Vulnerable seniors victimized in CERB scam

Elmore said that aside from their SIN, the seniors were also being told to give their bank account numbers, birthdates, and other private information about themselves. (File photo: @coolmilo/Unsplash)

Even in the midst of a pandemic where a lot of people are struggling and are needing help, there are still opportunists who are ready to take advantage of the situation for their own gain.

Vancouver MLA Mable Elmore bared that there is a scheme targeting vulnerable seniors in which they are being convinced to give their social insurance numbers (SIN) to people pretending to help them apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefits (CERB).

“This is alarming news. Someone is taking advantage of vulnerable seniors under the guise of ‘helping them’ and it needs to stop,” Elmore said in a media release.

According to her, these scammers are making the seniors believe that they can get such a benefit from the federal government when in fact, the qualified recipients of the monthly $2,000 CERB are only those Canadian residents who are unable to work due to the COVID-19 crisis. The beneficiaries should be over 15-years-old and have earned at least $5,000 over the past 12 months.

Once they convinced the seniors, the scammers will charge the victims up to $800 each in exchange for supposedly ‘applying’ them for the CERB.

Elmore said that aside from their SIN, the seniors are also being told to give their bank account numbers, birthdates, and other private information about themselves. She said she is concerned that the seniors’ personal information was obtained by the wrong people and might be used to other cases of fraud and identity theft in the future.

In a tweet, Don Davis, MP for Vancouver Kingsway, said it is “unconscionable” that there are still people who are doing such schemes during the COVID-19 crisis.

It is unconscionable that people are taking advantage of seniors during the COVID-19 crisis. This must be stopped.

If you need help accessing federal benefits please contact my office. If you are a victim of fraud please contact the Vancouver Police. https://t.co/ncGZGUrosj

— Don Davies MP (@DonDavies) May 13, 2020

He advised people to contact his office if they need help in accessing Federal benefits, and if they think they are being scammed, he encouraged the public to report to the Vancouver police.

The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) earlier said they received 766 reports of COVID-19-related fraud between March 6 and May 1 this year. Unfortunately, 188 of these attempts succeeded.