A North Vancouver man is likely out $35,000 after falling prey to an online scam overseas that saw him wire the large sum of money to a bank account in Germany for the undelivered promise of being the Canadian proprietor of a China-based petrochemical plant.
The 37-year-old victim learned of the fraudulent business opportunity through a social media networking service around the middle of May and believed he was going to be hired by the petrochemical plant. The man received three separate cheques along with instructions to wire transfer the funds to an account in Germany, over a period of six weeks.
The cheques appeared authentic but in fact were fake, according to Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP, which is working with the bank involved as part of an active investigation.
“$35,000 is a lot of money, and that’s money that he may never recover,” said De Jong, explaining how it’s hard for police to track overseas scams, and even if they find the people involved, prosecution is also a challenge.
Scam artists duping unsuspecting victims into wiring them money is not new territory for North Vancouver police, but there are some elements of this case that set it apart.
“The fact that they are sending money to Germany is somewhat unique and the fact that it went on for three cheques before it got noticed,” said De Jong.
The case is a cautionary tale and a reminder that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
De Jong said doing some basic research on the B.C. RCMP or Canadian Better Business Bureau’s websites can prevent people from being taken for a ride.
“Often these (scams) are flagged on these sites for people to be aware of,” said De Jong.
