Red Deer RCMP are warning the public that the ‘bank manager scam’ has resurfaced in Red Deer after two reports this week that senior citizens were targeted by a scammer who claimed to work for a bank and wanted his victims to help him catch a thief by withdrawing money from their accounts.

In two separate reports to Red Deer RCMP today, the scammer targeted an 81-year-old woman and an 86-year-old woman, claiming to be a bank inspector who needed their help to secretly catch bank thieves.

The scammer asked one victim to withdraw $3,800, and the second to withdraw $4,000, and asked them to meet him in the parking lot of a department store.

Fortunately, after talking with family or bank staff, neither of his intended victims met with him. For that reason, no description of the suspect is available.

“The biggest red flag in many scams is that request for secrecy, and RCMP are urging the public to educate themselves and the vulnerable people in their lives about common scams and the red flags to watch out for,” said Cpl. Karyn Kay of the Red Deer RCMP. “This predator is likely making numerous phone calls every day, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to prevent him from succeeding, by talking to the people in their lives who they think may be trusting enough to fall for something like this.”

RCMP further urge people to treat their personal information with care – shred old bills, statements and the envelopes they arrive in before recycling them so that scammers can’t target you based on information they glean from recycled materials.

For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, visit the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre: www.antifraudcentre.ca.

Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to call the Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or report it online at www.tipsubmit.com.

– Fawcett