Three men from Calgary are facing charges after allegedly targeting seniors in Southern Alberta with a banking scam.
Police in Medicine Hat say they began investigating after getting reports on Oct. 17 of a scam targeting seniors in the area.
It is alleged the victims would get a call from someone pretending to be an investigator from their bank. The caller would claim the victim’s identity was “compromised” and their bank account was being used for illegal activity.
The victims were allegedly told they had to pay for an investigation in order to clear their name, with the promise that the money would be refunded once the investigation was over.
“As a result of this matter being reported to the Medicine Hat Police Service (MHPS), the Criminal Investigation Section assisted by the Patrol Section and ALERT Medicine Hat, commenced an investigation into fraud, theft and extorsion, and using specialist techniques turned the table on the scammer resulting in the apprehension of persons involved,” reads a release from MHPS.
Calgary residents Rahul Dudra, 25, Kumar Rajat, 25, and Jaskirat Singh, 25, were all arrested in Medicine Hat.
The three suspects face five charges each including two counts of theft over $5,000, two counts of fraud over $5,000, and one count of extortion.