Police are warning Shuswap residents of another scam targeting seniors.
The Sicamous RCMP were recently made aware of three attempts to defraud local seniors with a “Readers Digest Lottery” scam perpetrated by phone and mail.
According to police, the seniors received a letter advising them they have won a considerable jackpot as a result of a random draw. The letter requests that the recipient phone Readers Digest’s head office at an enclosed phone number. The scammer on the other end of the line then asks for the recipient’s mailing address and a cheque for $4,800 is sent.
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The recipients were told to deposit the cheque into their bank account and confirm when this is done.
Once the fake cheque has been deposited, the scammer asked for the $4,800 to be transferred with the promise that the larger lottery jackpot will then be deposited in the recipient’s bank account.
“This is a common scam which has been used in different formats for years. Legitimate companies/lotteries do not send winners cheques asking them to deposit money and then return the cash in order to receive a larger jackpot,” said Sicamous RCMP Detachment Commander Sgt. Murray McNeil.
“If you receive a similar letter, McNeil advised not to contact the sender. Instead, call the local RCMP.
“Once again if it seem too good to be true it probably is,” said McNeil.
In all three recent incidents none of the seniors lost money in this scam.
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