ON September 11, Richmond RCMP was alerted by a teller of a local financial institution that an elderly victim had just withdrawn a large amount of cash and was headed to a local mall to meet with someone.

Richmond RCMP located the victim and stopped him from purchasing gift cards. The victim was still on the phone with the scammers who insisted the victim complete the purchase. The scammers then advised they had just transferred $26,000 from the victim’s account. Police brought the victim to his financial institution and confirmed the transaction had taken place. Due to the fast response, the bank was able to reverse the transfer and deposit the money back into the victim’s account.

“We want to thank the teller for her quick thinking and timely action, preventing an elderly client from losing most of their life savings,” says Inspector Mike Roberts, Operations Officer, Richmond RCMP. “Phone scams and gift card scams are continuing, we urge everyone to exercise caution when answering unsolicited phone calls. When in doubt, hang up and don’t be afraid to say ‘No’.”

If you suspect you are a victim of fraud, report it immediately to your local police or to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at http://antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca