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By Victor Kaisar

Senior Scammed

Salmon Arm senior scammed out of $9,000

Dec 27, 2024 | 10:11 AM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — RCMP say a 69-year-old woman is out thousands of dollars after she fell victim to fraud earlier this month.

Police say the woman told them she bought $9,000 in Apple iTunes gift cards and gave those details to scammers.

“The woman reported she clicked on a link while on Facebook that caused an alarm pop-up telling her she had been hacked and that she would be reported for accessing child pornography if she didn’t call a phone number on the screen,” the RCMP said.

They say the woman called the number and was ‘convinced’ to buy the gift cards. RCMP say they weren’t able to trace the iTunes gift cards, as the phone number was from California.

“The woman added that the retail clerk warned her of such scams prior to purchasing the gift cards, but she continued with the transaction despite the warning,” the RCMP said.

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RCMP say the woman was referred to victim services and told to consider attending a fraud presentation. She was also told to have her computer professionally reformatted.

People can learn more about the red flags to watch for in the most common types of scams, at the BC RCMP Frauds and Scams, Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre or the Competition Bureau of Canada.