Nanaimo RCMP are warning residents of a recent influx of complex scams.
In addition to the fraud attempt targeted at wedding officiants that was recently reported, police have shared the details of four other scams and fraud incidents which have occurred of late in hopes to inform the public.
One of these incidents, dubbed the grandson scam, cost a Nanaimo resident $1,700.
According to Nanaimo RCMP, a caller reported that she had been scammed out of this money by being led to believe her grandson needed money to get out of jail.
The victim says she got a call from someone who said they were with the RCMP and that her grandson had been arrested after being involved in a motor vehicle incident.
In order to be released, she was told to send $1,700 to "[email protected]."
Once she transferred the money, she realized that she had probably been scammed and is currently working with the bank to get her money back.
Police say that officers will never call asking for money, and if a caller says they are law enforcement, it is best to hang up and call the actual number for the police agency involved to confirm.
"Also, never send money to anyone based on phone call or email unless you can confirm who it is and do so by asking personal questions such as the name of family pet, their nickname, where you vacationed, etc," advised Nanaimo RCMP in a media release.
The second incident of fraud, the Amazon scam, cost a Nanaimo resident nearly $1,800.
Police say they received a report that a victim had been called by someone going by "James Butcher," who convinced them he worked for Amazon.
The scammer told the victim that Amazon had detected suspicious charges on her account and that her IP address had been compromised.
She was then convinced to pay $899 through Western Union, and $900 through a bitcoin ATM.
Once she paid the money, the victim called the number she was provided (1-289-805-2555), but the call went to a strange sounding company, and she was unable to speak to anyone.
The victim then realized that she had been scammed and is working with her bank to recover her money.
"No legitimate company, including Amazon, will ever ask you to deposit money in a bitcoin ATM," wrote Nanaimo RCMP.
"Amazon or any company will never have access to your IP address. Browse the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre (CAFC) website for similar scams."
Another recent fraud that has occurred in Nanaimo has been dubbed the investment scam by police.
Nanaimo RCMP say they received a report from a complainant who told them that she lost $350 after receiving a call from "Emterra Capital."
The scammer reportedly convinced the victim to send the money so that she could receive financial planning services.
Personal banking information was then provided to the scammer and money was sent.
Police say the victim was then told to call an individual named Marc, but when she called the number it was out of service.
Nanaimo RCMP are warning residents that no financial company will ever ask for personal baking information.
They advise that anyone who has provided personal information, to immediately change their pin number and all passwords for banking accounts.
"You may also want to consider cancelling your credit cards and debit card," said police.
"A search engine review would have confirmed that this was not a legitimate investment firm. Bookmark the CAFC on your computer and review their exhaustive list of scams."
Lastly, a recent scam attempt in Nanaimo involved a fake lotto prize.
Nanaimo RCMP say that a victim called in and told police she had responded to a survey on Facebook, and was told that she would win a truck and $150,000 if she sent in $40.
The victim reportedly received a phone call shortly after from a woman at (256) 731-1791.
Police say the woman on the phone told her to purchase $40 in gift cards, to call back and provide the 10-digit code from the back of each card.
Once she provided the codes and did not receive any notice that she had won the truck or cash, she realized it was a scam.
"[Facebook] and social media surveys are fake and are designed to draw you in and extract personal information from the user," said Nanaimo RCMP.
"No legitimate company, lotto or organization will ever ask you to purchase gift cards. A search of the CAFC would have debunked this pitch and saved the user $40."