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A Keremeos senior stuck to her guns and wasn't duped during a recent phone call but felt compelled to warn others of a telephone scam that could have serious impacts.
Lorna Beynon was the only one up at home when the call came in around 9 a.m.
It was a man on the phone and although they talked for about a half an hour he never did give his name.
“He said he was calling from Revenue Canada and that there was some discrepancies and that a criminal investigation was started because I submitted some misleading information on tax forms dating from 2007 to 2012,” the 82-year-old woman said.
For the bargain price of $25,000 the man told her that he could get her out of the trouble was in with the courts.
Beynon told the man she didn't do her own income taxes personally and that she needed to talk to her daughter.
But he insisted she was in trouble and at one point even said that a sherif would be at her door within 45 minutes to put her in a 72-hour detention.
The wise woman immediately started taking notes. The man on the other end of the phone encouraged it but didn't allow her enough time to write everything down.
“I told him several times he was talking faster than I can write. He'd just tell me to hurry up because he didn't have all day to be on that phone call,” she said.
He told her her bank accounts, credit card and debit card had all been audited and that's how they had found out she had provided misinformation.
“It was frustrating. I'd say I didn't believe it. I cannot believe this. There's no way there would be discrepancies or errors. I give her (daughter) all the info on my income and she pays my bills and banking. I've never worried about it but all of a sudden I get this I couldn't believe it,” she said.
So, she hung up.
Beynon immediately called her daughter
Laurel Diedorf.
“I'm really proud of her for not falling for it and for also talking to her friends about it. People can get caught up in this pretty quickly but if they know others are getting calls then they have a better chance,” she said. “We just really care about the community and want to make sure no one gets duped by this.”
The pair told the RCMP about the call.
RCMP Cpl. Mike Gallagher said the Keremeos detachment gets one or two calls a month from residents about scam type calls.
“There are many phone scams going on. I personally usually get the automated Westjet robocall, I just hang up the phone. Other popular ones around here are the grand kids calling Grandma and Grandpa advising they are in jail and need $2,000 bail money. They are advised to transfer money at places like western union,” he said.
Warning Signs - How to Protect Yourself
Fraudsters want to develop a quick relationship with you, be suspicious when someone you haven't met professes their love to you.
Never under any circumstances send money for any reason.
Be cautious when conversing with an individual that claims to live close to you but is working overseas, this is a set up for the fraudster to provide numerous reasons to ask for money.
If you receive a "pay cheque" or another form of payment from someone you've met online and they ask you to cash it and send a portion of the funds back to them - don't do it! It's a counterfeit cheque and you'll be responsible to cover any fees from the bank.
If you think you or someone you know has been a victim of fraud,
please contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at
1-888-495-8501 or report online through our website at http://www.antifraudcentre.ca.