Jay Calvert Scams

Avoiding Crypto Investment Scams: A Real Case from Canada

Avoiding Crypto Investment Scams: A Real Case from Canada

Another financial scam in more detail. This time it is a variation of the Investment scam. Cryptocurrency scams are based around cryptocurrency, a highly volatile digital currency that has gained a lot of popularity over the last 15 years. You might know it better as Bitcoin, which is just one type of cryptocurrency. Like a brand if you will, and there are many other names of cryptocurrency like Ethereum, Tether or Dogecoin.

Why Do Scammers Deal With Cryptocurrency?

What makes cryptocurrency enticing to criminals is that it is basically unlinkable to whoever owns that little string of alphanumeric characters that make up the block of data that is your money. Once the transaction is done, there is no way to find out who is behind it in order to get your money back. Once it is gone, it is typically gone for good.

Cryptocurrencies are pretty complicated in how they work without a central bank, so we won’t get into how they work here. The important thing to know about cryptocurrencies, is that they are typically unstable, and unpredictable which make them prime candidates for scamming somebody with.

We have all heard the tales of those who have made millions in cryptocurrency investments, but in honesty, these are very, very rare these days. Yes there are many cases of those who have doubled or tripled their investments, but a lot of people have taken major losses. Cryptocurrency markets are akin to playing the lottery with your savings. You probably won’t win.

Because we hear about people who have been successful in cryptocurrencies, we think that we should dip our toes into it and see what it is all about. Maybe just a small investment of $100 is a safe start…

I recently read a story where someone had seen an ad on Facebook and decided to take a little chance. They only used $100 to start with, seems like a fair gamble, and not losing too much if it does turn out to be a scam right? Well, they get a call a few weeks later saying that their investment has grown to $90,000 USD! But, in order to get the money, they say he needs to send 10% to his crypto account in order to withdraw the $90,000. It was when the person went into the bank to cash a cheque to cover the amount needed, and the person was asking how long it would take for the cheque to clear because they needed to withdraw the $9000. The teller was interested in what it was for and asked the person. The person told the teller about the 10% needed to withdraw the $90,000 and the teller knew immediately that this was a common scam and was able to convince the person to not pay them.

Canada’s Mandatory AML Training

In Canada, luckily, Anti-money laundering training is mandatory at all banks and financial institutions. At all levels of the organization, even those who are not tellers. AML (Anti-Money Laundering) training is designed to educate individuals on identifying, reporting, and preventing money laundering activities within financial institutions and other regulated businesses. It covers the basic principles of anti-financial crime, financial regulations, compliance aspects, and risk preparation.

So, luckily, this person lived in Canada and the teller was able to save him from sending more money to the scammer.

Protecting Yourself

This is just one example of Crypto scams, there are several more. Some key takeaways here;

  1. Never invest with somebody you have found online, especially through an advertisement, anybody can buy advertisements online.
  2. Cryptocurrency is not a way to get rich quick, don’t fall for the hype
  3. Nobody can guarantee a high return on cryptocurrency without any risk
  4. Remember the 4 P’s. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.

Jay Calvert Scams

CRA Low Income Seniors Scam

CRA Low Income Seniors Scam

A new scam aimed at seniors is claiming the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is sending extra payments to low income seniors. Websites with false information describe benefits and some contain links to join Telegram or WhatsApp instant messaging groups.

It wasn’t too hard to find the proof of this. I was able to find a few sites with this claim, along with other false claims. Here is one such image I was able to get from one of the sites; There were several YouTube videos as well that I saw with this same info.

Not Helping The Confusion

Interestingly enough, which might actually be adding fuel to the fire in this case is an updated article on the Government of Canada website (https://canada.ca) that shows the following when performing a search :

The article date is from Feb 12, 2025, and it looks like there is a one-time payment…will be issued automatically… etc. But if you click the link and read the article, it is only in the middle that says August 16, 2021. This is an old article that was updated in February of this year.

You can read the article here, it is very confusing, since it looks like it is from Feb 12, 2025 but is actually from 2021.

Moral Of This Story

Do your research, don’t trust everything you read. What would happen in this case is you read about it or see it on YouTube, in a Facebook Reel etc. then you join the Telegram or WhatsApp instant messaging groups or get a call on it. They need to confirm some information with you first to be able to process it etc. Then they have access to your personal information, or even worse, access to your OAP.

Yes, the government has done something similar before and the last few years there have a lot of government cheques being handed out, from Carbon Tax Credits, to assistance that was happening at the beginning of Covid. It wouldn’t be far fetched to think that this is something else. Especially at a time that the government was changing powers, with the new leader of the Liberal party trying to get your trust by doing something like this while they were still in power, and the possibility of a new government forming after the election.

Timing is everything with scams. Always remember the 4 P’s and take a breath, pause and think.

Be sure to read about the others scams that are going around here.

Jay Calvert Scams

The Most Common Financial Services Scams Explained

The most common financial services scams explained

Always near the top of scams targeting seniors are Financial Services Scams. These vary from scammers pretending to be a bank, a mortgage company etc, to an investment scheme promising you to make high returns on your investment.

Either way, the end goal for the scammer is to get your money. Here we will break down the various types scams, and some things you can do to help protect yourself.

Investment Scams

Scammers lure investors with promises of high returns, often using fabricated investment opportunities or fake celebrity endorsements

Debt Relief Scams

Unregulated debt advisors may promise to eliminate your debt but charge excessive fees or encourage you to stop communicating with creditors, leaving you worse off. 

Impersonation Scams

Scammers impersonate banks, mortgage companies, insurance companies, debt collection companies etc, to obtain personal information or money

Double Dip Scam

In this scenario, the scammer has got to you once, and was successful. This time they come back and tell you that some of your initial investment has been lost and they have a plan to help regain your losses and make even more money – for a small investment, again.

Fake Relationship Scam / Romance Scam

This one is hard to hear, but happens all the time. This scam involves you getting pretty close with somebody only to have them tell you, that they are dire need of financial help. They have hit a rough patch, have to pay off a loan etc. There is always a sob story, and a lot of seniors lose a lot of money this way every year. Feeling loved and wanted is so horrible when it is used against you and you end up used, and broke.

Work From Home Scams

This one you see on Facebook all the time, always with comments disabled only method to reach them is through direct message. A company will typically offer a job with high income, but low hours that you can set yourself. There isn’t much information given, but once you connect with them, the job requires you to pay a fee first to get setup, for training, for supplies, or simply to apply for the job.

Overpayment Scams

This is where the scammer sends you a cheque, but it is for too much. They say that they made a mistake, and get you to deposit the cheque and then send back the difference. Then the cheque bounces and you are out of the money that you sent back.

Signs of a Financial Services Scam

  • Demands for immediate payment (pay immediately, often using threats or urgency)
  • Promised High returns for low risk
  • Claims this is a hot tip or insider information
  • Investment dealer is not registered to sell investments / not registered with the provincial securities regulator (required in Canada)
  • Requests for sensitive information (may ask you for your SIN, bank account details, Credit Card information or passwords
  • Unrealistic promises
  • Pressure to make quick decisions, no time to investigate
  • Unusual payment methods (like gift cards, cryptocurrency or prepaid credit cards)
  • Requests for confidentiality (don’t tell your friends and family about this amazing deal scam)
  • Be careful of hot tips and investment opportunities from friends too, they might be caught in a scheme where they have been told they will make money if they recruit more friends (a pyramid scheme / multilevel marketing)

How to Protect Yourself

Pause, take a moment and think of the 4 P’s (link here), also remember these old adages

“Nothing in Life is Free”

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”

 “There’s nothing more expensive than free.”

  • Don’t give out personal information (including banking or credit card details)
  • No reputable business will deal with prepaid credit cards, don’t do this
  • Asking you to keep quiet about it is a huge red flag, they don’t want your family to tell you that this is a scam

The scammers keep doing these scams because they work, the deals sound amazing and they are hard to pass up, don’t take the risk, there is no reward coming your way

Jay Calvert Scams, Tips and Tricks

TOAD Attacks: A Rising Cybersecurity Threat

A TOAD (Telephone-Oriented Attack Delivery) attack is a type of cyberattack where attackers use phone calls to trick victims into compromising their security or revealing sensitive information, often in conjunction with initial phishing emails or texts. These attacks leverage the trust people often place in strangers who call and claim authority.

Here is how it plays out;

  1. You get text messages or emails pretending to be a legit organization. Often containing a fake invoice or alerts about your accounts
  2. The message directs you to call a number for assistance.
  3. When you get the scammer on the phone – you get connected to a fake call centre. The scammer then tells you to install software on your computer, or tricks you into providing personal information.
  4. Now that you have installed the software – they can now get access to your computer. Leading to various threats like taking your data, ransomware or further attacks. If they get your personal information, they can use it to perform other acts as you. Like logging into your bank account.

TOAD attacks are very sophisticated attacks that use multiple means of communication to compromise you or your information. This isn’t just a link that you click on in an email. It is a multifaceted attack, highly coordinated attack that involves emails, texts, phone calls. Combined to get you to provide personal information, or install malicious software on your computer.

Always use caution, and remember the 4 P’s. Scams can come in many forms, and not just by clicking a link on a website, or in an email.

Jay Calvert Scams

Stay Safe with QR Codes: Recognizing Scams

QR Codes are those weird barcode like codes that you scan with your phone’s camera. They store information, most of the time, it is a website. Scanning on the barcode takes you to the website that is encoded within. It saves time typing out a long website address and possibly making a mistake and going to a fake, scam site.

The irony of it all, is that QR Codes are being used to scam us anyway. They can easily be covered up by another code that you scan instead, unknowingly, and end up on a scammers site anyway.

Ever travel to Vancouver and want to park anywhere, every parking lot or space on the street is now controlled by apps you install on your phone. It is actually really convenient once you get it setup, you have your information already preloaded in there like you license plate number and the make and model of your car. You simply find the lot number or parking space number and key it in and boom, you can stay for any period you want from 10 minutes to 8 hours in some cases.

The scam here is that the signs for these parking apps have a QR Code on them most of the time, and they do get covered up. I actually scanned one once, and was taken to a site that looked like the right site. I had never done this type of parking before so was unfamiliar.

Everything looked right, the logo etc, I was tired, it was new, I just followed along. I put in my Credit Card details, and next thing I know I have an email saying I signed up to play some online games for $35 a month.

I left the parking lot, found one of my bank’s branches nearby and got them to reverse the charge and change my credit card number immediately.

The morale of the story here, is always pay attention, especially when it comes to your credit card. Pay attention to the site you are scanning. You should see near by the actual website address, or the App Store where you can find the app. Pay special attention to the app name advertised and what their logo looks like.

Once I had the right app installed, it became so easy to park downtown and run a bunch of errands when I was in town, stopping for 10 minutes at a time.

Jay Calvert Scams

Beware of Facebook Quizzes: Protect Your Personal Information

The Quiz Scam is usually found on Facebook and comes with a challenge by one of your friends, or via some other group post, possibly just from one of the random feeds that Facebook serves you up to keep you on the website. They will challenge you to answer the questions, “it will be so fun, and get your friends to do it too, and pass it along by sharing it too!”

The quizzes are usually in the form of a series of questions like these;

  • Where did you grow up?
  • Favourite colour?
  • First pet’s name?
  • Street you grew up on?
  • Lucky Number?

They are all meant to gather information that you might have used to either answer security questions on an account, like your email, when you first set it up. The same questions you need to answer if you forgot your password, or, can be used to guess your password.

There are other types of quizzes, like the following –

Choose Between Two Things

You add your reaction for your choice (Elvis of course).

What Type of <Insert Object Here> Are You?

Here is what they can do with that information

  1. Use it for pure fun, possible, but not worth the risk
  2. Use it to get your reaction on a post, which they then choose later to something else – could be used to scam others down the road
  3. Get to know you better by knowing what you like and don’t like
  4. Facebook then sees, you like this type of content, and guess what, serves you up more

Protecting Yourself

Don’t react to posts like this and don’t answer any quizzes with any information that can help identify you, your security answers or used against you.