Medicine Hat police share fraud statistics for prevention month
By ANNA SMITH on April 2, 2024.
asmith@medicinehatnews.com With fraud prevention month coming to a close, the Medicine Hat Police Service shared some key statistics regarding fraud within the city. “In 2023, there were about 529 fraud general occurrences investigated by police,” said MHPS. These mostly consisted of online frauds, transaction card frauds, mass marketing frauds, taxi fraud and securities or financial fraud, which made up roughly 429 of those occurrences. “Locally, Medicine Hat residents lost nearly $3.5 million dollars to fraud,” said MHPS. “This loss of money inevitably has an effect on the local economy.” Police were able to make about 4 per cent of recoveries, totalling more than $155,000. “This year, many “Grandparent Scam” style frauds occurred in our community. Over just a few days, the individuals operating this scam victimized multiple people and gained over $40,000,” said MHPS. Police were able to locate and charge one of the individuals responsible. Citizens are reminded to please remain aware of frauds all year round, as it is the hope that increased awareness of the different kinds of fraud will lead to fewer people victimized by scams in the future. 8-7
