A scam involving the impersonation of a police officer has been making its way through the West Shore, with several incidents reported this May.
The first occurred on May 2, when a resident received a call from a supposed 'Sgt. Thomas Scott from the RCMP.' The fraudster informed the victim that their family member had been placed under arrest and that the victim would need to transfer $2,000 to a third party for bail.
After sending the money, the victim tried calling the family member they believed had been arrested, who confirmed that they had neither been arrested nor had any interaction with police.
The supposed 'Sgt. Thomas Scott of the RCMP' would run the scam once again on May 23. This time, the fraudster demanded $1,500 in gift cards for the family member's bail. While the victim eventually became suspicious and contacted the family member to confirm the details of their arrest, they once again found the family member had not been. Unfortunately, their suspicion came too late as they had already purchased and provided the demanded gift cards.
"We want the public to be aware of this fraudster who is pretending to be a member of the RCMP and targeting residents of the West Shore. Under no circumstances would police, whether that be RCMP or a municipal department, ever direct you to transfer money or make any kind of payment," said Cpl. Nancy Saggar, West Shore RCMP media relations officer.
To protect yourself from scams, the West Shore RCMP is reminding residents to: not click on links or download attachments in unsolicited text messages or emails, never send your personal, credit card or banking details in response to unsolicited messages, do not enter those details on any website if you are not certain the site is genuine, and always take a moment to verify the source of messages received.
"Don't be afraid to hang up the phone," states the RCMP in a news release.
The RCMP are also reminding residents that they will never ask you for remote access to your computer, for personal information, including your name, date of birth, phone number, email, address or banking details via text message.
The investigation into the fraudster is ongoing. Victims of fraud or anyone with information regarding these crimes are asked to call West Shore RCMP at 250-474-2264 or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers online at victoriacrimestoppers.ca/.
