Tech experts warn of online ‘scammers’ posing as Calgarians asking for money

As Calgarians struggle to make ends meet, alleged “scammers” are taking advantage of the situation with requests for gas money, food, clothes and even birthday gifts for kids, all while in another country.

The posts reportedly come from anonymous Facebook accounts asking for gas money or gift cards. In other cases, they hack someone else’s Facebook profile and scam people out of money and goods.

One Facebook user by the name of Tanya Louise recently said her ID had been compromised, and she is being called out as a scammer when in fact, she is a victim.

She says she also has filed a police complaint about this. In addition, she claims someone from Lagos, Nigeria hacked her account, and she got the notification.

Snapshot of login attempt on Instagram. (Facebook)

Tech author and University of Calgary Professor Thomas Patrick Keenan says to be kind, but don’t let a scammer sitting in another country fool you into giving away your hard-earned money.

“There is certainly a question about whether these people are making a business out of this. Have they come in from some other town and set up shop in Calgary? We haven’t gotten any evidence of that,” said Keenan.

“But I’m willing to bet if you went through all of the stories, sob stories that you find online, you’re going to find some are true. Some are outright lies, and a lot of kind of in the middle, and that’s where your own heart comes in.”

Calgary online groups support those in need

Meanwhile, Calgarians like Elisa Admussen are going out of their way to help those who need it the most.

Admussen is part of many social media groups and recently started a chain of kindness, sending pizza dinner to a family in need.

“I just started noticing an increase in posts on social media of people putting their pride aside and asking for help. The simplest and fastest way for me to sort of help someone other than giving up money was to have a pizza delivered to their home,” Admussen said.

“I did it once, and then I did more. I think there’s been about 15 families that we’ve been able to send pizza to so far, so good.”

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Many good Samaritans like Elisa want to help struggling Calgarians but are hesitant due to the risk of being frauded online.

In such scenarios, tech experts like Keenan say to follow your heart but don’t engage in monetary interactions with strangers.

“If you use your interac-e-transfer, it will carry some identification about you and your bank account — not enough to rob your bank account — but if you don’t want to do that, then a service like Western Union or World Remittance is another one,” Keenan said.

He says it’s best to donate to organizations like Food Bank and the Salvation Army. This way, you safeguard your identity and assets online as well in person.

Groups sweep out ‘scammers’

This increased demand for help on social media is also being noticed by non-profit organizations like Mamas for Mamas, who say it’s a nationwide issue now.

With more than 60 Facebook pages and a Calgary community of 13 thousand members, Moderator Kaycee Hopwood says they know how to sweep out between the genuine posts and the scammers.

“We have a closed group, and there is a lot of scrutiny to get membership. Also, we have protocols and lots of rules in place, so we don’t let scammers take advantage of our platform,” Hopwood told CityNews.

“And in case if it does happen, then we also have guidelines on how to deal with that. So we do not allow the exchange of money in the group. It is strictly a gifting, trading or lending community. For all of us, kindness is the currency, and we want to help everyone out without judgment,” she added.

Hopwood says struggling families can reach out to Mamas for Mamas on their website and can also book an appointment at the Karma Market in Downtown Calgary to get help with clothes, diapers and food.