Seniors at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert traded stories, asked detailed questions and picked up practical advice Friday morning as a community event on fraud prevention and online safety drew a highly engaged crowd.
Hosted by Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback, the event paired a pancake breakfast with presentations from Tracy Lysyk, director of operational risk at Affinity Credit Union, and Constable Dean Smith of the Prince Albert Police Service. Their message was simple but repeated often throughout the morning: slow down, watch for warning signs and do not let panic make decisions for you.
Lysyk told the audience that while the forms of fraud keep changing, the red flags often stay the same.
“Awareness, red flags, looking for red flags, fraudsters are always three steps ahead,” Lysyk said after the session. “Take a step back and think about the ‘why’ behind the transaction or the request.”
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Tracy Lysyk, director of operational risk at Affinity Credit Union, speaks about fraud prevention and online scam awareness during Friday’s event at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert.
During her presentation, Lysyk warned people to be cautious when asked unexpectedly for personal information such as social insurance numbers, bank account details, and credit card information. She said pressure and urgency are often major clues that something is wrong.
“Just be careful. Be on the lookout for red flags. Don’t let anybody pressure you into sending money quickly. Take a step back. Talk to friends and family. Do not be pressured. And just look out for the warning signs and the red flags,” she said.
She also pointed to the risk of sponsored search results and copied websites, warning that people may believe they are clicking on one business but end up somewhere else. She said that kind of confusion matters and advised people to bookmark legitimate websites and return to them directly instead of relying on search results. In Prince Albert, a recent misunderstanding involving flower shops showed how customers can be redirected to a different business through sponsored listings.
Dean Smith, stepping in as the second presenter, said the police is seeing scams that rely on fear, confusion and emotion. He told the crowd that fruadsters are skilled at making situations sound urgent, whether the scam involves taxes, a relative in trouble or a fake business request.
“Take the extra time to research, validate, verify the person, the business, or the companies that are contacting you,” Smith said.
He said Prince Albert has recently been struck by the so-called grandparent scam, where callers claim a grandson or granddaughter has been arrested or urgently needs money. In some cases, he said, people have lost thousands of dollars.
What gave the session its strongest local feel was the back and forth with the audience. Attendees asked about door-to-door sales, open Wi-Fi at airports and coffee shops, password storage, charity solicitations, QR codes, e-transfers, Facebook Marketplace deals, and mail theft from community mailboxes. The discussion often moved beyond general advice into real situations people had either faced themselves or heard about through friends and family.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
An attendee raises a hand during the question and answer portion of Friday’s seniors online safety event at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert.Submitted Photo
One audience suggestion that stood out was the idea of a family password, a word relatives could use to confirm a real emergency and avoid being fooled by a fake call of an AI-generated voice. Lysyk said that idea stayed with her after the event.
“That family password one was a great one. I hadn’t heard that before,” she said.
Hoback, who hosted the event, said the crowd response showed how real the issue has become for many older residents.
“Talking to people as they leave, it seems like it’s gone over very well. They’re enlightened. They’ve given some examples of different types of schemes and scams that are out there, and more importantly, we got them talking about the issue,” he said.
Arjun Pillai/Daily Herald
Prince Albert MP Randy Hoback (left) poses for a photo with Event Organizer collecting donations Marie Mathers (centre) and Salvation Army Major Ed Dean (right) after Friday’s pancake breakfast and seniors online safety event at the Royal Canadian Legion in Prince Albert.
The morning also served as a fundraiser for the Salvation Army, with donations accepted during the breakfast, while Legion volunteers helped host the event. Hoback said that community support remained an important part of the gathering as much as the educational message itself.
“These are all volunteers. They’re up at 5:30 here this morning, you know, dealing with the snow still and they come out and they give back to this community,” Hoback said.
A total of $1189.50 was raised for the Salvation Army through the fundraiser. Major Ed Dean said, “Thank you to the Royal Canadian Legion for preparing the wonderful meal, thank you to Randy Hoback and team for considering to do this event.”
