The Vancouver Police Department says a new scam involving bank cards is targeting seniors in the region.
According to police, swindlers are calling victims from a phone number that appears to be from a legitimate financial institution and claiming there’s been irregular activity on their bank account.
“They convince the seniors to turn over personal information including home addresses, passwords and personal identification numbers (PIN) – and advise them that a courier is on the way to pick up the bank cards,” Const. Tania Visintin shared in a release Friday.
Once the victims turn over their cards, the scammers then use the personal information they’ve obtained to take out money.
“Since the beginning of December, VPD has received two reports from seniors who have been victims of this scam and have lost close to $40,000 dollars combined,” Visintin explained. “These fraudsters are finding success by preying on vulnerable people in our community and betraying their trust.”
According to police, the first reported incident of the scam happened on Dec. 3, when an unknown person called the 72-year-old victim claiming to be a CIBC teller.
“The scammer told the senior there had been irregular activity on her account and she had to turn in her bank card. The fraudster spoke with the victim for four hours, gaining her trust and getting personal information from her. The next day, a man arrived at the victim’s home and took her card. After losing $30,000 dollars from her account, the victim called police,” Visintin stated.
Five days later, an 81-year-old became a victim of the ploy, when they received a call from a person who claimed to be from Mastercard.
“The fraudster advised the victim her credit card had been compromised and the card needed to be sent to a lab for diagnosis. The fraudster was able to trick the woman into giving out her home address and other personal bank information. Later that day, a person came to her door to pick up the card. She realized she had lost $6,500 dollars and called police,” Visintin added.
Police are now reminding the public that banks and financial institutions will never send a courier to your door to collect your bank card.
“If you get a phone call like this, hang up, and follow up with your bank if you are still feeling unsure,” Visintin said.
Police say the investigations into the incidents are still underway, and no arrests have been made. The VPD is urging anyone with information about the scam to come forward to police.