A convincing hoax disguised as a job advertisement succeeded in ripping off two people in the Virden area.
Constable Kristin Forman of Virden RCMP says both the victims responded to a print ad offering $19 an hour to care for a “diabetic Grandma” up to five hours a day.
The ad was placed by a Katherine Anderson with the email address [email protected]m She provided a long distance phone number (289-769-8772) and a local street address in Virden.
After contacting “Katherine” to inquire about the job, the victims would be sent a cheque for $3,800 ostensibly to buy a wheelchair for someone’s elderly mother in the area.
The victim was asked to deposit the cheque in their own bank, then transfer the money to another person’s account, keeping $500 for themselves as an advance on their pay.
By the time the fraudulent cheque bounced, the victim’s account had already been emptied.
Forman says one local woman lost $3,800 and a second person lost $500 before they got suspicious. She says the banks have so far refused to cover their clients’ losses.
Forman warns people not to accept money from someone they’ve never met especially over the Internet.
