Police warn of scams

Vernon RCMP are warning residents to be vigilant of phone, email and online scams in use in the Okanagan.

In the first scam, a telephone fraudster says you owe Canada Revenue Agency thousands of dollars and threatens you with jail if you don’t provide the money, said Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy.

“They are often instructed to buy iTunes cards, activate them and provide the codes to the fraudsters.”

The second scam involves tricking people into believing someone they know is in trouble and needs money.

“Usually the scam is directed at grandparents, but over the years we’ve seen con artists pretend to be friends, neighbours and other family members,” said Noseworthy.

The caller typically pretends to be the person in need, claiming he or she has been in a car accident, needs bail money or has some other emergency.

“The con artist will ask the victim not to tell anyone else due to embarrassment or fear,” said Noseworthy. “The victim wires money to what they think is their grandchild in need but in reality is a stranger who just conned them out of hundreds or even thousands of dollars.”

In the third scam, a scammer contacts people by phone, social media or email and says they’ve won a lottery or sweepstake.

“The victim is then told they must pay a fee up front to receive their winnings,” said Noseworthy. “In some cases, the con artist has even convinced victims to turn over bank account information.”