‘Vultures’ preying on evacuees, Métis leader says

The Manitoba Métis Federation has warned evacuees about a scam that asks for their personal information.

It’s related to a fake social media post that claims to be from Manitoba Metis Federation president David Chartrand.

Chartrand said the federation has been forced to send out thousands of messages explaining that the post isn’t from him. It uses a photograph of him that’s been copied from the MMF website, to make it look legitimate.

“This has really upset us,” he said on Wednesday.

“Now these vultures are coming out and they are entering this world of hardship and disaster to take advantage of people.”

More than 21,000 Manitobans have been evacuated from wildfire hot spots across the province. Scammers are taking advantage of the circumstances to try to victimize people at their most vulnerable time, whether it’s through social media, emails or text messages.

Numerous evacuees, even ones who were sent as far away as Niagara Falls, Ont., because of the shortage of hotel rooms here, were posting images of the text messages they had received from scammers who claimed to be from the Canadian Red Cross. They were asked to provide banking information so they could get financial help.

Red Cross spokeswoman Heather Hogan said the organization would never ask for personal information via text. During registration, evacuees weren’t asked to give their social insurance number, bank account information, a credit card number, or even pay money in return for assistance.

“Unfortunately, there are some people who may try to take advantage of those impacted by a disaster through fraudulent tactics,” Hogan said. “The Canadian Red Cross communicates only via email, phone, or in person and would never send a link through a text message.

“The Red Cross wants everyone to be cautious of unsolicited requests for payment and confirm any details through official channels.”

Hogan encouraged anyone who has been scammed to contact local police.

Another scam, reported by the CBC, said a fake website claimed a clothing warehouse in Flin Flon had been destroyed by wildfire. It asked donors to buy the remaining stock by sending money to the owner, a single mother. No such warehouse exists. On Wednesday, both the website and its Facebook account had been deleted.

Terry Dojcak, 67, one of thousands of displaced Flin Flon residents, said he has already received several scam emails on his phone, asking for banking and personal information, which he immediately deleted without responding.

Dojcak said it was “disgusting” that people are trying to take advantage of evacuees.

“(They should be) hung out to dry somewhere,” he said.

A spokesman for the RCMP said no one has reported being scammed.

Chartrand said despite the federation’s attempts to expose the social media scam using his photo, he is still worried people could fall victim to a fraudster.

“A lot of people could be hurt financially and it could cause hurt to our government and our people,” he said.

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“I’m very worried some elders may get scammed. The Red Cross is so far behind — there’s some 21,000 people — and they are doing direct deposit. That’s what the scammers are seeking.”

Stephanie Meilleur, director of the federation’s community resource department, called the scammers “despicable.”

“It is horrendous that they have targeted some vulnerable senors and elders,” Meilleur said. “These people are in dire need of these supports and the scammers are trying to trick people.”

— with files from Massimo De Luca-Taronno

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Kevin Rollason
Reporter

Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the Winnipeg Sun until 1988, when he joined the Free Press. He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. Read more about Kevin.

Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.