A rise in scams has prompted the Strathcona County RCMP to warn residents of the latest “dishonest teller” scam targeting seniors in the community.
The “dishonest teller” scam begins by a victim receiving a phone call from someone claiming to be an employee or manager at their bank.
“The victim is led to believe a bank employee is stealing from their account and their assistance is needed to catch the culprit,” said Const. Chantelle Kelly, media liaison with the Strathcona County RCMP. The victim is told the bank replaced the lost money and is instructed to withdraw a large amount of cash to hand over to someone posing as a security person or bank investigator.
Kelly noted the fraudster will give a variety of explanations, claiming they need to check the serial numbers, do an audit or mark the currency and deposit it to see if the “dishonest teller” withdraws any of the money.
“Some of the most vulnerable people in our community are seniors,” Kelly said, adding: “Fraudsters frequently target seniors in an attempt to scam them out of their money. An informed senior can see through these scams and protect themselves.”
She said people can avoid being a victim of a financial scam by not giving out financial or personal information over the phone or Internet, immediately calling the bank manager to notify them of a scam, and never giving cash to someone unknown.
“A bank employee will never ask you to withdraw money and hand it over,” Kelly said, adding: “Banks will never request citizen assistance in undercover investigations or, even worse, ask citizens to withdraw money from their account.”
She added residents should be diligent in checking their bank statements and accounts, and they should report any questionable activity to their bank as soon as possible.
Read the full story over at Sherwood Park News.
