RCMP prevent elderly Salmon Arm man from losing more money in ‘boiler room scam’

May 12, 2026 | 10:24 AM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — Salmon Arm RCMP say they managed to prevent an elderly man from falling further into a scam.

At around 3:00 p.m. on April 28, RCMP say a woman reported the man was trying to access the Bitcoin ATM on Hudson Avenue NE in Salmon Arm while listening to instructions from someone over the phone.

Police say officers stopped the 75-year-old man from depositing $20,000 to recover Bitcoin he previously lost in a different scam.

In a news release issued Tuesday (May 12), RCMP describes the situation as a “boiler room scam” in which victims are contacted unsolicited and offered to have their lost money recovered for a fee. However, RCMP say any money covering the fee is likely lost and any previously lost money is never recovered.

“A general rule of thumb is if you receive unsolicited phone calls, text messages or emails from anyone requesting money, personal information or asking you to sign into any sort of account, it should be treated as a scam,” Cst. Andrew Hodges states. “Anyone giving you directions to deposit money somewhere should be treated as a scam. We are getting to a point where not answering your phone is the safest thing to do, let the caller leave a voicemail and you can assess the need to call back or not. You can also share the voicemail with someone you trust like a family member, who can assess whether the call is a scam or not.”

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RCMP say the man was provided information on fraud and how to avoid scams.

by Aaron Schulze

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RCMP prevent elderly Salmon Arm man from losing more money in ‘boiler room scam’

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