GRASSLAND — Albertans lost over $62.5 million to fraud and scams in 2023, and the dollars lost have been increasing year over year for the last decade, according to data from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
Investigative reporter turned peace officer turned freelance fraud consultant Julie Matthews has become an expert on the subject over the last 20 years, is now taking her experience and knowledge on the road to communities across Alberta.
Residents of Grassland and beyond will have the chance to listen to and speak with Matthews when she makes a stop in the hamlet Oct. 24 for an information seminar on fraud prevention and scam awareness.
“I started doing this this summer, reaching out to different communities and I’ve found there’s just such a need, especially in rural Alberta, for in-person presentations,” said Matthews.
“A lot of agencies are willing to do virtual, but for seniors and honestly for a lot of people, virtual just isn’t as interactive, it’s not as engaging, and it can be not as effective.”
840 CFCW listeners may be familiar with Matthews from her weekly Thursday “Scam Alert” show. Now that she’s taken her show on the road, Matthews said communities from all across the province and even further have reached out for her expertise.
“Education really is our best weapon to try and make an impact. If we can educate as many people as possible and then they tell a friend or they tell their family members, then hopefully we can keep more people from being victimized.”
A wealth of experience
Matthews spent 10 years as Global Edmonton’s Trouble Shooter, hunting down answers for a range of consumer issues and complaints from fraudulent moving companies to romance scams and unlicensed home inspectors.
“I grew up watching the Trouble Shooter, and I thought to myself, ‘I can’t be that kind of pit bull, sticking the microphone in people’s face and chasing down the bad guy,’ but it changed who I am,” said Matthews.
Inundated with up to 100 calls and emails every day about a litany of fraud and scam complaints, she traded her mic for a badge and began working as a peace officer for the provincial government’s Consumer Investigations Unit.
During her decade in enforcement, Matthews remained many Albertans’ go-to source for fraud and scam recourse and expertise. The requests tugged at her to return to her roots as an investigative reporter, albeit in a different context.
“I still had so many people reach out to me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, wanting advice,” she said. “There just wasn’t anywhere else for them to turn, or that’s how they felt.
“I was getting lots and lots of requests to speak, and over time, I realized that’s what I’m really passionate about and where I feel I can make the most difference.”
This year was Matthew’s first as a freelance fraud consultant, but it’s been a busy one. And in her presentations given to communities ranging from Grassland to Camrose, Edmonton, and Blue Ridge — 82 kilometres west of Barrhead —, Matthews shares stories, misconceptions, and red flags of fraud to be on the lookout for.
One common untruth about scams is seniors are the most at-risk demographic. While seniors are vulnerable to fraud and phishing, Matthews said the research points in another direction.
“A lot of studies and statistics are now showing that it’s actually younger people, that 18 to 35 age group that are actually falling for scams more often than seniors now,” said Matthews. “That age group is online more than seniors are and often on multiple devices.”
Another stereotype is the role of intelligence in falling victim to fraud.
“I’ve talked to police officers that have fallen for some of these scams, I’ve talked to CEO’s, I’ve talked to people who basically do this for a living, and they can fall for it, too,” said Matthews. “There’s a scam out there for everybody.”
With the approach of the holiday season, Matthews said parcel fraud attempts will be on the rise again and warns everyone to be on the lookout for new and evolving scams like fake QR codes, fake texts from your bank, and phishing emails posed to look like Netflix or Amazon communication.
“A common denominator everyone needs to understand is these people are online predators or phone predators. They know exactly what to do; this is their full-time job — to rip us off.”
Matthew’s seminar will begin at 7 p.m. at the Grassland Hall Oct. 24. Admission for the event is free, and Matthews said anyone with a story to share is welcome to speak to her one-on-one after the presentation.
