Scams are back
It’s a familiar warning from Kamloops Mounties: if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Police are warning local residents to be aware of two separate scams making the rounds — one targeting job seekers and the other computer users.
Staff Sgt. Grant Learned said a Kamloops resident lost $10,000 after falling victim to the so-called “secret shopper scam” — which sees fraudsters place ads saying they’re looking to hire people to work as secret shoppers at banks and grocery stores.
The victim is then mailed a cheque — often for thousands of dollars — and told to cash it, keep a small amount for their time and wire the rest to an overseas account.
The cheque is fake and the money ends up coming out of the victim’s own account.
The computer scam, Learned said, involves crooks making cold calls and offering virus protection.
The scammer gets the victim to allow remote access to his or her computer and then installs software that allows web traffic to be monitored and financial information to be gathered.
Learned said a Kamloops victim recently agreed to pay one of the culprits a $420 monthly fee for “computer protection.”
“This went on for a couple of months, so there was money that was transferred,” he said.
If you suspect you’re the target of scammers, call the Kamloops RCMP’s scam information line at 250-828-3266 or email silk@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
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