Cochrane RCMP members are warning the public to take caution with the recent fraud scam involving prepaid cards.
The past week the Cochrane RCMP have been investigation a number of reports of victims being called by unknown individuals claiming to from different agencies such as ATCO, ENMAX and EPCORE stating that if the victim does not pay their bill in a set short amount of time that their utilities will be shut off.
The caller then tells the person to buy a set dollar amount of prepaid cards, such as iTunes or gas cards, and call them back with the digit code on the back of the prepaid cards.
“We just want to remind people to use caution and common sense when it comes to these types of scams,” said Const. Jennifer Brewer.
“A legitimate company would never ask you to pay with a prepaid gift card and the company would always have sent out a written notice first.”
When in doubt, check your last statement and your records before paying, call the numbers for the agencies as they appear on the statements or files to verify the company has enlisted outside help to collect their fees and never give out personal or banking information over the phone, Brewer said.
RCMP also want to remind people that if an agency is going to cut your utilities, they will give you more than a day notice – if you get a call with someone threatening to cut off your utilities with hours or minutes notice, then it may not be a real agency.
Cochrane RCMP said they are also still getting complaints of fraudulent Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) phone calls.
If anyone has information about this, or any other crimes is asked to please contact the Cochrane RCMP at 403-851-8000 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
Man charged with possession
Cochrane RCMP have charged an adult man from the community with one count of possession of a controlled substance after finding marijuana in his car.
Police responded to a call of vehicles “stunting” and doing donuts in the parking lot at the Cochrane arena when they noticed a “strong odor” from the vehicle on Sunday.
Upon investigating the RCMP found less than 30 grams of marijuana and charged the man with one count of possession of a controlled substance. The man was released on scene, and scheduled to appear in Cochrane Provincial Court on Aug. 30.
Anyone who witnesses erratic driving or any other crimes is asked to contact the Cochrane RCMP at 403-932-2211 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
