NOVA Scotia anti-fraud expert reflect on how hard it is to get your money back once you’ve been scammed.
In the last five years, $1.3 million out of $14.3 million in restitution orders have been paid in Nova Scotia, according to data from The Provincial Department of Justice.
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Restitution orders were issued so an offender is required to pay their victim for any financial losses suffered because of their crime.
The orders are part of an offender’s sentence and can be stand-alone or part of a probation order or conditional sentence, according to The Department of Justice Canada.
“I genuinely don’t see a lot of people who have been successful in getting their cases taken seriously by the courts from a criminal perspective,” Vanessa Iafolla, principal at Halifax-based Anti-Fraud Intelligence Consulting, told CBC/Radio-Canada.
“The statistics are pretty damning with respect to the effectiveness of restitution orders, and not just in Nova Scotia, but across the country.”
Iafolla expressed that a restitution order was more likely to be paid if it was tied to another order, such as probation.
However, since the orders are paid directly to the victim and not the state, the victim must secure the payment on their own.
Iafolla said that those with financial resources are more likely to get restitution orders paid, but a majority of victims are unlikely to ever see their money again.
“If you can buy your justice, you’re good to go. But if you can’t, good luck.”
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police has been working on helping the public spot possible financial scams.
Joyce, a member of the force’s financial crime unit, said that fraud cases have been on the rise, with $3 million lost in the province of Nova Scotia alone in 2022, reported CBC/Radio-Canada.
He said that some red flags include unsolicited contact, extreme urgency, and requests for upfront payments.
“As far as getting conviction, charges and putting people in jail as police, we’ve been doing a terrible job,” Joyce said.
NOVA SCOTIA’S RESTITUTION PROCESS
Each Canadian province is responsible for its restitution procedure.
Nova Scotia’s Victim Services Restitution Program requires victims to apply by completing a Request for Restitution form which documents losses and expenses caused by the crime, according to the Department of Justice Canada.
A coordinator of the program helps victims seek civil enforcement by following five steps:
- Gather information about the offender, including full name, address, and names of bank and lawyer
- File the restitution order as a judgment with the Nova Scotia Supreme Court; the victim has to have a certified copy of the restitution order, then file it at the Administrative Office of the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
- Complete and submit the Certificate of Judgement and Executive Order forms and submitted to the Administrative Office
- File the Certificate of Judgement at a local Land Registry Office, which will register it in the Personal Property Registry and the Judgement Roll
- Once all the filings are complete, an executive order authorizes a sheriff to seize the personal property of offenders i.e. money and vehicles.
VANISHING MONEY WORLDWIDE
Canada is not the only country that struggles with money scams.
The US Sun previously reported on a Chase Bank customer who allegedly lost $11,000 from her account after a call with who she thought was a bank representative.
Courtney Black first received a text message asking if she authorized a wire transfer, to which she replied “No”, but she received a phone call two minutes later, according to ABC News.
“He told me you need to enter this account number because that’s the account it was going to,” Black said.
Black said that the caller knew her date of birth, the last four digits of her social security number, her bank account number, and her balance.
She claimed that all the money then disappeared from her account but the caller promised it was part of the “wire reversal” process and she would get it back.
Black soon realized she had been scammed out of her money and called her bank directly to question the interaction.
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