Steinbach RCMP are warning local residents of mass marketing telephone frauds occurring in the Steinbach area. These frauds often target senior citizens, however all residents are at risks. The suspects contact unsuspecting people and use a variety of methods to defraud individuals of money.
Two of the common tactics used are as follows:
1) The suspects phone a person claiming to represent a lottery or contest in which the victim has won a substantial amount of money, car or trip. The suspect will then request that the victim send an amount of money to them through a third party wire system such as Western Union or Moneygram in order to clear customs or deal with other processing issues. The suspects will often mail supporting documents to the victim over a long period of time in order to convince them that the lottery is legitimate. On close inspection these documents contain poor grammar and complex language intending to make the victim believe they are from a legitimate lottery. There are indications that the suspects have researched the Steinbach area online, and will provide local information to appear legitimate and gain the trust of the victim. There have been many occurrences of this type occurring throughout North America, including the Steinbach Area. In many cases the suspects are calling from a phone number with the prefix 876. This prefix is associated to the country of Jamaica. Many victims have been deceived out of sums of money in amounts over $20,000. Should you receive a call from an unknown 876 phone number, please hang up.
2) The suspect calls the victim, identifying themselves as a law enforcement official or lawyer for a family member who is in legal trouble. The suspect then requests that the victim pay money to the suspect in order to post bail or deal with other legal fees. The suspect will request payment through credit card, or the methods described in the previous tactic. Residents are reminded that legitimate law enforcement agencies and law firms do not solicit payment for fees through any of the means mentioned above.
Recently, there have been victims of both these types of frauds in Steinbach. Local RCMP will be providing education/crime prevention techniques to local resource groups that these people are targeting.
Should you be contacted in any manner similar to the above, hang up the phone, call the police and do not pay. Once money is paid to the fraudsters, it is very difficult to recover. All residents are reminded that if something seems to good to be true, it likely is.
