Kamloops woman scammed out of $26,500

Oct 19, 2016 | 3:24 PM

KAMLOOPS — RCMP say a Kamloops woman has been taken for more than $26,000 by a scammer.

Police say the woman, who is in her 70s, received a call telling her she had won a quarter of a million dollars from Publisher’s Clearing House.

According to the scammer, all she had to do to avoid paying taxes on the winnings was give him her bank account information.

That allowed the suspect to deposit a sum of money into the woman’s chequing account, and she then used Money Mart to transfer it to a person in the Philippines.

Little did the woman know that the money being deposited into her chequing account was coming from her own savings account.

Corporal Jodi Shelkie says the woman lost $26,500.

Shelkie adds it’s important that family members talk about scams like these.

“Maybe elderly people just don’t hear about this information because they are not online as much, and they are not maybe tuning in to the news online,” explained Shelkie, adding “sit down with your family members, young and old, and tell them anytime that something like this happens they should contact a family member to discuss it with them first.”

Shelkie says the chances of police tracking down the overseas scammer and returning the woman’s money are extremely slim.

EXTRA: Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre