Fraudsters are always looking for new ways to scam people.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is too good to be true. Trust your gut. If it doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t,” Red Deer RCMP Sgt. Karyn Kay said Friday.
On Thursday, Red Deer RCMP reported a new scam that begins with fraudsters contacting individuals who post their resume on popular online job search sites.
The fraudster poses as a human resources manager for a multinational consultancy firm and advises the victim they will send them money.
The fraudster sends a cheque for $1,250 and requests a picture or screenshot of the amount deposited in the victim’s bank account.
The victim is then asked to purchase gift cards for Steam, an online video game store, in $100 and $50 denominations.
Police are aware of at least two of these scams that have happened this week.
Scammers will target anyone, she added.
“Lots of times these scams do hit our elderly, because they may not be social-media friendly, so they struggle to see the media releases on anti fraud and anti scams, and that kind of stuff,” she said.
Kay said Red Deerians “need to make sure” they aren’t giving out personal information.
“You know if you’re calling your bank that you’re speaking with your bank. But your bank isn’t going to call you asking for your information, such as your SIN number.
“It’s the same thing with CRA. They aren’t going to call and ask for you to give that information over the phone,” said Kay.
“Make sure you protect yourself, you shred any documents that you can and report anything to the anti-fraud centre.”
Anyone impacted by a scam is encouraged to contact Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575, or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501, or antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca.
sean.mcintosh@reddeeradvocate.com
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