By Doug Collins

Police warn about scams- talk to your families

Sep 16, 2016 | 8:40 AM

KAMLOOPS —  The number of scammers continues to boggle the mind. But what is more mind-boggling is that many people are falling for them, largely because they don’t understand how large agencies and institutions work.

RCMP Corporal Jodi Shelkie says the latest incident is one involving an 80-year old Kamloops senior who lost $8,000 in a Canada Revenue scam. This scam has been ongoing for a while, but Shelkie says people still fall for it, because they feel threatened. She says someone claiming to be from the CRA phoned the senior and told him there had been errors on his 2015 tax return and if he didn’t purchase $4,000 worth of gift cards, officers would come to his residence and arrest him.

Shelkie says the man complied and purchased the cards, forwarding the authorization numbers to the fraudster. The scammer then wanted another $4,000 worth of cards, which the senior again purchased.  For a third time, the scammer made demands, this time for another $3,000 worth of cards. The store employee where the man purchased the cards advised him to call the police because he was being scammed.

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Shelkie says “it’s important that every family has a discussion about these types of phone calls. Canada Revenue will not call you on the phone, the CRA communicates through the mail.” She adds “noone from any legitimate business will ever ask for payment in gift cards or ask for money to be wired to them.”

Shelkie says seniors are the most vulnerable to these types of scams. They become worried when threats are made, and their first instinct is to fix the problem. She advises all families to talk to any seniors in their families and advise them not to fall for these phone scams.