How to tell what’s fake and what’s real

Bridgwater Forest

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/09/2023 (778 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Fake news, fake Facebook profiles, fake callers, fake emails… It used to be that the only ‘fake’ you needed to watch for was counterfeit money. That is no longer the case and the question is, ‘how does one determine what is real, who is real, and even, what is the truth?’

Well, the good news is that there is truth in the expression, ‘knowledge is power” so with that in mind, here are a few resources that you can leverage to gain the knowledge and hopefully avoid falling in to the fake traps and scams.

First, when it comes to the news itself, spotfakenews.ca by News Media Canada, is a good place to start. It offers a number of tips to help you sort through everything that professes to be news beginning with asking yourself the following questions:

• Is this a credible source?

• Is the perspective biased?

• Are other sources reporting the same story?

• Is the story timely?

You know that there are a lot of scams out there when the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre sorts them alphabetically and sadly, the list is not exhaustive. Fraudsters will come at you by phone, by email and maybe even by knocking on your front door. Sadly, we regularly hear of those who have fallen victim.

One that comes to mind that I see regularly are the air duct scams. These pop up on Facebook and come through fake profiles. The profile is created to appear as a local resident — but don’t be fooled.

I manage a group for local residents called Bridgwater Neighbours Virtual Watch. Being a resident and agreeing to group rules (no advertising, for example) are prerequisites to joining.

The fakes agree, their request to join is approved and then, within a very short period, often hours, they are posting deals about air duct cleaning – no company name, no contact information. They are then flagged and deleted but the cycle repeats, over and over again, with new profiles.

Time spent on antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca to learn more about such scams and how to protect yourself, would be time well spent. It is managed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Competition Bureau Canada and the Ontario Provincial Police.

As for our paper (now polymer) money, today’s security features have greatly improved but it never hurts to remain vigilent. To find out more, visit bankofcanada.ca