EPS members were at a community event near the Clareview Superstore when staff from the store flagged them down.

An older woman was inside attempting to buy $1,000 worth of gift cards. Something didn’t seem right, so the store clerks asked one of the constables to come with them to speak to the woman.

While talking to her, they learned she was on the phone with someone she thought was from her bank. They were not from the bank and hung up as soon as the constable was passed the phone.

Thanks to quick thinking from the store clerks and intervention from a friendly police officer, the woman did not fall victim to scammers.
Scammers will pretend they are from different organizations you may or may not have dealings with. In this situation, the scammers claimed to be from the woman’s bank and that her VISA had been compromised. They said they needed the woman’s help in the investigation and claimed that if she bought a large sum of gift cards, they could use them to catch “the bad guys” that defrauded her and the bank. A bank would never do this.

If someone calls you claiming to be from an organization, you can hang up, find the phone number yourself and call the organization. You can then verify if the phone call you just received was legitimate or a scammer.

Scammers will prey on emotions, whether that’s fear, love, panic, or guilt, and it is very easy to get caught up. The important thing to remember is to take a step back from what they are telling you and think about the legitimacy of the situation.

To learn more about how to spot signs of a scam, visit our website. Alternatively, you can look up the Little Black Book of Scams produced by the Government of Canada and published in several different languages. 

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Signs of a Scam