A lack of knowledge and aggressive tactics can leave Canadians and their money vunerable, according to a Lethbridge Police Service officer.

Last week, the Better Business Bureau released their annual list of the top 10 scams affecting Canadians.

Romance scams topped the list, followed by income tax scams and scams surrounding online purchases.

In total, scams cost Canadians over $121 million in 2018.

One of the most common scams in southern Alberta in recent years is scammers impersonating the Canada Revenue Agency.

“It was quite unnerving,” said Carmen Toth, who received a call from scammers impersonating the CRA three years ago. “I was calm at first, so they started to get more aggressive.”

Toth said she played along with the scammers until she knew for sure that it was a hoax.

“They wanted me to deposit $2,500 at the Mac’s store in Fort MacLeod… you don’t take income tax payments to a Mac’s store.”

Although Toth didn’t fall for the scam, she said she understands how others could get sucked in to the ploy.

“If they can get you excited, you could start doing things you wouldn’t normally do,” she remarked.

Toth’s biggest advice to anyone who may be at risk of a scam: think critically and stay calm.

“If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t.”

Scammers target their victims at random, which means anyone could be at risk of receiving the same phone call as Toth.

“We do see seniors and new Canadians as our most vulnerable groups, but even young, tech-savvy people fall for it too,” said Sgt. Paolo Magliocco, Economic Crimes Unit officer at the Lethbridge Police Service.

Magliocco added a scam’s success lies more in the skills of the artist, rather than the victim.

Most scams are one-size-fits-all; however, groups such as seniors find themselves victims of targeted attacks.

“The ‘grandparents’ scam (is common),” explained Magliocco. “Scammers impersonate grandchildren of the victims, telling them they were in a car accident or other event and need money.”

Magliocco added, scammers are almost always located outside of Canada.

“The majority of these scams are coming out of third-world countries that Canada doesn’t have a good political relationship with. It creates an almost-impossible task for Canadian authorities to go after these people.”

Though police services across Canada do their best to inform the public of potential scams, they may still return in a few years after fading away.

“The Nigerian prince one is one that has been recycled,” said Magliocco. “We think we’ve done a pretty good job of informing the public about that one, but it may come back in two or three years.”

At the end of the day, Toth agrees with Magliocco that being informed is the best way to defend yourself against potential scams.

“I knew right away that the CRA does all of their correspondence by mail, not over the phone. There are people that are more trusting… scammers can get them excited and reel them in.”