By Lyonel Doherty
Times-Chronicle
The victim of a scam hopes others will learn from her mistake, even though you believe you are helping out a trusted friend.
“I was caught in a scam and thought it would be good to warn others,” said an embarrassed Marion Boyd.
She explained that a friend’s email was apparently hacked, sending out messages to all of her close contacts.
The email message stated that she (Pat Chown) was out of town and forgot her niece’s birthday. She then requested that someone buy her iTunes and she would pay them back later.
“I agreed to help knowing she is absolutely trustworthy and would pay back any money for her request,” Boyd said. “The trouble was, it was the hacker, not Pat requesting the iTune cards.”
Boyd purchased the cards at Shopper’s Drug Mart and proceeded to follow instructions for sending them to Chown. That’s when Ken Jones, the local United Church minister, sent out a warning to the congregation.
“I didn’t send the cards so now I’m the embarrassed owner of $300 worth of iTunes,” Boyd said.
She reported the scam to the RCMP and went back to Shoppers for reimbursement, but management refused. (They said Apple would not reimburse them for the cards.)
Boyd said she feels foolish for falling prey to the scam without checking the email more thoroughly
“Summer guests and frazzled days are my only excuse as well as advanced age … now 78 and require grandkids to keep me on the right computer tracks.”
Chown told the Times-Chronicle that someone used her Hotmail email address to scam her friends and family.
“It’s really stressful . . . this is really, really upsetting; this has affected so many people (lifelong friends, classmates and church members),” said the 80 year old.
But Chown noted she received many calls from people checking to see if she was okay. For example, she heard from a cousin whom she rarely sees.
“There is a lot of caring people out there.”
Chown said she is still dealing with the issue, trying to change her email address and fretting about her identity.
“Who knows where my identity is.”
Corporal Brian Evans, interim commander of the Oliver RCMP, said this is a common scam conducted throughout Canada, often by international organized crime groups.
“Every week we have people reporting similar interactions with a scammer trying to get them to purchase gift cards.”
“If they do engage with the scammer, the scammer will attempt to convince and manipulate them into cooperating . . . the best option is to always terminate the interaction as soon as possible.”
