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Utility and mortgage door-to-door scams reported in Collingwood

Residents should feel comfortable asking them to leave and, if the salesperson doesn’t comply, to contact police, says Collingwood OPP officer
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Knock, knock.

Who’s there?

It could be a scammer.

Door-to-door scams are on the rise across Ontario, according to current data from Ontario Provincial Police, Canada Anti-Fraud Agency and Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Collingwood was recently listed as one of multiple communities in Ontario dealing with an uptick in door-to-door mortgage refinancing, home renovations and service/equipment contract scams in a report put out by the authority.

Collingwood OPP Const. Trevor McKean has experienced such a door-to-door scam first-hand.

“This actually happened to me. Someone showed up at my door demanding to see a utility bill,” McKean told CollingwoodToday. “They said they were with my utility provider and would help me get a refund. I told them I wasn’t interested and asked them politely to leave.”

“He was trying to pressure me. It wasn’t until I threatened to arrest him that he left,” he said.

McKean said in that specific scam, the scammer will write down utility account numbers and then have services transferred over, which can cause a nightmare for the original account owner.

“They’re not unfamiliar to us. They’ve been going on for as long as I’ve worked here,” said McKean, who has served as an OPP officer for more than 30 years.

Scams in Collingwood are so common that McKean does a regular crime prevention presentation to seniors groups, as he says seniors tend to be the most highly targeted group for scams.

He says if someone comes knocking at the door trying to sell something or asking to see personal documentation, that residents should feel comfortable asking them to leave and if the salesperson doesn’t comply, to contact police.

“These scammers will typically use high-pressure sales (techniques). The scams can take different forms,” he said.

According to the release put out this week by the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario, homeowners in the Greater Toronto Area, Orillia, Peterborough, Brantford, Welland, Collingwood and Kawartha Lakes have been approached by individuals at their doors who are claiming to offer certain home renovations, represent businesses offering assistance to terminate unfair home service/equipment contracts or offer assistance with mortgage refinancing.

“We’re still determining how wide-spread it is, but Collingwood is definitely one of the areas we’ve seen reports of this kind of thing going on,” said Russ Courtney, spokesperson with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario.

“We wanted to get the word out that this is happening and how people can protect themselves,” he said.

According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, in 2021, reported losses across Canada due to fraud have totalled $379 million, an increase from $164 million in losses in 2020. Ontario residents represented $142 million of that amount.

Service scams represented $11.6 million in reported losses in 2021, over $6.6 million in 2020.

The authority encourages consumers to exercise caution if anyone offers you home renovations and/or assistance in getting out of your home service/equipment contract.

If you are contacted by phone or in-person by individuals offering these services, residents should be asking for identity verification, verification that the person works for the company they say they are with. Homeowners should not hand over cash or sign anything and should not provide any personal documents such as bank account information, utility bills or mortgage documents.

Consumers can also check the public registry to ensure they are working with a licensed mortgage broker, agent, brokerage, or administrator.

According to current statistics, OPP estimate only five per cent of victims report their frauds to law enforcement or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

“If you think you’ve been defrauded, reach out and talk to police. If it’s involved a mortgage or mortgage broker, reach out and call us,” said Courtney. “No one wants to feel duped, but by sharing the information and letting the appropriate organizations know what happened, we can get the word out and protect you in the future, or maybe someone else.”


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Jessica Owen

About the Author: Jessica Owen

Jessica Owen is an experienced journalist working for Village Media since 2018, primarily covering Collingwood and education.
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