Police are warning people to be cautious of telephone scammers after a fraudster attempted to swindle a woman in Coquitlam last week.
According to Mounties, she was contacted by man who left a message on her voicemail saying he was with Canada Revenue Agency and to call a number with a 613 area code immediately.
The woman, who is in her 50s, contacted the man, who said that police would go to her home within the hour unless she sent thousands of dollars through a money wiring business.
“Understandably, the complainant was concerned about the seriousness of the allegation left on her voicemail,” said Coquitlam RCMP Cpl. Jamie Chung.
“She did the right thing by hanging up on the male as soon as she started to doubt the legitimacy of the call.”
She then contacted police at the Ridgeway Community Police Station, who phoned the number themselves.
A Coquitlam RCMP investigator contacted the man, who identified himself as Roger Fitch from Surrey headquarters. When the investigator asked for a badge number, the suspect could not provide one and hung up immediately.
Chung said police are still working to identify the caller but said crimes of this kind are not uncommon.
“We’ve had a number of similar frauds this year and prevention really is the key,” he said. “When a caller threatens you by saying you will be arrested, you know it’s probably a scam.”
About 13 calls from fraudsters claiming to be from Canada Revenue Agency have occurred since the beginning of the year, said Chung.
He added that people who think they may be talking to a scammer should hang up the phone and contact the agency directly to confirm the caller’s legitimacy.
“Don’t ever give out your personal information or send money as demanded,” Chung said.
TEENS FACE CHARGES OVER PM VANDALISM
Several teenagers are facing mischief charges after causing significant water damage at several houses in Port Moody last week.
Five people were arrested for allegedly filling recycling bins with water, leaning them up against the doors of homes, ringing the doorbells and then running away. When the homeowner opened the door, the bins would tip over and spill the contents inside the home.
But the most damaged occurred at a home where the group filled up the recycling containers with water when they left a hose on that flooded a basement.
“It was a couple thousand dollars worth of damage,” said Port Moody Police Department Const. Luke van Winkel. “The hose was turned on when they were filling and the water got into the house.”
The basement flood was discovered when officers took the five teens door-to-door to apologize to the four homeowners who were affected. That’s when the resident first noticed the extent of the damage, van Winkel said.
The incidents took place on Aug. 20 at around 1:30 a.m. Two of the five arrested are under 18 years of age and three were over 18.
Van Winkel said charges have been forwarded to the Crown for consideration but he noted that some form of restorative justice could also be used in dealing with the five suspects.
“Most likely, they’ll have them pay for the damage,” van Winkel said.
