Sunshine Coast RCMP reported the following for Feb. 23 to March 1:
Weapon
•Shortly before 1 p.m. on Feb. 25, Sunshine Coast RCMP were called after a male allegedly threatened another male on Park Road in Gibsons and showed him a handgun. Police located the suspect nearby and arrested him. A plastic toy gun, matching the description of what the victim had seen, was located in a baby stroller pushed by a female who had been with the suspect. The toy gun was seized and police will be forwarding a report to Crown counsel. The males were known to each other and no one was injured.
Scams
•On Feb. 23, a Coast resident reported an attempted fraud after he tried to sell something on a popular online classifieds site and received a cheque from the “buyer” that was for several times the asking price. The “buyer” had given the resident instructions on how to return the excess funds by electronic means, but fortunately, the resident’s bank confirmed the cheque was fraudulent before the resident lost any money. This is the common “overpayment” scam. To learn more about this and other popular scams, please visit sites such as the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca or the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org.
•On Feb. 24, a Coast resident reported falling for the common scam where the scammer calls pretending to be a well-known computer company employee and advises that the resident’s computer needs updating. The resident sent the “employee” a money transfer for “updating fees” as per his instructions, and only grew suspicious when the scammer called again to say more funds needed to be sent.
•On Feb. 24, a Coast resident reported falling for the widely reported and widespread Canada Revenue Agency scam after receiving a call from a male purporting to be a CRA employee. The male told the resident that if she didn’t transfer a large sum of money via Moneygram to him, then her accounts would be frozen and she would be arrested. The male also told the resident to stay on the phone with him until the transaction was done and to go to the post office without telling anyone what she was doing. The resident complied and also provided her Social Insurance Number to the caller. Police remind the public to be cautious about this and other types of scams where callers purport to be from major institutions or companies.
Mischief / Found camera card
•Overnight on Feb. 28, a vandal damaged several trees planted on waterfront property in the 5200 block of Highway 101, Sechelt, by snapping them in half or bending and uprooting them from the ground. A portion of hedge was also uprooted. Anyone with any information about this mischief is asked to contact RCMP, reference file 16-1127.
•On Feb. 29, police found an SD memory card near the playground at Friendship Park, located at Wharf Avenue and Sinku Drive, Sechelt. The card is almost entirely full of high-definition photographs, mostly of a family with two young children, including a girl, possibly around two years old. There are also photographs of a farm. Police will hold on to the property for 90 days from the found date for the owner to claim. Owner may claim with details, reference file 16-1168.
Traffic
•On Feb. 27, a possible impaired driver was reported at a business in the 900 block of Henry Road, Gibsons, after a witness saw the driver drinking out of a large liquor bottle. The witness provided a description of the driver and vehicle and police located the driver at his residence in Gibsons. The driver, who was sober, produced a large plastic liquor bottle and explained that he reused it as a water bottle because it was large, plastic and durable.
•On Feb. 23, police attended to a complaint of a number of ATVs and other unlicensed recreational vehicles driving on private property in the 3600 block of Highway 101, Roberts Creek. Police located the owners of the vehicles and warned them of trespassing onto private property and operating non-registered off-road vehicles.
