100 Mile House RCMP is warning the public against scam police calls after local senior scammed out of $7,000.
On the evening of July 9, 2020, at 8:23 p.m. the 100 Mile House RCMP received a call from a local elderly person who reported they had been called by the Ontario Police and RCMP regarding money being owed due to someone making false accounts using their unemployment card. The callers said that is the senior did not comply and pay the balance owed, they would be arrested promptly.
These callers were reported to be very convincing to the caller and the threat of arrest frightened them into sending them $7,000 Canadian through Google Pay Online.
Staff Sergeant Svend Nielsen released a statement saying that Canadian Police or law enforcement will never phone you house and demand funds via a secondary pay source such as Google Play or iTunes pre-paid cards. If you receive a call claiming as much, please do not send money to these criminals, Nielsen said, as the RCMP does not collect funds from a person directly.
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If you do receive a call from an individual claiming to be a police officer who demands you send them money, Nielsen reiterated this is a scam. In this situation, you should hang up, contact a family member for help if required and then reach out to the Candian Anti-Fraud Centre or call 1-888-495-8501. You can almost contact local law enforcement for advice and guidance.
The local RCMP will continue to support the local victim in their attempts to get their money back, but unfortunately, this is typically extremely challenging if not impossible.
“If you have an elderly relative or friend, please talk with them about these ongoing scams and have them check in with you before they do anything further after being contacted. If you notice an elderly friend appearing stressed, ask them what is going on and what is causing them stress,” Nielsen said. “It is okay to check-in. Sometimes that little check-in can help a person immensely.”
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