious people attempting to push their way into homes with misleading claims and outright scams.”
EPS received approximately 195 reports concerning fraudulent door-to-door sales in 2016, and 19 so far in 2017. The majority of complaints are for energy sales, with 95 related to furnace inspections and five related to energy contracts. Many individuals do not report incidents to police.
Since the Government of Alberta banned the door-to-door sales of energy products on Jan. 1, 2017, there continue to be reports of salespeople misrepresenting themselves to get into people’s houses. Service Alberta received approximately 62 complaints this year, and there are 20 investigations underway involving misrepresentation, deception, sales of unnecessary energy systems, and non-existent rebates.
Over the course of three months, an elderly couple living in Edmonton’s Greenfield community was contacted three times by alleged energy companies, even after the ban came into effect.
“They wanted to inspect our furnace and water heater, see if we qualified for a carbon tax rebate, and even called my wife from the front step to get her to open the door and sign a contract,” says homeowner Nick Malychuk. “It didn’t feel right, we told them ‘no,’ but when we were contacted after the new government legislation came into effect we decided to call police.”
In November 2016, a serviceman came to their door, stating he was doing an audit and needed to see if the furnace was in compliance with new regulations coming into effect. He also asked about their energy use. When the serviceman’s comments did not make sense, and he could not provide identification, he was asked to leave.
About three days later, another serviceman came to the door, asking to look at their heating system to see if they qualified for a carbon tax rebate coming into effect. The serviceman claimed this inspection had to be done and showed official-looking papers, but again, his story did not make sense and he was asked to leave.
Toward the end of January 2017, a serviceperson called saying he needed to make an appointment to check if their water heater qualified for a carbon tax rebate and to sign papers. The couple said they did not have time. They were called again later in the day, this time from their front steps. The couple told the caller “no thanks” and hung up.
The Malychuks took the right approach. They were friendly but assertive, asked lots of questions, and shared information afterwards. When it seemed suspicious, they notified police so the events could be investigated, but more importantly they avoided a costly scam.
Det. Herczeg cautions, “We don’t want homeowners to be afraid to answer the door, but once someone gets their foot in the door it can be a safety risk, especially for seniors. While most door-to-door sales are legitimate, there are con artists and thieves who want to take advantage of an open door. We don’t always know their motives, so you have to listen to your intuition. There’s nothing wrong with closing the door if it doesn’t feel right.”
How to protect yourself:
-
Be cautious about letting anyone into your home. Talk through the door if you do not want to open it. When in doubt, say “no thanks” and shut the door.
-
Check for identification and verify the information before letting anyone in.
-
Ask questions, if it sounds too good to be true it probably is.
-
Get offers in writing. Take time to shop around, check prices and research the company.
-
Do not feel pressured to sign a contract, make a purchase, or pay for services in advance.
-
Act quickly if you have buyer’s remorse, you have ten days to cancel a contract without penalty.
-
Report suspicious activities and frauds to police.
In Alberta, most companies that sell products door-to-door must be licensed, and salespeople must carry identification that includes their business number. You can contact Service Alberta at 1-877-427-4088 or to confirm a business is licensed or to report an incident. You can also check a business and its references by contacting the Better Business Bureau at 780-482-2341.
A variety of fraud awareness resources are available to the public from Service Alberta, the Competition Bureau, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, and Scam Detector. For additional fraud and crime prevention tips, please visit http://ift.tt/1c2fjiw.
The Edmonton Police Service reminds citizens that fraud prevention is ongoing – we need to recognize it, report it, and stop it. If you are the victim of a fraud, or have knowledge of an economic crime, please contact the EPS at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or at http://ift.tt/1az8Eve.
from Media Releases http://ift.tt/2niUqJ6
No comments:
Post a Comment