(File photo/ paNOW Staff)

By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Grinch scams Prince Albert man out of $30,000

Jan 9, 2025 | 1:32 PM

A Prince Albert man who was scammed out of $30,000, admits to trusting the wrong people and is unsure how he will pay rent or buy groceries.

Norm Richards was contacted on Dec. 21 by a stranger, who claiming to work for Pay Pal , informed him there were strange purchase transactions related to Wal-Mart.

“I trusted that it was Pay Pal because I knew that I had signed up with them two weeks before,” he explained.

The aspiring filmmaker/screen writer noted the reason why he created the account in the first place was because he is in current talks with possible investors, who could potentially on any given day provide a substantial advance.

After the initial text message, several hours of further transactions occurred and Richards complied with instructions to buy gift cards and share his credit card information.

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“It all seemed like I was doing the right thing all the time. They made it very convincing that I was okay and they were helping me get rid of the scammers on my phone,” he said.

After every transaction, Richards was provided with documentation, affirming he was being covered for the expenses. However, later upon returning home, and checking his bank accounts, Richards discovered he had been completely cleaned out, including over 20,000 in crypto-currency.

“The most critical one was my cash flow money. I’ve got to buy groceries, pay my utilities and most of all I’ve gotta pay rent,” he said. “Jan. 1 came pretty fast after Dec. 21.”

Roberts, who also works part time in retail, has created a gofundme account to try and recover some of the funds. He’s also been in talks with police and his bank. Going forward, he encourages people to increase security features on their phone and to be very careful when talking to unknown people.

“They sound legitimate, they speak a good language and if you follow them, you’re gonna get it in the ear,” he said.

In 2024, the Prince Albert Police Service received 275 fraud reports. This was down from 342 received the year prior. In December, 2024, there was 24 fraud reports.

Sask RCMP encourage everyone to take precautions if they receive unsolicited phone calls, even when they appear to originate from businesses they deal with.

“Don’t give out personal information including passwords and banking information over the phone if the call is unsolicited. Hang up and call the service provider directly with a known phone number if you have any doubts,” they said.

If you believe you are the victim of a fraud, report it to your local police detachment. If you receive a phone call you believe to be a scam or fraudulent, you can report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre. You can report by phone (Toll free: 1-888-495-8501) or online here: https://www.antifraudcentre-centreantifraude.ca/report-signalez-eng.htm

nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell