By Sam Bennison

Remembrance Day

Poppy scam calls on the rise as Remembrance Day approaches

Oct 19, 2023 | 3:02 PM

PRINCE GEORGE—Royal Canadian Legion Branch 43 received a suspicious phone call this week asking for donations to the Poppy Fund. Vice President of BC/Yukon Command for Royal Canadian Legion Central Zone, John Scott mentioned that the person who called was being very pushy about donations and was not taking no for an answer until they hung up.

Scott says the proper way to donate include the following:

• Through the Poppy Trays that will be at your local stores, starting October 27.
• You can donate to your local legion either directly, or through the mail
• You can also donate online at legion.ca

All donations will go to a poppy fund, which helps veterans get support by providing grants for food, heating costs, clothing, prescription medication, medical appliances and equipment, essential home repairs and emergency shelter or assistance. However, the fund seldom gives direct cash and will not request for donations through a phone call.

“If a scammer contacts you to ask for a donation to a charity, association, federation or religious cause, especially if the scammer uses high-pressure tactics to get you to donate immediately, be aware that the charity may not exist, or the scammer may not actually be associated with it,” notes Cpl. Jen Cooper of the Prince George RCMP, “ask for information in writing before making a donation.”

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“You can also check that the charity is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency at 800-267-2384. Look up a call-back number on the internet to double-check that charity is currently accepting or soliciting donations. Do not use any contact information provided by the scammer to verify their claims, as the call-back numbers provided could also be false.”