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August 12, 2021 - 3:30 PM
People in Kamloops are getting victimized by phone fraudsters impersonating RCMP officers and bank employees, in one case costing a woman tens of thousands of dollars.
Over the last week, several incidents have caught the attention of Kamloops RCMP who are warning the public about these phone scams.
On Aug. 4, 2021, a woman received a call from someone claiming to be an RCMP constable who said her grandson had been arrested, according to an RCMP media release. She then spoke with someone who claimed to be and sounded like her grandson.
The woman was instructed to send $10,000 via courier to an address in Ontario, RCMP said. She sent the money and continued conversations with the fraudulent officers. More money was requested and again sent, then more money still was requested and she became suspicious of the situation, reporting it to Kamloops RCMP on Aug. 11.
“These fraudsters can sound very convincing, using similar and common last names to present as constables who may actually work in a local detachment,” Kamloops RCMP spokesperson Const. Crystal Evelyn said in the release.
“It’s so important to know that a real police officer would never ask for money to be transferred on behalf of your relative. Please, if you get a call like this, no matter what you’re told on the phone, do your own investigation and call a number you know to belong to your local detachment and real police officers.”
Other victims were fooled by bank employee impersonators stating Mastercard and Visa gift cards were needed to fix an account or credit card.
If you are a victim of fraud in which you have incurred a financial loss and/or given out your personal information call your local police to report the incident.
Record details of your interaction with the fraudster including phone numbers, email addresses and communication with the scammer. Photographs or screenshots of the online conversation are helpful.
If you have not been a victim of a fraud but have information related to scams, please report to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1 888-495-8501.
Here some helpful links to fraud protection tips provided by RCMP:
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