Algonquin student loses $450 to travel booking scam
An Algonquin College student lost $450 in a travel scam, and two others nearly fell victim to employment scams.
Sara Aracelly Gomez Jara, a hotel and restaurant operations management student, had been eagerly planning a trip to Vancouver, scouring the internet for the best deals on accommodations.
Her search led her to a travel website offering an unbelievably low-priced package deal for the entire week, including the hotel, for only $450.
The deal supposedly included access to a luxurious hotel property featuring a pool, spa, free drinks and complimentary meals.
“I was so excited for the trip,” Gomez Jara said.
Despite initial doubts, she decided to move forward with the booking and made the $450 payment.
However, Gomez Jara’s excitement quickly turned to dismay when she did not receive any additional information about the promised hotel accommodations.
“I was supposed to receive more information about the room in the hotel, but I received nothing,” she said. “I started to call, but no one replied, and that’s when I realized it was a scam.”
Determined to uncover the truth, Gomez Jara conducted research on the website and discovered that numerous others had fallen victim to the same scheme, with the company stealing their money and providing no services in return.
“I felt really bad because I was saving the money for more than four months, but someone came in less than 10 minutes and stole the money I had set aside,” she said.
“I was almost scammed, but my aunt saved me,” said Jewely Joy, a brand management student.
Jewely Joy, a brand management student from India, nearly became a victim of a job scam. “My aunt saved me,” Joy said.
Like many others, she had turned to popular job-seeking websites in search of employment, at the suggestion of friends.
“I was in need of a job,” she said, “so, I decided to try Indeed as a source to find a reliable job.”
This decision nearly proved costly for Joy. After applying for a job posting on Indeed and providing her resume and contact information, she received a message on WhatsApp from someone who claimed to represent a gaming industry company.
They offered her a work-from-home opportunity. “It seemed professional to me,” Joy said.
The conversation progressed, with discussions about salary and other job details. However, the “employer” then sent Joy a link and asked her to click on it and make a payment.
“When I asked why I should pay, they said that’s the company protocol for a home-based job,” she said.
Joy almost went through with the request. “I was new, I had no idea about the scams happening here,” she said. “I wanted to ask my aunt first because I wasn’t feeling comfortable.”
Fortunately, Joy’s aunt, a professor who has been in Canada for years, intervened. She checked online for the company’s name and asked some friends.
“She told me it was a scam and advised me to block the number and not to click on the link,” Joy said.
Melina Muhetaer, a business accounting student, has been in Canada for two years and has become all too familiar with the persistent scam attempts plaguing the country in recent years.
As an international student from China, Muhetaer has experienced firsthand the alarming prevalence of fraudulent phone calls, messages and online schemes targeting unsuspecting victims.
“I’ve never been scammed before, but I know someone who got scammed,” she said.
Muhetaer’s professor back in Toronto had fallen victim to a scam that cost her $6,000.
“She clicked on a link in a text message, and by the time she realized what had happened, it was too late,” Muhetaer said.
“The police said they couldn’t do anything about it because she didn’t report it until one month later.”
As a result, Muhetaer’s professor has now activated a system on her online banking app that sends her a notification every time she makes a transaction, allowing her to closely monitor her finances and quickly detect any suspicious activity.
Muhetaer said that in her home country, the authorities and the government take a more proactive approach to tackling the scam epidemic, with widespread public awareness campaigns and the development of specialized anti-fraud applications.
Unfortunately, the same level of vigilance and technical solutions does not seem to be in place in Canada, according to Muhetaer. She recounted incidents where scammers pretended to be her family member, leaving her feeling vulnerable and unsure of how to protect herself.
“Someone sent me a link on WhatsApp pretending to be my uncle,” she said. “I was shocked because they knew my uncle’s name.”
Muhetaer’s message to fellow students and the broader Canadian public is clear: be vigilant, stay informed and don’t let scammers take advantage of your trust.
“I don’t understand why these scammers can’t just go and look for a job like normal people,” she said. “Why do they have to ruin others’ lives to earn money?”
Evan Brownrigg, a Mutual Funds Representative at RBC Bank, urges the public to exercise caution and remain vigilant.
Brownrigg emphasizes that RBC Bank has a robust security system in place that can automatically detect any suspicious activity, such as fraudulent electronic cheques.
“You’ll then have to come with your personal identity proof to reopen it,” he said.
Brownrigg also warns of phishing scams, where a sender pretends to be a person or company you trust in order to gain access to your information.
“If you receive an email that looks real but asks for financial or personal information, contact the sender’s public telephone number to verify its authenticity,” he said.
“Always trust your spam filter,” Brownrigg added. “It knows better than you do.”
