The old adage rings true for this one: if it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
Yet another scam is circulating around the Cowichan Valley. This one involves yellow cards in the mail telling recipients they’ve won prizes.
And handy prizes too: $100 in gas rebates available at Esso, Shell, Petro-Canada and more.
North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP heard the other day from a skeptical resident who had received such a card.
Upon calling the 1-800 number it offered, police learned the card-holder needed to provide their credit or bank card information to pay a $3 processing fee in order to claim the prize.
“If you win a prize you should not have to pay anyone for it to be delivered to you, whether it’s shipping charges or a processing fee,” explained North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Krista Hobday. “You won it, that means it should be free! Please do not offer your credit card or banking information to anyone over the phone or through your computer that you wouldn’t feel comfortable handing to a complete stranger on the street.”
Hobday strongly suggests would-be “winners” consider all possibilities that this and other contest offers may be scams.
This time, the head’s-up complainant walked away without handing over personal information so all’s well that ends well.
“We can all be enticed by an unexpected prize but we must remember, if it seems too good to be true, then it usually is,” Hobday noted.
Check your credit card and banking statements regularly and report any suspicious activity or charges to your financial institution.
