Elderly woman in Mission scammed out of tens of thousands in bank fraud scheme
MISSION — Mounties in Mission are warning the public about a complex bank scam in which an elderly woman from Mission was scammed out of tens of thousands of dollars in May.
According to a statement from Mission RCMP spokesperson Corporal Harrison Mohr, a 68-year-old woman from Mission called authorities to report that she was swindled out upwards of $60,000 after being targeted by scammers. Mission RCMP says it all began on Tuesday, May 20 when the woman was contacted by a man who claimed to be a representative of her unidentified bank. The man said her bank cards had been compromised and they would issue her new cards, and a courier would come to collect her old cards. A driver from a ride sharing company subsequently attended her residence and collected the old bank cards from the Mission senior.
Approximately one hour later, the fraudulent bank rep called the woman again to advise her that scammers had compromised all of her financial accounts, and recommended that she hand over all of her other debit and credit cards. For a second time, a courier was sent through a rideshare company to collect the cards. The fraudulent bank representative was also able to obtain other personal information from the woman, including her PIN numbers. A short time later, the woman realized that it was all an elaborate scam, and that tens of thousands of dollars had already been withdrawn from her accounts.
Mission RCMP have since spoken with one of the rideshare drivers, who is cooperating with authorities as they investigate, but have not yet been able to locate the second rideshare driver. Investigators were able to determine that the woman’s financial cards were taken to the parking lot of the Home Depot on Henning Drive in Burnaby, where a man wearing a face covering picked them up. Police say the investigation is still ongoing, but say that even if criminal charges are laid, the chances of recovering the stolen funds are low.
