Sunshine Coast RCMP are alerting the public this week to two incidents of attempted fraud.
The first is a common employment fraud known as the secret shopper scam.
"This scam involves phony advertisements for employment as a secret shopper," said Const. Ewan Dewolf. "In this particular instance, the victim was targeted by mail."
According to Dewolf, the victim is presented with a cheque that they are asked to deposit into their bank account. The money is then to be used immediately (often within 48 hours) to make purchases at a variety of locations.
"The shopper is told that they can keep any purchases that they make and a portion of the money as their payment," said Dewolf. "They are then instructed to wire the remainder of the money to an address in Canada. The scam is that the cheque is fake."
The cheque bounces after the money is wired and the victim is liable for the fake cheque, said Dewolf. In the incident on the Coast, the victim was mailed a cheque for $1,865.50, recognized this as a fraud, and contacted the RCMP, he said.
The second attempted fraud also occurred by mail. In the advanced fee letter fraud, individuals are sent letters requesting foreign money transfers in exchange for a percentage of the transfer amount.
"The suspect will usually identify him/herself as a major corporate representative or part of a national government," said Dewolf. "In order to get the promised money, the victim will be asked to cover various expenses that may continue over an extended period of time. These expenses will be a condition that must be paid prior to receiving money."
In the incident on the Coast, the suspect identified him/herself as a foreign bank manager in Malaysia and offered the victim 30 per cent of $121 million that used to belong to Saddam Hussein, said Dewolf.
"The suspect insisted that Saddam Hussein deposited this money into their bank using a fake name. The name on the account was said to be the same as the victim's, making it possible for the victim to claim this money," said Dewolf. "This was recognized as a fraud and reported to police. We want to remind the public to be on the lookout for potential frauds and to remember that one rarely gets something for nothing."
Residents are asked to contact RCMP at 604-885-2266 to report any suspected frauds.
