People are being reminded to remain extra vigilant when it comes to phone calls, emails or text messages after Shuswap Mounties received a trio of scam reports in recent weeks.
On Jan. 12, a woman reported that she received a phone call from who she believed to be Shaw telecommunications, telling her she qualified for a discount on her internet for being a long-standing customer.
She provided all her credit card information and realized she had been scammed when her internet stopped working.
The woman contacted Shaw who denied they contacted her and a further investigation found a payment of $995 had been made to Shawca, not Shaw.ca. According to police the money was processed through PayPal to AirBnB.
The woman opened a complaint to her credit card company in an effort to get a refund.
Three days later, the Salmon Arm RCMP received a report that a man had sent $50,000 over the past year to someone posting as his girlfriend, who he believed to be living in Baltimore, Maryland.
“The complainant explained he had actually never seen this person, didn’t know what they looked like, and their only form of communication was over Skype,” the RCMP say.
The man was hoping to pursue charges after the person stopped communication, however, police say they have no way of identifying the suspect. They also say the man willingly sent the money, making charges unlikely.
On Jan. 23, a man reported receiving a text message from what he believed to be his cell phone provider, Rogers Wireless, with a 647 area code.
The message offered a promotion that required the man to prepay for a full year in the amount of $1,497.
The man paid the fee with his credit card and later his Rogers account had been changed, but police say it was “unclear” how. The man was directed to contact his credit card company to try and get a refund.
“While police recognize it is normal for internet service providers to offer discounts to customers, police encourage extra vigilance when receiving unrequested phone calls from persons with sales pitches,” police say, adding that is not normal to pay upfront for internet or phone service.
“Police highly discourage providing personal information, or payment information over the phone to unknown callers.”
This is the second warning police have issued in the past month.
In late December, the Salmon Arm RCMP received a slew of fraud reports within days of each other including a newer scam involving Taylor Swift concert tickets.
