Image Credit: Shutterstock
March 13, 2020 - 3:43 PM
The RCMP is again warning people to be incredibly vigilant after a Vernon resident was scammed out of thousands of dollars from someone pretending to be from their bank investigating fraud.
According to a Vernon North Okanagan RCMP media release, the con artists phoned the resident and pretended to be from their bank saying they were conducting an investigation into on-going frauds in the area and requested access to their bank account.
Once accessed, the scammers convinced the resident fraudulent activity had taken place on their account and instructed them to purchase numerous Google Play gift cards, at the cost of thousands of dollars.
"This is yet another reminder that no Financial or Government institution will request payments to be made in the form of gift cards," Vernon RCMP spokesperson Const. Kelly Brett said in the release. "It is extremely unfortunate that this particular individual lost a considerable amount of money to this scam as the actions are irreversible by their financial institution."
The RCMP is warning residents that at no time should banking information be given over the phone to anyone unless you call the bank directly. If the bank calls, advise them that you will call back, using a number found online or a number given to you previously by your bank.
For more information from the RCMP about protecting yourself against fraud go here.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Ben Bulmer or call (250) 309-5230 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.
We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor in the link above.
News from © iNFOnews, 2020