Edmonton Neighbourhood Watch

“Recognize fraud – Report fraud – Stop fraud”

Read more online at http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca. Find out about common scams, how to recognize a fraud and how to protect yourself. Report fraud online at www.antifraudcentre.ca or by telephone at 1-888-495-8501. Here are a few of the simple tips:

• Be cautious about calls, emails or mailings offering international bonds or lottery tickets, a portion of a foreign dignitary’s bank account, free vacations, or credit repair.
• Don’t be afraid to hang up the phone, delete the email or close your Internet connection.
• Don’t disclose personal information about your finances, bank accounts, credit cards, social insurance or driver’s license numbers to any business that can’t prove it is legitimate.
• Shred unwanted personal information such as bank statements, credit card bills, unwanted receipts, cheques, pre-approved credit applications and old tax returns.

If a scam artist contacts you, or if you’ve been defrauded REPORT IT. Your reports are vital to the anti-fraud efforts of law enforcement agencies.

March is also the start of spring and a great time to get out of the house and to meet your neighbours. Do you know your neighbours? A Block Party is an excellent way for people in a neighbourhood to get to know one another. A significant factor that helps create safer communities is that when neighbours know each other, they look out for each other. And, by knowing who is from your neighbourhood it becomes easier to identify suspicious activities or vehicles.

I know the benefits of a block party from personal experience. I was not involved with Neighbourhood Watch until our neighbourhood had an increase in auto-related crime and a more serious incident occurred on my street. A neighbour living just two doors down had their vehicle broken into, which gave the thieves access to the garage door opener, and thereby access to their HOME… it was a frightening experience for that young family and the neighbourhood. So, four families rallied together and planned a block party. We invited all the neighbours to come. Everyone introduced themselves and spent some time getting to know each other. The best thing that came from it is that now most of our neighbours are comfortable enough with each other to call, text or knock on the door. If someone sees that a neighbour may have “forgotten” something like a garage door left open, or a bike left on the front lawn, they let the neighbour know. And, if a neighbour is going on vacation, someone that lives on the street is willing to keep an eye on their property. The biggest bonus has been that it has created a true sense of community on our street.

Until next time…
Debbie Sellers, ENW