I think I have been scammed
Province or territory

Who to call in Alberta

The offices to call in Alberta, on top of the national numbers on Who to call in Canada.

If someone could borrow in your name

Alberta has no credit freeze

Only Quebec and Ontario residents can freeze a credit file. Here, you can place a fraud alert instead. It asks a lender to check it is you before giving credit.

Call Equifax on 1-800-465-7166 and TransUnion on 1-800-663-9980. Each places its own alert, and neither tells the other.

a credit freeze a block that stops a credit bureau sharing your file with a new lender

Ontario and Quebec law let you ask Equifax and TransUnion not to give your file to a lender who would open new credit. Neither bureau charges for it, and each has to be asked separately. Equifax calls it Credit Lock. Everywhere else, the option is a fraud alert instead.

a fraud alert a note on the credit file asking a lender to check who they are talking to

It asks; it does not stop anything on its own. A lender is meant to make contact and confirm identity before approving credit in your name. Each bureau keeps its own file, so one placed at one does nothing at the other. A bureau may charge for placing one.

If the money went into an investment

The Alberta Securities Commission

1-877-355-4488, toll free, or 403-355-4151 direct, Monday to Friday 8:00am to 5:00pm. Enforcement complaints go to 403-355-3888, and there is a confidential whistleblower line on 1-833-295-4387.

Before any money moves, check that the person or firm selling the investment is registered. If an investment has already gone wrong, report it to the Commission.

To talk to someone at any hour

The Family Violence Info Line

310-1818. No area code, from anywhere in Alberta. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, in more than 170 languages. It takes a text message as well as a call.

Alberta describes family violence as harmful or controlling behaviour in a family. A relative controlling someone’s money may fit that, so ask when you call.

When to use it. Late at night, or when you want someone to talk to before you report anything.

If the person is in a hospital, lodge or continuing care home, or gets home care the province pays for

Protection for Persons in Care

1-888-357-9339, weekdays from 8:15am until 4:30pm.

Call it to report abuse of someone getting that care. It does not cover a person living at home whose care the province does not pay for.

When somebody cannot decide any more

The Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee

There is no single toll-free number. Call the office nearest the person you are worried about.

Every office is open Monday to Friday, 8:15am to noon and 1:00pm to 4:30pm, and closed on statutory holidays.

What it is not. Guardianship and trusteeship are court findings about capacity. The office is not a fraud line, and does not handle a family disagreement about a decision somebody made.