Yet another phone scam has hit the Cowichan Valley.
Donna Rodway received a phone call earlier this week from a woman claiming to be from VISA stating that Rodway’s credit card had two questionable charges on it totalling more than $800.
Rodway said the woman began asking questions about the purchases and seemed to be fishing for her credit card number.
She became suspicious and hung up the phone on the woman before she called VISA herself, asking if the previous phone call was legitimate.
“I was told that nobody had called me from VISA, and that the phone call I received was typical of a current scam in which people call card holders like me and try to get credit card information,” Rodway said.
“I’m a senior myself and I know there’s a big population of seniors in the Cowichan Valley, so I think it’s a good idea to let them know that these phone scams are happening here and to be careful of who you are talking to.”
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Rodway took down the number that the woman was calling from, which appeared to be from a location in Georgia, U.S.A.
The Citizen called the number and received a recording stating that the call couldn’t be completed as dialed.
The phone scam is the latest in a series that have plagued the region, and the province, recently.
Most of the calls claim to be from the Canada Revenue Agency claiming that people owe significant amounts of money in back taxes.
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The caller typically says the money must be paid immediately, through channels that would be provided, or face arrest.
Last March, one woman from the Valley received an email informing her that her computer has been monitored and the emailer had placed a virus on a porn site that was connected to her computer’s front camera.
The woman said the email informed her that once she clicked on it, a recording was made that showed her involved in a sexual act.
The emailer, who claimed to be from Romania, said all the contact information for the woman’s friends and family had also been downloaded from her computer and that if 290 Euros in cryptocurrency was not sent to a given address within 27 hours, the sex video would be sent to all her contacts.
Staff Sergeant Annie Linteau, from the RCMP’s “E” division community services, said recently that there are a number of email and phone scams currently taking place in B.C. and people should not respond to them.
Linteau said those contacted should find out through legitimate sources whether the caller’s claims are valid.
She said people looking for more information about questionable emails or phone calls should visit the Canada Fraud Centre’s website.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
