A Salmon Arm woman sent $9,000 in iTunes gift cards to California-based scammers after being told she would be reported to police for accessing child pornography, Mounties say.
On Dec. 3, a 69-year-old Salmon Arm woman contacted police to say she had been the victim of fraud.
The woman told investigators she clicked a link on Facebook that created an alarming pop-up telling her she had been hacked and she would be reported for accessing child pornography if she did not call the phone number on her screen.
“The woman called the phone number and was convinced to purchase $9,000 in Apple iTunes gift cards, and provided the card numbers to the scammers,” Salmon Arm RCMP Const. Andrew Hodges said in a news release.
“The woman added that the retail clerk warned her of such scams prior to purchasing the gift cards, but she continued with the transaction despite the warning.”
Police referred the woman to victim services and advised her to attend a fraud presentation as well as having her computer professionally reformatted.
RCMP said the number she called was based in California and there is no way to trace the iTunes gift cards.
To learn more about common fraud schemes and ways to protect yourself, you can visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre website.
