Some businesses in rural Manitoba are facing an onslaught of credit card and fake currency frauds.

"Fraud is an ongoing problem across the country, and we're feeling it locally as well," Police Officer Chris Kalansky explains, adding they hear complaints on a daily basis.

However, he notes it's an evolving crime, "every time we identify one type of fraud, there's some new variation that comes out."

"We're always playing catch-up."

Kalansky says they've especially seen a rise in pre-paid credit card scams.

A number of incidents have been reported in south central Manitoba  recently. October 4 police were notified of an attempted fraud a 7-Eleven where a man called claiming to work for the store's IT department. The caller requested staff obtain a pre-paid credit card and assist him in activating it. The staff member refused and no money was obtained.

 

 

October 12, a resident of Winkler reported that unauthorized transactions had been made through her chequing account. The woman immediately advised her bank which then cancelled the debit card, though while she was still inside the bank, more fraudulent charges were put through the account.

The bank credited the fraudulent charges back and is conducting their own fraud investigation.

Earlier this fall, on September 25, police received a report from a Restaurant of an attempted fraud. The owner received an email requesting 120 meals for an event. The supposed customer promised to pay in advance via credit card but asked to be charged an additional $2,420 and asked the owner e-transfer the balance back. The restaurant owner became suspicious and notified police.

On September 28 someone wanted to purchase a $1,500 gift card from a store. The caller explained a friend would stop by to spend the gift card by purchasing merchandise.

However, the caller provided five different credit card numbers, none of which matched the name provided.

When the friend of the caller arrived at the store, the owner notified police. Officers spoke with the male who appeared to be nervous and claimed to be picking up items for his boss. The 34-year-old male, a resident of Winnipeg, was arrested for five counts of unauthorized use of credit card data.

Kalansky encourages business owners to train their front-line staff on the many scam and frauds circulating the area, including a resurgence of counterfeit currency.