What's Up Now: RCMP Release

Date: December 7, 2023Share

RCMP remind citizens about fraud scams

With the Christmas Season upon us, St. Albert RCMP want to remind citizens about reoccurring fraud scams circulating in the community. Often a scammer notifies an individual that one of their online accounts or credit cards has been compromised, may state the victim owes money to Revenue Canada or the fraudster may pose as a Police Officer, boss or someone in a high ranking title from a business. In order to catch the criminal(s), pay your outstanding debt or assist the boss/business/company, the fraudster instructs the victim to purchase a certain amount of prepaid gift cards such as:

The fraudster then asks the victim to provide them with the personalized numbers on the back of the prepaid gift card(s), allowing the fraudster to obtain the cash value of the card and use it to purchase things on the internet or sell the gift cards to others.

This past week St. Albert RCMP received two complaints regarding fraudulent scams.

The first complaint received on November 28, 2023, a scammer contacted a St. Albert senior claiming to be from Amazon. The fraudster told the senior his Amazon account had a fraudulent charge and to allow the scammer access to his computer and online banking account to fix the fraudulent charge. The senior was defrauded over $2,700.00 from his bank account.

The second complaint received on December 6, 2023, involved a St. Albert resident who was contacted by a scammer poising as a St. Albert RCMP Officer. The resident was told her bank account will be locked down due to a police investigation into a fraudulent iPhone purchase. The resident was instructed to purchase $1,000 worth of Apple Gift Cards and provide the numbers to the scammer so her bank account is not locked down.

St. Albert RCMP want to remind the public that if you are ever asked by someone in an email or on the phone to purchase prepaid gifts cards, no matter what it is for or who the individual say they are, do not do it.

If you have been a victim of fraud or would like more information on all the different fraudulent scams in Canada, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca

St. Albert RCMP encourage the public to report any criminal or suspicious activity. Reports tell us where to look, who to look for, and where to patrol in the future. If you see a crime in progress, dial 911. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 (TIPS), online at www.P3Tips.com or by using the “P3 Tips” app available through the Apple App or Google Play Store.

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