A farmer signed up for a grant on a website from a Google search
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Authorities in Alberta are warning farmers of an online grant scam.
Alberta RCMP issued a press release on July 19 after it received word that a farmer fell victim to the fraud.
A farmer, presumably looking for information about grant programs, found a website during a Google search.
The website asked for a business plan and fee, which the farmer provided.
When the farmer didn’t receive any assistance, they contacted 310-FARM, the phone number for information about Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation’s programs and resources.
That’s when an Alberta Agriculture representative informed the farmer they were a victim of fraud and loan programs from reputable sources don’t require upfront fees.
Alberta RCMP is reminding farmers to all the Alberta Farmers’ Advocate Office (403-742-7901) or 310-FARM for proper information about government grant programs.
Typing “Alberta farm grants” into the Google search bar will bring up links to the provincial government’s On-Farm Value-Added Program and the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership in Alberta as the first two search results.
Tools are also available to help check the legitimacy of a web address.
URLVoid.com or EmailVeritas.com, for example, allow users to enter a website name and receive results about the safety of a website.