'You name it, it's out there': The newest scams impacting Maritimers

Different scams are reported every single day across Canada.

This week alone, two new scams came to the forefront in the Maritimes as the Nova Scotia RCMP has warned about an Amazon scam.

"A victim had received a phone call about suspicious activity on their account, and they were instructed to participate in an undercover investigation by providing money to an undercover RCMP officer," said Cpl. Guillaume Tremblay.

He said police do not collect money from the public for investigations.

"In this case, the suspect vehicle was a New Brunswick licence plate. Oftentimes, these scammers will utilize rental vehicles, so they'll change vehicles often. They may change their appearance as well," said Tremblay.

Tremblay said at this point police have not received any reports of this scam happening to other Nova Scotians.

"However, we do expect similar scams of this nature, and we do see scams like this on a routine basis, whether it's the grandparent scam, whether it's the Revenue Canada scam, whether it's Amazon, Costco, you name it, it's out there," said Tremblay. "Scammers are very crafty. They create that sense of urgency and oftentimes they do prey on vulnerable population."

Guillaume said many businesses are now providing tips to the public to help identify frauds. According to Amazon, red flags to look out for include:

• a false sense of urgency
• asking for personal information
• purchases outside of Amazon
• payment via gift cards
• an unexpected order

"It's important to remember there is no shame in reporting it. A lot of times individuals are reluctant to report it to police. Please do so. It could save someone else from being frauded," said Tremblay.

Another new scam involves someone pretending to be associated with Efficiency Nova Scotia.

"Over the past few weeks, we've received an increase in calls from customers to us, letting us know about calls they're receiving at home with individuals that are misrepresenting themselves as being with Efficiency Nova Scotia or affiliated with us in some way," said Janet Tobin with Efficiency Nova Scotia.

Tobin said staff started to log the calls and were able to verify these were not legitimate calls. In some cases, the callers knew the homeowners' names.

"They're also trying to get information from the homeowner around types of programs they might be interested in. They might be looking to have homeowners sign up for financing for things like heat pumps, and they also might be just vaguely trying to book some sort of same day or next day appointment to come for an efficiency check," said Tobin.

"We won't proactively reach out to folks who haven't applied for programs, and neither will any of our contractors. So, if you're getting calls and you're not already in a program and you haven't filled out an application, that's something to be wary of."

She said within about two weeks, around 50 people have reported receiving these types of calls.

These calls have been reported to RCMP and the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.

There are a number of tips available from the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre to help avoid falling victim to scams and frauds, including:

• don't be afraid to say no
• do your research
• don't give out personal information
• beware of upfront fees
• protect your computer
• protect online accounts

"It doesn't matter whether you're elderly, whether you're young, whether you're middle age, whether you're a woman or man, regardless of where you come from and your age, you can fall victim to it," said Tremblay. "They are very crafty. They are very persuasive. Oftentimes, whether it's a phone call, whether it's an email, it will look very authentic, and it can be very difficult to spot those scams."

Anyone who has fallen victim to a scam or fraud is encouraged to contact their local police detachment as well as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.