There’s lots of different scams to be wary of but they all have one thing in common: they’re designed to part you from your money.
Contributed
From Cnst. Kris Clark, Kelowna RCMP
Although the threat of many different types of fraud is ever-present, the Kelowna RCMP has seen a resurgence in service scams and money transfer requests recently.
The two most recently reported service scams in Kelowna are the antivirus software scam and credit card interest rate reduction scams.
Antivirus software scam
The scammer promises to repair your computer over the Internet, which often involves the installation of software or permission to have remote access to your computer. Payment for the software or repair is typically made by credit card. Often times, you pay for a program that actually does nothing, or is malicious in nature. Allowing remote access to your computer, or downloading unknown software may compromise your personal information such as user names and passwords, bank account information, identity information, etc.
Credit card interest rate reduction scam
The scammers prey on people’s desire for a better deal. They often impersonate financial institutions and claim to negotiate with credit card companies to lower your interest rates. They guarantee they can save you thousands of dollars in interest. The caller will tell you that the lower interest rates are for a limited time only and that you need to act now, but in reality, your interest rates won’t change and you will be out the cash you paid for the phoney service.
Money transfer request scam
Money transfer requests are mostly dominated by variations of the Nigerian scam which has been around for nearly 20 years. In the most recently reported form, the target receives a letter with a cheque enclosed and instructions. The cheque is to be deposited in the target account and part of it to be wired by a specified service to one or more people. The cheque is usually a fake and leaves you paying the bill.
From the Peachland Wellness Centre
I need a tow scam
The following email was sent to the Peachland Wellness Centre by an anonymous Peachland resident and circulated through the centre’s mailing list. (Edited for clarity.)
On Saturday afternoon, a man, 6 feet in height, medium build, clean cut, aged 35ish, entered my backyard and said his car had broken down and he needed $40 in order to have enough for a tow and that he was having difficulty getting a hold of any family members to help. He seemed apologetic and sheepish about asking for the money.
He said his name was Jason Poppoff and would be back in an hour. Sadly I gave him the $40. I felt it was okay as he left a phone number, etc. He was quite convincing, clean cut, etc.
Needless to say he did not return and when I called the number, well you get it.
Sunday morning I called the police, feeling stupid, but thought I should report it anyway.
It turns out this guy has been doing this for years with the same story about the broken vehicle. They know who he is and he is recently out of jail for same fraud. He works the hospital area out to KLO in Kelowna and has recently been active on the Westside, as far as Peachland.
If you meet a man named Jason Poppoff and he says his car is broken down and he needs just a little extra for a tow, call the police. Constable Brian Dodds has a five page history.
Spread the word to your friends and coworkers.
P.S. The police were thankful I called and understood I was embarrassed about being duped. They will be putting a media alert out, as most people don’t report the crime due to the low dollar amount involved and embarrassment.
“Despite the vast number of frauds and scams, they all really have the same purpose: to make you part with your money and/or personal information,” said Cnst. Kris Clark.
For more information on scams and how to protect yourself, please visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website at www.antifraudcentre.ca
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Those scammers! They sure are everywhere these days.. Recently I have been looking for a place to rent a condo/appartment in the Penticton/Kelowna area.. I have found some deals that were TOO good to be true.. Including a brand new 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom, fully furnished house in the Westbank area for only $800. Also in Penticton i recieved an email about a two bedroom two bathroom condo fully furnished place for only $400. Fortunatley when the people emailed me back, I realized that they were scammers and stopped emailing them. Here is a copy of one of the emails he, “Richard Taylor” Sent me.
It is a great pleasure you are interested in my Condo. Thanks for your email and it is my joy to know you. We are Mr. and Mrs. Taylor the owner of the house you are doing research of.I and my wife are looking for a responsible tenant (s) he / she will take good care of our house as if it were of his own and he / she will be willing to make the property clean as we left it.Actually me, my wife and our only daughter lived in our house before I get my job transfer (UK) and my condition demanding job and hectic that I have, my wife and my daughter just our house because we have found a new home provided by my company and my contract after four years should (2). All you need is a good tenant who would rent an single family home to lease long-term and short preferable. At present, our house is still available for rent of $650 and the deposit is $400, including utilities such as heating, A / C in wall / window, Hydro, cable, garbage disposal, fireplace, stove, dishwasher, dryer, breakfast bar, dining table and sofa set, fridge, awning terrace with views of nature .., e. Internet access. Tc. We went to the UNITED KINGDOM under the World Health Organization (WHO) health … WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. Is responsible for providing global leadership in health, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating policy options based on evidence, provide technical support to countries and monitoring and evaluation of health trends.Visit our website for more information if you also want to make an impact in the world. <Http: / / http://WWW.who.int/about/en/ >. I hope that the promise to take good care of the house .. because it is a very nice large house situated in a very favorable environment.Though we have received many proposals today regarding our property, but only needed one person responsible and well behaved to rent our home and I hope you have what is needed to convince? So, back to me if you know you can take good care of our house or perhaps his experience in the rental home.We hope you agree with the price of $650 month and $400 security deposit? If so, please fill out the rental application below
Note: All information provided will be documented for future reference.
RENTAL APPLICATION FORM
FIRST NAME:__________________
MIDDLE NAME:_________________
LAST NAME:__________________
PROFESSION:________________
POSITION:__________
HOME PHONE (____)__________
(CELL)PHONE (____)__________
(WORK)PHONE (____)__________
KIDS_____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY________
PRESENT ADDRESS:_____________________
CITY:_______________
STATE:______________
SEX____________
OCCUPANT PICTURE____________
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING?____________
CURRENT RENT PAYMENT:____________
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN?______________
DO YOU HAVE A PET:_____________
NAME OF PET:_____________
IS THE RENT FEE AVAILABLE NOW?______________
REASON FOR MOVING OUT?______________
KIND OF PETS:_____________
DO YOU SMOKE?______________
DO YOU DRINK?_____________
Pending receipt of your personal data for proper documentation and issuing its receipt.Awaiting your urgent response so it can provide documents and the keys to the house with the shipping agents on how quickly and surely going to get you.Please, we are giving you all this base on trust and again we can appreciate to keep his word, taking care well our house. We are confident in our house so even though I have not seen, but I hope to meet you someday, because we all know and trust for God hand.So not let us in on our property and God will surely bless you as does.
PS: Alright you can only drive by,then i don’t deal with any management or relatives due to my past experience i prefer dealing with you directly and for me doing this am doing it base on trust,so i will just want you to believe me and have the trust as i do in letting you as our new tenant,Not being able to see the inside of the house because I have the keys with me.well you can call me on this phone # (+44)702-405-8767 I can’t wait to hear from you
Heh. Starts out okay but then just gets weirder and weirder.
I know of at least three people in Peachland who have received the Computer Virus phonecalls (one of whom fell for it because he was having problems at the time) so there is no doubt Peachland is currently on the phone list of these criminals.
I’ve also heard of another two other local people who have been near victims of a scam that you haven’t touched on: the elderly victim receives an email from a relative who is travelling overseas and desperately needs money or he will be immediately sent to jail. Elderly victim wasn’t aware their nephew was overseas but being willing to help immediately sends the money to the nominated bank account. Fortunately both the Peachland residents were smart enough to realize it was a scam and ignored the emails.