Ellyse Swayze got the work, and cost him $ 700.
The 39 -year -old Edmonton woman was fired from her work in a call center in April 2021.
In October of that year, he found a work publication on Facebook Marketplace for a virtual personal assistant. In approximately 24 hours, he had sent a message to the recruiter, went through a virtual work interview on Telegram, an application of social media messaging and platform, and was hired, starting the next morning.
Swayze’s first task in his new work was to cut emails to business clients who had hired her. Then, he deposited a $ 700 check to his bank account, to cover the purchase of seven Amazon gift cards of $ 100, allocated as compensation for some customers.
Pharmacy employees were worried about selling the gift cards due to the risk of fraud. But Swayze, anxious for causing a good impression on his new employer, assured them that he was fine.
He returned home with the cards, scratched them to reveal their confirmation codes and sent photos of them to their employer. That meant that its employers now had access to cards.
“Sometimes I still get my head. I wish I was not so naive,” Swayze told CBC News. “But when you are in an anguished situation like that, looking for work, I suppose you tend not to look at the widest side of things.”
Then he addressed Swayze to buy more gift cards, this time receiving a $ 1,000 check from the employer. Recognizing his bank could maintain those funds, he visited a branch to remove cash. But the cashier saw red flags and recommended that Swayze call his employer immediately.
Dream settled after explaining the situation to his boss, who suggested that he tried another bank, Swayze said.
When he knew that the checks he received were falsified, he presented a report to the Edmonton Police Service, as the bank’s cashier suggested.
“I am grateful that it would only have been $ 700, but at that time, I had no $ 700 for losing,” he said.
The money that Albertaos are losing to employment schemes or labor fraud, who take advantage of people looking for work, is rapidly increasing, despite a small increase in the number of victims reported, according to the data obtained from the Canadian Anti-France Center, the National Police Agency that collects information about fraud and identity robbery.
Investment scams remain the scheme of greatest collection in Alberta, but the work schemes rose to number 2 last year, according to data.
According to the reports, in 2024, the scammers took approximately $ 4.8 million of approximately 190 victims in Alberta. The lost money has increased more than ten times since 2022, when $ 440,000 of almost 160 people were taken, according to the data.
“Where is there success, [fraudsters] They will repeat. They will return, “Det. Scott Abbott of the Edmonton Police Service section said.
Officials in charge of enforcing the law told CBC News that employment scammers took advantage of COVID-19 pandemic, which forced many people to work remotely, and also financial technology, namely, cryptocurrency.
His recent success also coincides with mass migration to Alberta and greater unemployment with few employment vacancies.
“The scammers pay attention to current circumstances and events, so they will adapt the approaches to reflect that,” said CPL. Sean Milne of the Alberta RCMP financial crimes.
Alberta has experienced a record growth of the population in each of the last two years. Approximately 4.9 million people lived in the province in 2024, an increase of almost 380,000 of 2022, suggest population estimates of Statistics Canada.
Most of those newcomers come from other provinces, particularly BC and Ontario, and countries, as Statscan data show.
Alberta’s annual unemployment rate increased to seven percent last year, according to the data, while the rate of work vacancies, when it fits seasonality, fell to 3.3 percent in December 2024, the last month available.
“The scammers take advantage of the vulnerabilities,” said the spokesman of the Canadian Anti-Franud center, Jeff Horncastle. “If job opportunities are difficult to find in a certain region, then there is the possibility that scammers can capitalize.”
Milne said that when the economy hardens, there is an increase in labor fraud, as well as loan and subsidies scams, because scammers can catch more people who try to obtain income.
Abbott, the EPS detective, listed several tricks that the scammers use to attract and connect with people, some of whom align with what happened to Swayze.
They often publish an online advertisement that promotes remote work and high salaries, said Abbott. Then, they try to build a relationship with those who respond, sometimes interviewing them, and convince them to pay for things.
Employment scammers have also changed towards the use of cryptocurrency more frequently, instead of banks, because there is less regulation and less protections, Milne said.
“Many cryptographic exchanges used by scammers are not based on Canada. Therefore, the amount of supervision, or even the ability to contact those exchanges, is much more limited than if we are dealing with a national financial institution and a currency,” said Milne.
“It is a much more useful means for scammers, and allows them to function more effectively, unfortunately,” he said.
Scammers also recognize that many Canadians may not be well educated about financial technology, including cryptocurrency, and that victims may not realize that they are putting funds on a cryptographic wallet, Horncastle said.
Police believe that the data of the Canadian anti -fraud center probably do not show the complete scope of the problem, because only a fraction of the victims reports the crime.
“Losing a lot of money, of course, is traumatic for everyone,” said Abbott, adding that victims can also feel ashamed.
“We like to think that, as individuals, we would not be victims:” I am intelligent enough. “But that is not the case; [fraudsters] They are very good in their trade, although it is illicit. “
Abbott and Milne encourage people who have been disappointed to inform the Police or the Canadian Anti-Franud center, which is associated with the RCMP, the Provincial Police of Ontario and the Canadian competition office.
Milne also said that anyone who thinks he meets a scam, before being victims, can call the non -emergency line of his local police service to ask for advice.
Swayze, who is now a bakery manager of Fuzion Donuts, a local chain in Edmonton, has not been able to recover its $ 700, and is upset because people are trying to take advantage of people who are already in a serious narrow, he said.
From his experience, he has become more skeptical, investigating more about the things he sees online. She urges others to do the same.
