Scammers Tried to Steal This BC Mayor’s Wildfire Relief Money

The smoke and fire is long gone, but the wildfire disaster that evacuated Williams Lake, BC this summer is still causing a great deal of pain and suffering. Dozens of homes need rebuilding, the local logging industry has been set back years, and now the Red Cross relief effort has been slowed by scammers claiming to live at Williams Lake addresses.

We now know that 2017 was British Columbia’s worst-ever fire season, with over a million hectares of land destroyed across the province. The previous record was set back in 1958, with 855,968 hectares burned. More than 24,000 people were evacuated from Williams Lake and its surrounding area during a central interior fire in July.

Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb confirmed last week that someone made a false claim to the Red Cross using his home address. He told VICE the only reason he found out about the scam was because he called in about a late payment.

Residents who were affected by the evacuation were eligible for $600 per household, and another $300 after returning home. Cobb says the Red Cross advised residents to check in if payment took longer than two weeks to arrive. He told VICE he filed his own claim in August and was still left waiting by the end of September.

“I didn’t call right away, I knew lots of people needed it worse than I did,” Mayor Cobb told VICE. “I told them I haven’t received anything, and they took my name and address. They said, ‘We have a problem—there’s more than one person at your address who has applied for the funding.’”

Cobb says he was surprised to learn that payments were being distributed through online transfer. “I said, I guess that’s your first mistake.”

The mayor is reportedly one of many Williams Lake area residents whose addresses were fraudulently used to claim relief money. One resident told Global News 20 separate claims had used his address to access wildfire benefits. He suggested the scammers may have found his address in an online posting advertising that his house was for sale.

Red Cross confirmed via emailed statement to VICE that an investigation into fraud allegations is ongoing. A spokesperson said measures were in place to “mitigate any cases where individuals may attempt to take advantage.” Red Cross have not released any information about how much relief money, if any, was taken by scammers.

“The Red Cross trusts Canadians and we are committed to helping individuals and families who have properly identified themselves as being impacted by the wildfires,” reads part of the statement. “Canadian Red Cross investigates specific incidents and report them to public authorities where appropriate.”

Williams Lake RCMP Investigator Jeff Pelley told VICE his office had so far received zero complaints about the wildfire relief fraud.

Williams Lake is only beginning to assess the overall cost of this year’s wildfire disaster. Mayor Cobb says the loss of business could end up totalling in the hundreds of millions. At this rate, the cleanup effort will still be ongoing by the start of next year’s wildfire season.

Andrew Gage, lawyer for West Coast Environmental Law, told VICE the province has a lot more work to do when it comes to responding to emergencies fuelled by climate change. “The science all says this is going to get worse,” Gage told VICE. According to BC Wildfire Service data, 2014, 2015 and 2010 all make the top-ten list of most damaging wildfire years.

With more fires comes more opportunities for fraud, and Gage says the province needs to do more to adapt and ensure evacuees aren’t left hanging. “The BC Wildfire Service has said if trends continue, by 2050 there will be some areas which will have a wildfire season virtually year round.”

A spokesperson for the BC government’s emergency management ministry told VICE they’re keeping an eye on relief efforts and the fraud investigation, but could not provide any updates. “Both the province and the Red Cross are aware that individuals may attempt to take advantage of the support that continues to be provided to those that need it most,” reads an emailed statement.

Mayor Cobb believes many of his town’s residents who “need it most” are still without compensation. “If I hadn’t called in, I probably wouldn’t have got it,” he told VICE. “If they haven’t phoned in to check, they wouldn’t know this is going on.”

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