Caledon OPP to host Crime Awareness presentation for Seniors 

By Riley Murphy

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With fraud schemes on the rise, members of the Caledon OPP will hold a drop-in presentation for seniors in the community on March 28 regarding crime awareness and information on how to avoid falling victim to fraud schemes.

Jesse Nobleman with Caledon OPP says that, with March 2026 being National Fraud Prevention Month, they thought it would be a great idea to educate local residents on how to stay safe.

“Seniors are most often victimized by instances of fraud, so we felt as though targeting our presentation toward their age demographic would yield the most beneficial results,” says Nobleman.

At the presentation, they will cover some of the most common frauds they see affecting the senior population. Some of these include emergency schemes, phishing, and service fraud, and they will discuss how they work, what to look out for, and how to report them.

Emergency schemes, he explains, involve fraudsters posing as a loved one and using time-sensitive, emotional tactics to get money from their victims.

Phishing includes fraudsters sending a text message or email to their victim posing as a legitimate entity, such as a company claiming a bill is owed, then providing a link to click on and pay what is “owed.”

When it comes to service frauds, fraudsters will call, email, or go door-to-door to sell a product or offer a service at a discounted rate. 

A contract is sometimes provided, where in the fine print, it will indicate more is owed than verbally discussed, or they'll purchase a product that won't ever show up.

Nobleman says regardless of whether you have been victimized by a fraud scheme or caught the fraud before any loss, they encourage reporting the incident.

Steps include gathering any information you can, such as the phone number that called, the nature of the fraud, and any names or contact details they provided. 

Also recommended is blocking the phone number or email address. 

If the incident occurred online, you can report it through the website's built-in reporting feature.  Then, report the incident to your local police service, followed by the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. 

They also suggest that if you gave away any personal details or information about your financial institution, you should call your bank to report the incident and consider notifying credit bureaus to monitor for suspicious activity.

Nobleman says they'll be covering fraud statistics, common types of fraud, how to report fraud, and prevention tips.

Some of these tips include doing research to verify a claim, slowing down and not succumbing to an urgent emotional plea, and saying no to something that doesn't make sense or sounds unreasonable.

“Most importantly, keeping your personal information private!” he says.

The presentation will be held at the Humber River Centre on Saturday, March 28 at 10am.

It is a drop-in event with approximately 40 seats available.

Nobleman says that if a caregiver or family member wishes to attend on behalf of their loved one, they're welcome to attend, however there is a limited seating capacity.

“For those who cannot attend but are a leader of a community group or representative of a retirement community, they are welcome to reach out to the Caledon OPP for arranging to hear this presentation at their group/location,” says Nobleman.