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ns id eh al to n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, M ar ch 2 2, 20 18 | o o OPINION - EDITORIAL - Recognize. Reject. Report. They are relentless. They call, they text, they email. Fraudsters will stop at nothing to get what they want: your money With tax season upon us, residents may be on the receiving end of an increased number of calls from scammers, some posing as Canada Revenue Agency officials. In 2017, the CRA scam claimed more than 1,500 vic­ tims in Ontario alone. Together, they were duped out of $3 million. Unfortunately, this isn't the only scam making the rounds. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, there are a variety of scams, pitches and fraud types, with new ones invented regularly Criminals use an assortment of tactics to get their victims to cough up cash. They are persuasive, persis­ tent and, in some cases, aggressive and menacing. They are professional scammers and they are good at their "jobs" - so good that even the most experienced, educated people have been conned out of their hard-earned cash. Just recently, a Halton resident was bilked out of more than $1.2 million in what turned out to be a ro­ mance scam. The money, according to investigators, is gone; the suspect's identity unknown. "The suspect is a professional fraudster operating as part of a network of criminals, all with the same intent: to relieve someone of their hard earned money," said Det. Mark Underwood of the Halton Regional Police Service's fraud unit. "They know how to manipulate and, unfortu­ nately, they are highly skilled at what they do." Last month, an Oakville senior shared her story of being conned out of thousands of dollars in one day The scammer, masquerading as a fraud investigator, told the woman she had been defrauded and enlisted her help to catch the people responsible for the suspicious withdrawal. She is out $30,000. March is National Fraud Awareness Month and po­ lice services across the country are focusing their ef­ forts on education. They are also urging folks to practise the three Rs of fraud prevention: recognize, reject and report. The Halton Regional Police Service echoes that mes­ sage. "Recognizing what could be a potential fraud is the first step in protecting yourself," say police, reminding residents that banks, agencies and other organizations will never request money or personal information by email, text or phone. Do your due diligence and check your facts. Don't feel pressured. If in doubt, seek help. "Check everything out before you make a move," urged the Oakville senior defrauded out of tens of thou­ sands of dollars. "Verify" To report a fraud, call Halton police at 905-465-8741 or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501. TELLME ANOTHERONE, UNCLE DONALD/ B ABOUT US The Oakville Beaver, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. o e O °o m e t r o la n d m e d ia • Connected to your community" The Oakville Beaver is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nnc Apcna IniideHalton.com ^ editor@oakvillebeaver.com E facebook.com/OakvilleBeav Q @OakvilleBeaver A progressive budget for a progressive Canada Status o f Women to develop engagement strategy: Damoff Federal budget 2018 takes unprecedented steps toward tackling gender equality, with a focus on closing the gender gap in the workplace. Never before has Canada released a federal budget as progressive and in-step with a movement for change and I am particularly proud of the advancements it supports in gender equality, parental leave, gender based analysis (GBA+). Just as important and one that I have strongly advocated for is providing support for the mental health of our public safety of- PAM DAMOFF Column fleers. As vice-chair of the Sta­ tus of Women committee, I am thrilled that our com­ mittee's work is reflected throughout budget 2018, in­ cluding recommendations the committee made to ad­ dress gender-based vio­ lence and further women's economic security. Advancing gender equal­ ity is a responsibility that should not fall exclusively to women and girls. The federal government will introduce legislation that enshrines GBA+ in all future govern­ ment decision-making so that all federal policy will be examined through a gender lens. It will also provide $1.8 million to Status of Women Canada to develop an en­ gagement strategy for men and boys that will promote equality and pilot innova­ tive, targeted approaches to addressing inequality. Budget 2018 takes action to make sure that the bene­ fits of a growing economy are enjoyed by all Canadi­ ans. A new "use it or lose it" employment insurance pa­ rental sharing benefit gives parents additional weeks of El parental benefits when both parents share parental leave. It also provides fund­ ing to projects, including preventing teen dating vio­ lence and support rape cri­ sis and sexual assault cen­ tres. Since I was elected, I've also been working hard to support the mental health of our public safety officers as a member of the public safety committee. Our unanimous report, "Healthy Minds, Safe Com­ munities," made recommen­ dations that were supported in the budget, including $20 million to fund a new Na­ tional Research Consortium to support the mental health of those keeping our commu­ nities safe and additional funding to support research and treatment of post-trau­ matic stress injuries for pub­ lic safety officers. Full details on budget 2018 can be found at www.budget.gc.ca. - Pam D am off is the mem­ ber o f Parliament for the Oakville North-Burlington riding. CONTACT US WHO WE ARE Oakville Beaver 2-5046 Mainway Burlington, ON L7L 5Z1 Phone: 289-293-0617 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Digital/Flyer/Retail: 289-293-0624 Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. 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