West Island Mission is known for fighting food insecurity, but with a new program, they’re fighting fraud too. “We have seen an increase of scam and fraud that have hit our seniors the hardest,” West Island Mission specialist Sandra Watson says. Fraud is the number one crime against seniors, according to government statistics. To make sure fewer people fall victim, Watson says understanding technology is key. With senior digital literacy sessions, the mission hopes to better equip Quebecers for today’s online world. “Social isolation in seniors, that hasn’t gone away. So what we’ve seen is on social media, the love scams, the government scams, which in turn lost a lot of money for some of our seniors,” Watson told CTV. Scams like the fake video of Prime Minister Mark Carney pitching an investment scheme, requests for donations and impersonation are all covered in the free course. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, Canadians have lost more than $300 million to fraud this year. Fraud awareness coach Eric Ouimet says it’s important to spot red flags. “There’s basically unknown - so if somebody is, you know, contacting you out of the blue, and urgency. They’re preying on your immediate action [...] They’re trying to access, you know, one of two things, information or your money. And then information is to get your money,” Ouimet explains. Some key tips: “Everybody is vulnerable. It’s not just the elderly. It’s not just the technologically illiterate. It’s anybody. If you lost your job yesterday and you get a text offering you work today like you’re in a vulnerable situation,” the fraud awareness expert says. The digital literacy session is a pilot program for now, but West Island Mission hopes it will extend to a six-week course pending federal funding approval.
