By Shaun Penner

Phone Scam

RCMP warning of telephone scam affecting Peace region citizens

Jul 31, 2019 | 4:11 PM

RCMP are warning the public of a telephone scam making its way around the Peace Region.

Police say they have conducted three separate investigations in Edson and McLennan recently, where an unknown suspect has gained remote access to victims’ computers.

The suspect will contact victims via telephone and pose as a member of the RCMP that works with the “Cyber Crime Unit”. They will then ask the victims to help them with an investigation by downloading software onto their computer, thus giving the scammer access to the computer.

Once completed, the suspect will then commit fraud through money transfers or Google Play cards. In one case, the scammer advised the victim that he would place $40,000 in their account to “trap the bad guys.”

The RCMP are reminding citizens that they will never contact anyone to request remote access to their computer, or to act on behalf of the RCMP. They say if you are in doubt about who is calling that you should obtain the caller’s information, hang up, and contact RCMP.

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They also say that no government agency or business will demand payment through gift cards or prepaid credit cards. They also say that if you don’t trust who is on the other line, to hang up and contact the government agency that is claiming to phone you and ask them if it is legitimate. Also, do not share any personal information such as name, social insurance number, or address.

RCMP ask citizens to report any attempts of this kind of fraudulent activity to the Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501 or contact your local RCMP detachment.