ELMSDALE: The old saying “if it sounds to good to be true” rings true with a pair of scams circulating locally, East Hants RCMP say.
S/Sgt. Cory Bushell said the two scams have been amongst calls the detachment has received in the past couple of weeks.
He said the first is a popular scam where a suspect poses as an online “buyer” for a used vehicle.
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He said in that scam, the “buyer” pretends to be very interested in purchasing the vehicle, but insists a vehicle history report be provided, similar to a CARFAX report.
“The “buyer” acts as though they don’t want to get ripped off and provides a website they want the “seller” to use in order to get the report,” said S/Sgt. Bushell. “The website charges a fee of approximately $25 and accepts various forms of payment such as PayPal or other means.”
S/Sgt. Bushell said the website takes the $25 payment, no report is provided, and the “seller” does not hear from the “buyer” again.
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The second comes in the form of a text which purports to be from Canada Post. It claims you have an unclaimed parcel.
“The scam leads the victim into believing they have something to gain, but asks for money first,” said S/Sgt. Bushell.
In the end, he said, there is actually no parcel, and the scammer walks away with the victim’s money.
