More than a dozen scam calls reported to Kamloops RCMP last week

KAMLOOPS – Kamloops police are once again warning the public after receiving more than a dozen reports of scams last week.

With so much of people’s personal lives available online, police say it’s not hard for a scam artist to use your personal life against you.

Commonly known as a grandparent scam – fraudsters pose as someone’s child or grandchild on the phone, claiming they need help and asking for money.

“It’s hard not to react when you get that call, especially if you think it’s your kid or a grandparent or another loved one,” Cpl. Crystal Evelyn of the Kamloops RCMP told CFJC News. “It can be very easy to be taken by that, and that’s exactly what these fraudsters are counting on.”

On Thursday (May 11), Robert Bouchard received a call from someone claiming to be his son.

“It sounded quite legitimate when you start hearing that. The voice is a bit different but you don’t know if that’s for real,” Bouchard said.

If you receive a call like this, Evelyn said it’s important not to offer up any names. Instead, take a moment and make sure they are who they say they are, or have them call back on a number you trust.

“We knew it was a scam because he wanted help. He said he had a fender bender so we knew the next thing was going to be monetary. We were like, ‘No, you call us back on our own phone,’” Bouchard explained.

Another sign indicating it’s a scam artist on the phone is if they ask for the funds in cryptocurrency.

“Other common scams that we see going around, some of them include Bitcoin, that’s a big red flag right there,” Evelyn said.

If you are a victim of one of these scams or receive a call from a scammer, you can contact your local RCMP detachment or the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.