As fraudsters hit Winkler, police urge residents to be ‘skeptical’

Dave Baxter, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Winnipeg Sun

Winkler police are again warning residents to be vigilant, as some continue to lose money to fraudsters.

In their most recent crime report, the Winkler police said they received multiple reports of scams and attempted scams in the area between Oct. 21 and Nov. 2.

In one incident, police say a woman received several texts about overdue parking tickets that included a link to what she believed was a legitimate provincial website.

The woman made three separate payments, but according to police continued to receive texts. She called police who told her it was a scam and that she should contact her bank and her credit card company immediately.

In another incident, a man called police and reported he had been involved in what he thought was a romantic relationship with someone from another country and sent money to the individual on multiple occasions.

The man realized he was being scammed and stopped making payments, but discovered his Paypal account had been hacked and funds continued to be removed.

Police say they provided the man with advice regarding computer safety and fraud.

Police said another incident saw a local business owner receive a fake invoice for a large amount of money from a company he was not familiar with, that included banking information with instructions to transfer money, but the man sent no money and called police.

In another case, police said a woman reported speaking to someone claiming to be from Microsoft, and said she had granted them access to her computer. Police say the scammer attempted to access her bank account but her bank later confirmed no money had been withdrawn.

Police told the women to unplug her computer and have it examined.

This is the second straight Winkler police report that includes multiple reports of scams and attempted scams.

While speaking to the Winnipeg Sun on Oct. 10, WPS Chief Ryan Hunt warned that scams are becoming more sophisticated, and scammers are increasingly going to great lengths to convince people that what they are saying is legitimate.

“These scammers do a lot of research and a lot of times they know personal information, phone numbers and names of family members so it’s easy for victims to believe what they are saying,” Hunt said. “The scams are becoming more and more sophisticated.

“Assume it’s a scam first and always start from there. Do not send money to anyone until you’ve been able to prove 100% it’s not a scam,” Hunt added.

“Always be skeptical because these guys are good at what they do, and they can be very convincing.”

— Dave Baxter is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Winnipeg Sun. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.

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