B.C. RCMP detachment issues warning about bank card scam

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Mounties in Richmond are warning the public about a scam in which fraudsters convince people to hand over their bank cards.

In a media release Thursday, the detachment said the scam starts with a phone call from someone posing as an investigator from a bank's fraud department and saying the intended victim's account has been compromised. Next, the scammer asks the person for their home address.

"After obtaining their address, the fraudster then attends the victim’s residence to collect their banking cards, with the promise that they would deliver their replacement cards in person the next day," the statement from Richmond RCMP says.

"After obtaining their bank cards, the fraudster then transfers funds from the victim’s accounts."

In an email to CTV News, an RCMP spokesperson said it was unable to provide the number of victims or the total amount of financial losses suffered – but said the warning comes in the wake of a number of reports in the city and that the scam has been reported in other cities in the region.

"The Richmond RCMP believed it was beneficial to send out this release as a reminder to the public not to provide their banking information from unsolicited phone calls," the email said.

The public is advised that financial institutions will never ask for banking information over the phone, and do not attend people's residences to retrieve bank cards.