Police are warning the public of an ongoing phone-scam preying on seniors after an elderly Enderby resident was cheated out of several thousands of dollars.
On July 29th, 2021, the North Okanagan RCMP were alerted to the incident by an Enderby resident who told police they had received a phone call earlier in the day from a person purporting to be a bank manager.
The fraudster told the victim their bank account had been compromised and convinced the victim to log into their bank account in order to restore the security settings. The thief then coaxed the victim into purchasing over $3000 in Google Play cards and when the call was terminated, the victim realized they had been scammed and contacted her bank and police.
Sadly, scammers and fraudsters are continuing to target seniors in our community, states Constable Chris Terleski, Media Relations Officer for the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP. We are encouraging anyone with elderly family members to discuss how to recognize a scam and what they can do to keep themselves safe and help prevent them from falling victim to these types of fraud."
Tips to protect yourself and shut down a scam before it can happen