Canada

How far will someone go to make money?

Quite far it appears. A grow-op south of Calgary was discovered after bears were found roaming the property.

Pot growers using bears as protection: police
The Canadian Press - August 18, 2010 9:28 AM ET
"[The officer] said it appears the alleged growers either liked having the animals around, or were using the bears to protect their grow operations."

During their search, the officers also stumbled across a roaming pot-bellied pig and a raccoon napping in one of the bedrooms.

"The pig was a little frantic at the sight of police, but the raccoon was pretty laid back about the bust and took it all in stride," said Moskaluk.

An illegal marijuana grow-operation can bring in hefty profits causing the operators to go to extensive measures to protect their crop. Common measures include:

• booby traps around the property meant to keep neighbours away or hurt police should they try to enter (For a humourous depiction of something that is typically quite serious, check out Bon Cop, Bad Cop),
• planting the crop on someone else's property so as to avoid suspicion; this includes rumors of some sports players tending plants close to the playing field and picking them up for sale once they are fully grown
• running other operations from the property simultaneously: anything from renting the property out to running a dog fighting ring on the property.

The best deterrence in your own neighbourhood is to know your neighbours. Common signs of a marijuana grow operation include:

• People home for short periods of time, often accessing the home via the garage
• Condensation forming on the inside of windows and/or a skunk-like odour emanating from the property
• Odd garbage (ie: predominantly soil pots, and fertilizer containers, electrical wire)
• Rental buildings often used and/or electrical bypass

The outfits in the adjacent photo are those worn by the inspectors and officers visiting the property after a bust. The levels of pathogens in the home are so high, that the every seem in their suits must be taped.

For further information on grow ops, how they affect rental properties and what to look for, check out the RCMP's information sheet.

Technorati Tags: Canada Law Enforcement

Well, here we are in 2010 and look at all the interesting things going on.

Of course, when it seems like so many things are happening at once, whether the headlines scream of natural disasters, fiscal policy changes or credit card reform, such chaos can make way for opportunistic fraud.

To stay on top of the trends and for split second Canadian and International FraudInfo, stay tuned to FraudBlog on twitter with daily tweets.

Happy Investigating!

Technorati Tags: Canada Credit Card Fraud Fraud Prevention

To all you naysayers out there that hate the thought of being watched by security cameras (hey, they're not watching you.... they're watching the shoplifters!), check out the video below of someone on their way to the gym in Thornhill.

As Torontoist so delicately put it: "It is actually possible to drive guiltily. Somewhere between R, D, and N on that SUV's gearshift is a little notch marked: "OH SHI-."

This video is hilarious (no one was hurt) and draws attention to how useful CCTV footage can be in a criminal or fraud investigation.

Of course, we haven't yet mastered the CSI method depicted below. (read images L->R)

Props to Le Freak for the hilarious CSI link. You know my frustrations too well!

Technorati Tags: Canada Fraud Prevention Law Enforcement TV