News
In Canada, Complex Fraud Schemes Are Targeting Homeowners
CANADA: Early this year, Toronto police announced they needed the public’s assistance in apprehending two people involved in a complex fraud scheme.
According to police, the individuals used forged identities to pose as city homeowners. They then sold the house and handed the keys to the unwitting new owners.
Meanwhile, the true house owners had been out of the country on business since January 2022.
After noticing their mortgage payments had vanished from their bank accounts, the out-of-town couple discovered their home had been sold without their knowledge.
The incident piqued the interest of many Canadians, particularly in the Greater Toronto Area and Vancouver, where real estate is considered a national obsession due to its high cost – the average home costs more than C$1m ($749,000; £620,000) – and scarcity of housing.
Similar stories from other Toronto property owners have since emerged, and investigators say these previously uncommon cases of property title fraud appear to be on the rise.
Housing Prices Have Increased In Canada
These types of cases are “definitely unique to this point in time,” according to Trevor Koot, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Association and a nearly 20-year industry veteran.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said, referring to the level of sophistication used to carry out these crimes.
What exactly is title fraud? How much has it increased in Canada?
Mortgage and title fraud are two common schemes involving home or property ownership.
According to Brian King of King Advisory International Group, a Toronto-based firm investigating white-collar crime, mortgage fraud is more common.
It is committed when a fraudster uses forged identification documents to obtain a second mortgage on a home they do not own, usually after the first mortgage has been paid off in full or nearly so.
Title fraud, on the other hand, involves tenants posing as the owner of a vacant home in Canada and selling it to serious buyers. This results in the property’s total title transfer.
If the home has title insurance, the real owner and buyer can usually get most of their money back. The insurance covers legal fees incurred during the process and aids in re-establishing ownership.
Mr. King stated that he had seen increased mortgage and title fraud frequency since 2020.
He said his firm had seen a “rash” of title fraud in recent years. In almost all cases, the homeowners lived elsewhere when fraudsters took over their property, in places such as the United States and China and Canada.
Title Fraud Is Rampant In Vancouver And Toronto
One of his clients, Mr. King said, was a couple who moved for work to the UK from Toronto canada in 2018. Their Canadian home was then sold from beneath them in 2022.
It was sold for C$1.7 million and had been completely renovated when they discovered it had been stolen last June. As of February, the couple was still canada working on getting their home’s title restored.
Between the 1960s and 2019, Chicago Title Insurance Company’s Canada branch saw only two cases of fraud – mortgage and title – according to John Rider, vice president.
They are currently dealing with dozens of cases, including at least five cases of title fraud, all in the Greater Toronto Area, which includes the city and surrounding municipalities.
Similar cases of title fraud have emerged in the province of British Columbia, which is home to Vancouver, where the average home costs C$1.1 million, albeit less frequently.
The BC Land Title and Survey Authority (LTSA) reported two attempts at title fraud since 2020, only one successful. The public corporation added that it is only aware of one previous case in 2019 and two in 2008 and 2009.
It maintains that these fraud cases are extremely rare, even though the LTSA processes up to one million land title applications annually.
The Same Things Are Happening All Over The World
A similar case made headlines in the UK in 2021 when a man in Luton returned home to discover that the house and its contents had been sold without his knowledge.
On the other hand, property fraud cases in the UK appear to be on the rise. The UK Land Registry data provided to the BBC show an average of 41 reported mortgage and title fraud cases over the last four years. Cases peaked at 50 in 2016-2017.
Why are there more reports of title fraud?
Experts are baffled as to why there has been such an increase in reported cases, particularly in Toronto.
Mr. King believes that virtual real estate transactions during the pandemic may have made it more difficult to detect fake identification documents. He also mentioned that the pandemic in canada had forced some people to stay away from their homes for longer due to travel restrictions.
Others have noted the increasing sophistication of the perpetrators, some of whom have been linked to organized crime and appear to understand the Canadian real estate system well.
According to Mr. Rider, the fraudulent IDs used in these transactions frequently appear authentic, and perpetrators will hire skilled actors to pose as homeowners and carry out the scheme.
“IDs are so easily faked now that they can’t be relied on to close a C$3 million transaction,” Mr. Rider said.
There is also the financial aspect of these crimes. Real estate in Toronto has appreciated significantly over the last few decades, with the average home costing C$198,150 in 1996. It was C$1.18m last year.
“It makes sense that there is a lot of emphases on where real estate is really valuable,” said Ron Usher, general counsel for the Society of Notaries Public in British Columbia canada.
There is no escaping the fact that we live in a time when everything changes.
“These are not easy crimes to commit and are frequently caught and stopped.”
He and others have called for a national investigation to determine the underlying causes and whether more can be done to protect Canadian homeowners.
SOURCE – (BBC)
News
Trudeau Rocks to Taylor Swift While Montreal Burns
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come under fire yet again after a video surfaced on X, showing him dancing at a Taylor Swift performance while anti-Nato protestors ransacked downtown Montreal.
Trudeau attended Taylor Swift’s concert in Toronto on Friday night. Before Taylor Swift approached the stage, X shared a viral video of him dancing and singing along to the song “You Don’t Own Me.”
The image of Trudeau dancing amid violent protests in Montreal generated widespread indignation online. Some social media users even compared Trudeau to the ancient Roman dictator Nero, known for “fiddling while Rome burned.”
Don Stewart, a Member of Parliament (MP) representing part of Toronto, called out the prime minister in a post on X.
Lawless protestors run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest.
The Prime Minister dances.
This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.
Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved. pic.twitter.com/PVJvR6gtmf
— Don Stewart (@donstewartmp) November 23, 2024
“Lawless protesters run roughshod over Montreal in violent protest. The Prime Minister dances,” Stewart wrote. “This is the Canada built by the Liberal government.”
“Bring back law and order, safe streets and communities in the Canada we once knew and loved,” the MP added.
On Saturday, the day after Taylor Swift’s concert, Trudeau condemned the anti-NATO protests, calling them “appalling.”
Anti-NATO activists set off smoke bombs and marched through Montreal’s streets waving Palestinian flags. According to the Montreal Gazette, rioters set fire to automobiles and battled with police.
Pro-Palestinian protests
Protesters also tossed tiny explosives and metal objects at officers. At one point, the mob torched an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Police used tear gas and batons to disperse the gathering, and three persons were arrested for attacking officers and impeding police operations.
Masked protesters were seen burning flares and bashing storefront windows in videos and photographs shared on social media. Pro-Palestinian protests have been taking place across Canada since the Israel-Gaza conflict began late last year.
Critics have lambasted Trudeau for doing nothing to stop the violent pro-Palestinian marches, with some claiming he has fueled anti-Israel sentiment in Canada.
On Friday, Trudeau stated that Canada would respect the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued an arrest warrant for Mr Netanyahu, even if it meant arresting the Israeli prime leader on Canadian soil.
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News
Calgary Zoo Admits Human Error in Death of Baby Gorilla
The Calgary Zoo has admitted in a public statement that a zookeeper’s negligence caused the death of a 2-year-old baby gorilla. Eyare, a newborn gorilla, died last week after being slammed in the head by a hydraulic door.
The accident occurred when a zoo worker attempted to separate Eyare from the rest of the gorilla tribe for a solitary training session.
The gorilla died from significant head injuries, according to the zoo’s statement.
“This tragedy has struck us all in the deepest way imaginable,” Colleen Baird, director of animal care at the Calgary Zoo, said during a news conference. “Eyare’s brief but meaningful existence gave so much joy to our community, and all will sorely miss her. We will do everything possible to prevent repeat accidents.”
According to Baird, the staff member involved was immediately removed from the workplace and will be reassigned to another area of the zoo. The Calgary Zoo stated that it would take preventive steps, such as specialist personnel training and animal behavioral training, to avoid a similar incident.
Calgary Zoo Questioned
It is not the first time an animal at the zoo has died from negligence at the Calgary Zoo. A capybara was accidentally crushed by a hydraulic door similar to the one that killed Eyare in 2019.
An otter died in 2016 after being entangled in an “unauthorized” pair of jeans that a zookeeper had dropped in its enclosure. In 2013, a penguin died in “a freak accident” after swallowing a stick.
Animal Justice, a Canadian group that promotes animal welfare, has called for an independent investigation of animal safety and oversight at the Alberta facility.
“The Calgary Zoo appears to have a higher rate of animal deaths compared to other zoos, and in light of Eyare’s death there should be a systematic review of the zoo’s operations and practices, conducted transparently by the government or another outside party,” according to Camille Labchuk, the executive director of Animal Justice.
The Calgary Zoo refuted that it has more animal deaths than other zoos, emphasizing that it adheres to operating requirements and has maintained accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ independent Accreditation Commission since 1978.
“We love and care for more than 4,000 animals representing over 100 species that call our zoo home,” stated a Calgary Zoo representative.
“Human error-related deaths in animals are quite infrequent. We have lost two animals in the last ten years: a North American river otter in 2016 and ‘Eyare’ this week.
While rare, even one human-caused death is too many. These unfortunate instances have served as vital learning experiences, prompting us to examine and tighten protocols to provide the greatest level of care.”
Baird said at the news conference that using hydraulic doors is “common practice with accredited zoos,” adding that the facility will consider switching to alternate doors to improve safety.
The Calgary Zoo, which established the Wilder Institute in 2021, caters to nearly 4,000 creatures, including six more western lowland gorillas.
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News
Canada’s Lotto Max Jackpot Climbs to $80M
Lotto Max in Canada has reached $80 million for only the second time in Canadian lottery history. Friday’s draw sought a winner for a $75 million pool, but the top reward remained unclaimed as of Saturday, increasing the jackpot.
Only once did the jackpot reach $80 million in September, when it broke the previous record. Before that, the prize was $75 million, a record.
The Lotto Max prize maximum was boosted earlier this year, enabling for jackpots of more than $70 million. The cap is now at $80 million.
While a greater fee may encourage more people to play, the odds of winning the lottery remain extremely low.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, the odds for a $5 ticket are around one in 33,294,800.
While there was no jackpot winner in Friday’s draw, someone did match six of the seven winning numbers, plus a bonus, earning them a payout of more than $320,000.
Lotto Max History
Lotto Max is one of three national lottery games in Canada, overseen by the Interprovincial Lottery Corporation. The game was introduced on September 19, 2009, and its inaugural draw occurred on September 25, 2009. It replaced Lotto Super 7.
The odds of winning the Lotto Max are 1 in 33,294,800. This is correct to a point but misleading.
Let’s have a look at the rules:
- Players choose 7 numbers out of 50
- Numbers cannot be repeated
- Numbers are automatically sorted into ascending order
- Each play buys 3 lines
- Each play costs $5
Seeing that players choose 7 out of 50 non-repeating numbers, the equation for the total number of possible combinations (this is different from permutations where the order in which the numbers appear is significant) when playing the Lotto Max is 50! / (7! x 43!)
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