Noteworthy: Scams are getting smarter by the day. So must we

By Bruce Penton on September 3, 2025.

Online scamming is getting out of control, with Canadians losing $310 million in 2024 alone. Today, it’s not as easy to spot an illegitimate proposal – the bad ones were riddled with spelling errors or sloppily reproduced logos – because AI technology is cleaning everything up.

It’s generally assumed that seniors are victimized more often than any other demographic, but a recent story in the Financial Post said victimization rates for 55-and-over Canadians are trending downward, and Canadians aged 18 to 24 comprise the group that has seen the biggest increase in reported fraud.

Sadly, experts say, only about 10 per cent of scam victims report their losses to the authorities out of shame or embarrassment. That means that $310 million figure could actually be $3 billion or more.

Tarundeep Dhot, VP of fraud management at Toronto-Dominion Bank, said, “If someone is pressuring you to send money in a short amount of time or incentivizing you with an incredible rate of return, you need to take a step back and call your financial institution to get their advice.”

It’s not only online fraud one should be aware of. Chances are you’re getting one or two phone calls per day from scammers wanting to separate you from some, or all, of your money. And if you get a phone call from a ‘grandchild’ who has been in ‘an accident’ or has been ‘arrested’ and needs money immediately … just … say … no. Ask for a phone number where the person calling can be reached, and of course, they won’t give you one. That almost guarantees it’s a fraudulent call.

Lately, I’ve been getting work-at-home offers from a human resources representative at Indeed who has reviewed my resume and suggests I have what it takes to work for them. The pay ranges from US$100 to US$300 per day for only 60-90 minutes of work. That definitely falls into the, “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is” category and the reddest of red flags. First of all, I do not have a resumÃ© in circulation, so their lead statement is bogus. It says, “This is a flexible full-time/part-time position helping businesses run online ads.”

It sounds as if they’re recruiting people to join the scamming world.

â€¢ Pierre Poilievre is back in the House of Commons following his byelection victory in Battle River-Crowfoot last month, and has resumed his status as Leader of the Opposition. But will he remain as party leader following the Conservative Party’s leadership review in January?

Maybe, maybe not. While the CPC impressively increased its popular vote and seat totals in the recent federal election, how much of that was Poilievre’s doing? The Conservative faithful will give us the answer in the January review vote.

Overall, Poilievre is not overly embraced by average Canadians. A recent Angus Reid poll said the leader has the support of 68 per cent of Conservative voters, but that 50 per cent of Canadians said they “would be ashamed to call him PM.” Those numbers are hardly the sort of endorsement a federal leader needs.

Last year, the Conservative leader had an easy road in the House of Commons when the massively unpopular Justin Trudeau was the Liberal leader. But now that Mark Carney, with a voter approval rating around 60 per cent, leads the Liberals, Poilievre faces a tougher challenge.

â€¢ A former newspaper colleague of mine, who regularly pestered her staff on the importance of including the five ‘W’s – who, what, when, where and why – in every news story, gets a thumbs down from me for a recent Instagram post about her daughter heading off to nursing school.

The Instagram post was quite clear about the who, the what, the when and the why, but it failed to mention the ‘where.’

It’s knuckle-rapping time for this former colleague, who shall remain nameless but she knows who she is.

â€¢ Short snappers: The shooting at the Catholic school in Minneapolis last week was the 44th school shooting in the U.S. in 2025. And it’s only early September. The shooter, Robin Westman, was a former student at the school. They constitutionally had the right to bear arms, as did the other 43 school shooters. … Columnist Steve Burgess of the Tyee says Mark Carney has been capitulating against Donald Trump lately and the ‘TACO’ insult aimed at Trump – Trump Always Chickens Out – can now be reimagined as Trump Asks, Carney Obeys. “Not only are our elbows down, we’ve pulled the goalie,” said Burgess. … Oh, if only the Blue Jays had a reliable bullpen. … School is back in. Little kids aren’t always paying attention. Drivers should always be paying attention.