Police warn Campbell Riverites of telephone callers posing as a close friend or family member and asking for money.
Over the past month, Campbell River RCMP and surrounding detachments have received a number of reports of attempted telephone frauds with common trends, according to RCMP Sgt. Craig Massey.
The culprits who call “are able to convince these people (the targets) that they are, in fact, family members or close friends or something along those lines, and ‘I’m in this real jam and I need you to send me some money,’” explained Massey. Vehicle break downs, legal issues and medical issues are among the urgent matters the callers say they need help with. The caller then asks the target to send money via Western Union as quickly as possible.
Although Massey said police don’t know who the callers are, it appears to be an organized group.
“Given that a number of other detachments have noted it, I think that obviously it’s an organized cell that’s involved in it,” said Massey.
He said that during the lead up to Christmas holidays people are generally more likely to open their hearts – and their wallets – so fraud culprits capitalize on this.