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B.C. woman loses $12K after falling victim to elaborate phone scam: RCMP

012320- unknown caller - phone scam - AdobeStock_278243746
Unknown caller. (via File photo)

A B.C. woman is out $12,000.

Police say the Kamloops resident fell victim to an "elaborate telephone scam."

Someone called claiming they were with a major credit card company, and that they needed her help catching employees who were giving out personal client information, according to a news release.

They claimed she was under investigation for fraud if she was involved in any way.

She spoke to several people from the company, and they advised her not to call her bank because the bank may be involved in it. They then confirmed they were working with the police, and gave her a verification code with the assurance she would be called by a local bank soon.

A short time later, she received a call from a man claiming to be a manager from one of the big banks and he asked for the verification code. 

He then asked her for personal details of transactions she had made recently on the card, as well as personal verification questions. 

The alleged bank representative then asked her to purchase several gift cards on her credit card. Once purchased, he asked her to read the gift card numbers to him. 

The woman ended the call, but still questioned the transaction and tried to call the number back; however, each time she received an answering machine message saying it was the credit card company's head office. 

"Some of these scams appear to be very legitimate and are very detailed to make you believe they are real when in fact they are not,” says Sgt. Darren Michels in the release. "If you are ever in doubt, hang up and call your local bank at the publicly posted number or personally attend the bank. Never provide personal banking information or passwords with anyone over the phone.”