By Elk Valley RCMP
Submitted
The Elk Valley RCMP would like to advise the residents of Elk Valley that there have been several cases of attempted fraud over the telephone recently.
Generally, the suspects call over the phone or send a letter to an unsuspecting victim, pretending to be a friend or a family member in desperate need for money due to some kind of trouble, and have money sent to them either by money transfer or by mail.
There have also been cases where letters were received asking for monetary assistance in collecting an inheritance, usually in a foreign country, promising a hefty sum in return for the unsuspecting victim's assistance in getting the inheritance out of the country. These are all scams that target the good will and emotion of an unsuspecting victim.
More often than not, the offenders are from out of the country and it is almost impossible for police to recover the victim's money.
These offenders target victims of all kinds and especially our senior citizens.
The Elk Valley RCMP is advising everyone to be extremely cautious and to be absolutely sure who it is that they are giving their money to.
The Elk Valley RCMP can be contacted should anyone have any questions if they received such a request. Elkford 250-865-2232, Fernie 250-425-4404, Sparwood 250-425-6233.