Thousands of Canadians fall victim to fraud every year. This is Fraud Prevention Month and the RCMP wants everyone to take time to further educate themselves on how to recognize different types of fraud, learn how to report it, and share this information with your family and friends.

As the Internet becomes the connection to everything, the speed and sophistication of different forms of online fraud continues to grow, particularly with on line banking. Scams are not uncommon in the Oceanside area and the final tip sheet of the week will help you recognize on line fraud and protect yourself from it.

The fifth in this year's series of Crime Prevention Week tips involves credit card fraud. The tip sheet examines forced authorization, skimming and card not present frauds. Businesses that accept credit cards may find the countermeasures provided to be of some assistance in avoiding being scammed by the unscrupulous.

The Community Safety offices receive many inquiries about fraud and scams in the Community. We asked the Oceanside RCMP for a few simple tips to avoid victimization. As prevention is the best way to combat fraud and identity theft, consider adopting the following prevention tips to avoid victimization: